Film Reviews & Movie Analysis

When you get infected by something toxic, sucking out its poison isn’t always enough to get rid of the Venom.

Investigative journalist Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) gets his stories because he’s willing to take risks, push limits, and get a light slap on the wrist for it afterwards.

However when he goes against billionaire scientist Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed) he is finally faced with the consequences of colouring outside of the lines.

Science is only the gateway to what Carlton is trying to achieve for the human race. Believing they are a dying, lazy and wasteful species, he has bigger plans – ones that are only achievable with help from beyond the stars.

Partnership is one word, symbiosis is another – but they’re both synonyms for what he is willing to infect the world with to achieve his goal; parasites.

Once the movie got going, I found myself easily drawn in and being invested in the characters; predominantly watching how Eddie dealt with the sudden symbiotic change in his life. The character change in him showed a believable character progression which as we all know, I am a massive fan of.

There were some really inventive techniques used within the action sequences, incorporating both the humans and the Symbiotes that had me subconsciously nodding my head in approval.

There was something about Michelle Williams’ Anne Weying that I enjoyed. She didn’t really add much to the movie itself but at the same time, when it was her time to shine, she shone. Personally her character left a better lasting impression on me than Hardy’s Brock…. Make of that what you will.

The star of the show was the titular characters itself; Venom. I didn’t realise he would have such an active part in the movie as my memories of the ‘villain’ stem from those old Spiderman cartoons they used to show on Fox Kids/Jetix. I was pleased to find that he was bursting with personality – he was funny, pushed the narrative forward and proved more than a random alien who attached itself to Eddie Brock.

If you ask me, the movie didn’t start on the best footing. In other words; it was slow as hell. From a new franchise you want that initial excitement for the journey you’re both embarking on and investing in, and Venom sadly didn’t give any feelings other than; when is the fun going to start?

This is less of a negative, and more of an indifferent observation, and that is; the story was pretty basic. Evil billionaire philanthropist tries to obtain ultimate power by supernatural forces, and vaguely reluctant anti-hero intervenes. I know it’s an introductory movie of sorts (and assumedly based on a comic – *shrugs*) but it was a shame that nothing in the story arc stood out and trademarked itself Venom.

Sort of in the same vein as above, I didn’t feel like Tom Hardy or Michelle Williams brought anything unique to the movie. They played their roles well enough, but not so well that I couldn’t imagine anyone else taking their place the same way Spider-Man will always be Tobey Maguire, Iron Man will always be Robert Downey Jr and Batman will always be Ben Affleck. (KIDDING!).

The extra pre-rolling credits scene teased who the next villain would be should Venom get a sequel. Though I haven’t so far read/seen anything indicating whether there would in fact be more to come, what would personally compel me to continue with this franchise would be to see how the relationship between Venom and Brock develops.

Aside from that, the powers that be need to work a little harder with Venom in terms of originality and excitement to get it up to the standard it deserves to be, and we deserve to have.