Venom (2018) Columbia/Action-Horror-Sci-Fi RT: 112 minutes Rated PG-13 (sequences of sci-fi violence and action, language) Director: Ruben Fleischer Screenplay: Jeff Pinkner, Scott Rosenberg and Kelly Marcel Music: Ludwig Goransson Cinematography: Matthew Libatique Release date: October 5, 2018 (US) Cast: Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed, Scott Haze, Reid Scott, Jenny Slate, Peggy Lu, Melora Waters, Ron Cephas Jones, Wayne Pere, Sope Aluko, Emilio Rivera, Michelle Lee, Vickie Eng, Zeva Duvall, Mac Brandt, Nick Thune, Sam Medina, Scott Deckert, Jared Bankens, Martin Bradford, Ellen Gerstein. Box Office: $213.5M (US)/$856.1M (World)
Rating: ***
Although technically a Marvel character (he was in Spider-Man 3), Venom is NOT set within the MCU. It’s the first film in Sony’s Marvel Universe described by producer Amy Pascal as “adjunct” to the MCU. It’s set in the same world as Spider-Man: Homecoming but, as of this writing, there are no plans to integrate the two. So don’t expect Venom to cross paths with any Avengers or Guardians anytime soon.
The reviews for Venom haven’t been too kind. In fact, a majority of them have been negative. To be fair, it’s not being shredded like 2015’s disastrous Fantastic Four reboot (yes, it’s really that bad!). Still, not many people are showing love for Venom. Honestly, it’s not that bad. In fact, I rather liked it. It’s no cinematic masterpiece, not in any way, shape or form. It’s loud, messy and chaotic. It’s also kind of fun if you just give yourself over to the silliness of it all.
As you probably recall from the comic books (and Spider-Man 3), Venom is an alien symbiote (NEVER call him a parasite!) that finds the perfect host in journalist Eddie Brock played here by Tom Hardy (Mad Max: Fury Road). In Venom, he arrives on Earth after a spacecraft belonging to bioengineering company Life Foundation encounters a comet crawling with alien lifeforms. They collect four samples, but one of them escapes after the ship crashes in Malaysia. Arrogant CEO/genius inventor Carlton Drake (Ahmed, Rogue One) has the specimens transported to his facility in San Francisco where he begins testing- first on animals, later on humans- on the symbiotic lifeforms.
Meanwhile, Brock is assigned to interview Drake about his work in space, but he has other ideas. He knows that Drake is up to no good in his lab. He read a classified document on his lawyer fiancee Anne’s (Williams, The Greatest Showman) laptop regarding a lawsuit filed against LF. Brock confronts Drake about it during the interview. It costs him his job, fiancee (Williams, The Greatest Showman), apartment and self-respect.
Six months later, the still-unemployed Brock is approached by Drake associate Dr. Dora Skirth (Slate, Gifted) who wants him to expose the wrong goings-on- i.e. the human trials- at LF. She sneaks him into the facility where he’s exposed to the symbiote that takes over his body. He manages to get away with a lot of help from his newly gained superpowers. When threatened, Brock transforms into a black monstrous creature with mad fighting skills. He literally bites the heads off a few of his opponents. Drake, seeing that his specimen successfully bonded with a human host (i.e. Brock), obviously wants it back and will stop at nothing to get it.
The symbiote, whose voice Brock can hear in his head, introduces himself as Venom. Brock is freaked out at first, but eventually starts to embrace his new powers. This is a good thing since he will soon have to face off against the escaped symbiote Riot who made his way to San Francisco by hopping from body to body.
Firstly, I think something needs to be clarified. Venom, although in possession of superpowers, is NOT a superhero. He is an anti-hero. In the comics, he fights against criminals BUT he also works with and against superheroes. He is definitely NOT the antagonist in Venom. He creates all sorts of mayhem and racks up a high body count, BUT he fights on the side of right when it comes to saving the planet from an invasion by his symbiote brothers and sisters.
That being said, let’s talk about Venom the movie. It really tapped into my inner 13YO. I thought it was cool. I know it sounds simplistic, but it’s honestly the first word that came to mind when I began to mentally write my review. It starts off a little slow, but for good reason. Venom is an origin movie which means exposition before action. So it is we find out how Brock ended up where he is when he first comes into contact with Venom. It’s interesting enough, but once the two finally get together, the movie kicks into a high gear with some awesome action sequences like a wild chase through the streets of San Francisco. This is after Brock/Venom makes quick work of the mercenaries Drake sends to bring him back to the lab.
Hardy, who’s smart enough to know Venom is trash (the good kind though), gives it all with his performance as Eddie/Venom. At times, he appears to be channeling the spirit of the not-dead Nicolas Cage. He digs deep even if the material is shallow. Brock’s interplay with Venom provides the right amount of comic relief. Williams does a decent job as the ex-fiancee who gets a brief taste of what it’s like to be Venom in one scene. Ahmed is okay but too understated. Slate is also good in an all-too-brief role.
The CGI effects are on par with most other superhero-type flicks. Actually, they’re a little better than usual. Except when it comes to symbiote vs. symbiote fight scenes- e.g. the climax- then it’s hard to tell what’s going on within the mess of sinew and flailing limbs. The action sequences are well-orchestrated. There’s violence aplenty. This one is quite violent for a PG-13 movie; I think they should have gone for the R.
I enjoyed Venom on a superficial level. It’s fun but dumb, junky and clunky, silly but smart enough to know it. It’s not going to win any awards, but not every movie does. It’s not a soulless, lumbering SAV (Sensory Assault Vehicle) like any given Transformers movie. It has something of a devilish personality. If you’re looking for a decent popcorn flick, you could do worse than Venom. Be sure to stick around for a mid-credits scene AND a post-credits scene.
