VENOM (2018)

Directed By: Ruben Fleischer 
Written By: Jeff Pinkner, Scott Rosenberg & Kelly Marcel 
Screen Story By: Jeff Pinkner & Scott Rosenberg 
Based On Characters Created By: Todd McFarlane & David Michelinie 
Cinematography By: Matthew Labitque 
Editor: Alan Baumgarten & Maryann Brandon 


Cast: Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed, Jenny Slate, Melora Walters, Scott Haze, Reid Scott, Woody Harrelson, Emilio Rivera 


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

This is the kind of film that would have been a special effects blockbuster event movie...
in the early 2000’s. I mean the momentum for this movie has been around. For awhile so leading up to it’s Release there were a lot of fans of the character and comic book looking forward to it. As was I until I saw the first trailer for the film and then further trailers.

From word of mouth I heard everything from ok to horrible. So I finally decided to check it out myself and I will say. It seems like this film would have been good enough in the early 2000’s as that Venom Feature and eventually the character Of Riot look more like really impressive video game renditions of the characters.

Riz Ahmed who is usually so good in his performances does what is needed as every inch of his performance reads comic book villain. He is so obvious as evil it’s hard to believe anyone is shocked by his acts, considering his behavior rarely is nothing close to humane. Without a shrewd of passion or emotion. Hey all good actors sometimes get a role where they aren’t bad just ok. It could be the script I mean look at Oscar Issac in X-MEN: APOCALYPSE.

Tom Hardy does ok in the title role. As it is like being the good cop in a good cop bad cop partnership in a buddy film. He does what he can with the material. He gives a floundering performance where he seems to have all these tics to his performance that make it seem weirder and darker, but then the movie short sheets him by then just having it seem more as a funny reaction to what is happening to him. As the film tries to pile on the humor more than anything. i will give him credit as he gives an off the wall performance that almost amounts to a one man show. eventually making him the most and truly only entertaining part of the movie.

The film tries to get the tone right as Venom originally in the comic books was Spider-Man’s alien symbiote costume from secret wars. Who eventually tuned him more towards evil. That once he got rid of turned into a villain and connected with Eddie Brock a disgraced journalist who hated spider man and Peter Parker more than anything so fueled by their mutual disdain they mainly focused on killing him. Then when breaking Eddie Brock out of prison some was left behind in the cell and Eddie’s cell mate a serial killer name Cletus Cassidy merged with the offspring to create the murderous Carnage which also wanted to defeat Spider-Man and it’s Parent venom. So soon venom became more than just a villain wanting to stop carnage he more or less became good to a degree and more a vigilante. That was where I left the comic books.

I would mention the actors and performances more but this is a film where it truly doesn’t matter so much. As the special effects and story.

The film does provide room for a sequel and the carnage character. Who when originally discussing the film seemed like they would be part of this film. Now understandably for the film they had to create new origins with a lot less spider-man. So that this could be it’s own franchise and creation.

The film provides obvious hardships for the filmmakers behind it. As Venom is violent and more an R-Rated character. Here the film is PG-13 so it’s violent but seems to turn the camera whenever it comes to something graphically violent and also lacks showing blood. So they the film always feels ridiculous and that we are in a world that is more made up rather then ever feeling real. Which is why it’s not hard to see the fun in it but also feel the disappointment. As the film could have been a fun dark journey of a more vigilante film. Yet goes for the usual histrionics of a comic book film that doesn’t necessarily have anything new to contribute.

It has the patterned special effects battles and some stunts that are impressive but thee is nothing in or about the film that feels impressive or necessary. This is a film that is perfectly fine but has failed more for what it doesn’t provide. As the expectations were high and it ends up being basic middle of the road and feels watered down. Unfortunately as superhero movies have evolved they have to be more than just origin stories. They have to have some kind of depth. This film has none at all. Especially coming from director Ruben Flesicher whose films though studio films have always felt like they ash a kind of rebelliousness to them.

It also introduces characters that we are seemingly supposed to care about and dispatches them easily and quickly never to be thought of again. Which it also does to most characters openly eliminating them without a care in the world. Including an ending where everything comes around and venom dispatches a criminal by biting his head off and the store owner seems weirdly complacent though a joke easily could have been made about having to clean up the mess and trying to explain it for cops. Instead of rehashing a tired running gag.

The film was a box office hit so most likely there will be a sequel and unfortunately the powers that be might let it be of the same quality. As despite many people not particularly liking it the film still made no set and people kept going to see it despite the backlash. Which in effect the studios will still make more minimizing cinema that doesn’t ask much of the filmmakers or the audience and never quite improve on the formula.

It even hurts the fans of the film as they will continue to argue the worse and finer points of the film. Yet still their hero will never get the big screen treatment that is respectful or favorable. Not that any film could get it perfect but the character becomes more of a marketing too rather than represent anything other than that.

As the film keeps going it just seem to throw in what it thinks the audience wants. While trying to make the character of venom more sympathetic and at first a villain it seems until he all of a sudden becomes a kind of vigilante.

Now in the comics Venom came about as a villain for spider-man. Here it seems strange for his origin to be absent of Spider-man. If the movie had spun off from spider-man 3. As first considered or even in the Sinister Six movie that was planned it might have made a stronger impact, but the way his origin is handled here just seems lazy and unengaged. Here There is much more humor then expected throughout the film as more of a distraction for the simpleminded plot, characters and the links between action scenes.

 Grade: D+