[Movie Review] Venom (2018)

Posted on October 5, 2018 by thegrandshuckett in Movie Reviews // 0 Comments

Plot Summary: When Eddie Brock acquires the powers of a symbiote, he will have to release his alter-ego "Venom" to save his life.

Director: Ruben Fleischer

Writers: Jeff Pinkner, Scott Rosenberg

Runtime: 1hr 52 min

Main Cast:

Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock / Venom
Michelle Williams as Anne Weying
Riz Ahmed as Carlton Drake / Riot
Jenny Slate as Dr. Dora Skirth
Woody Harrelson as Cletus Kasady

Review by: Erika T

I am a fan of Tom Hardy and I am a fan of Superhero films, so it was not very difficult to convince me to see this one. Admittedly, unless I’m seeing anything other than the Marvel Cinematic Universe I go in with lower expectations. Venom was no different. It’s been a touchy subject for some of the most ardent comic book fans who are not easy to please when it comes to film adaptations of their favorite series and characters, so the uphill battle has been on since the film was announced.

What I liked:

It had a lot of comedic moments and I think Tom Hardy is good on the role. I liked seeing another side to him that is a bit more playful and funny. He is a worthy anti-hero and overall I think he is a good addition to the superhero universe. The audience in my screening responded well to him.

What I didn’t like:

A solid tone was hard to pin down for the film. You weren’t getting a super gritty Christopher Nolan Level film (by any stretch of the imagination) but you weren’t getting a well balanced MCU type of film either. I sensed a bit of an identity crisis there. I was also disappointed in the surprisingly short run time. The screening started at 7pm and by a little after 8:30 or so the first round of credits started rolling. For a moment I questioned if something was wrong with my watch. With such a short time and a HUGE crew (the credits ran for what felt like 15 minutes before the second post-credits scene started), I thought we’d be getting more. Tom Hardy said his favorite scene didn’t even make the final cut and with all of that time left out I couldn’t help but wonder why.

The action scenes weren’t very remarkable. Usually for the best films there is some scene I can immediately recall and want to see again, however I can’t do that for this one. I also wasn’t completely keen on the romance subplot and didn’t feel a lot of chemistry between Eddie and Anne.

The villain was also missing something. I’m not sure if it was Riz Ahmed’s delivery as Carlton Drake, but I had a hard time finding him intimidating and scary. Sure, he was doing villainous things, but it didn’t ring true to me most of the time as it was missing a level of malice.

With all of these added together, I don’t think it was the cast necessarily (they are good actors), but perhaps better directing would have brought more out of them.

Summary

I think the critics are overly harsh about the film. While far from perfect, the it is better than the reviews lead you to believe. I would like to see a director’s cut and the deleted scenes.

I see these films to be entertained and I left feeling that that quota was adequately satisfied. I do hope MCU is watching and decides to bring it into the fold or at least offer heavy consulting to give it an overhaul.

Tom Hardy is good and I would like to see him in this role again, but he does deserve better films around him next time.

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