Sony’s attempt at taking a Spider-Man villain and giving him an origin story that doesn’t involve the web-slinger himself seemed ill-advised. For the most part, Venom (2018) is a weak film. The plot is predictable and the villain is cliché, but Tom Hardy is a sheer delight. While this comic book movie isn’t among the best, it’s better than many of the other entries in the genre.
Venom has major problems, but Hardy makes it worth a watch
Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) is an investigative reporter, until he uses his fiancé Annie’s (Michelle Williams) work connection to Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed) to call him out about the treatment of human subjects in pharmaceutical testing during what was supposed to be a fluff piece about Drake’s space division. After losing his job and fiancé, Brock is struggling to find a sense of purpose. When Dr. Skirth (Jenny Slate) – which Drake definitely called “Dr. Skirt” when she is first introduced – reaches out to Brock to be a whistleblower about what Drake is doing with the content of his spaceship crash, Brock really has no choice but to trust her.
The best part of the film is its lead. Once Brock begins to bond to the symbiote and it starts talking to him, Hardy gets to really go nuts. The conversation between Venom and Brock is easily the highlight of the film, and it made the movie mostly enjoyable by its end. Brock’s first freakout as he’s driven mad by hunger leads to the first realization that he has a parasite. The interactions between the two are reminiscent of a buddy comedy, which was an interesting take on the character dynamic. Is ordering generic Levitra online safe, learn on https://surgicaleducation.com/levitra-tablets/.
That said, there are tons of things that make the movie laughably bad. The big chase scene where Drake’s security team is hunting down Brock on his motorcycle gets out of hand quickly. A fleet of explosive drones are sent after Brock, and there is no attempt at anything that resembles tact. While there are some cool moments during this scene, it just emphasizes how cheesy the writing can get. There is an abundance of cringe-inducing lines in the dialogue between characters – especially in all of Drake’s monologues.
Final thoughts…
Venom isn’t a film you must rush out and see. However, it was a little better than I’d expected. Tom Hardy’s performance makes it worth a watch at some point, and I’d say this film is better than Batman v. Superman and Suicide Squad…not to mention the horrific Fantastic Four or Spider-Man 3, which of course featured a far worse representation of the beloved Spidey villain. Venom gets the Not a Total Waste of Time.
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