VENOM: THE WORLD HAS ENOUGH PG-13 ANTI-HEROES

The minute we heard a Venom movie was going to be made far removed from the Spider-verse, most Spider-Man/Venom fans hardly expected much and to some degree, they may have been right not to. But in the months leading to its release, Eminem dropped his Kamikaze album which had the official Venom movie soundtrack on it aptly titled Venom, and my interest was aroused, intensified marketing efforts increased in the weeks leading to its release and I was rearing to go. My first thought after seeing Venom, was that it was quite satisfactory. It wasn't great, but it was enjoyable. We had a fun time while watching it and not until did our post-movie analysis did we become less enamored (not trying to talk in first plural person like a certain title character. Talking about the friend I saw it with). So join me as I pick apart Venom.

WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS

Investigative journalism: You run to trouble, not from it

My big question before seeing this, was if the essence of Eddie Brock would be appropriately captured or if we'd get a watered down version. In the source material, Eddie is in a very bad place when he bonds with the symbiote, he’s just lost his job, his wife and his mind, He’s a fractured soul by the time he bonds with Venom which makes him more susceptible to the corruption of the symbiote and an easier host for its sociopathic leanings. And this melting of minds, makes the perfect cocktail of murder and mayhem. The studio might have shied away from that aspect of Eddie Brock, but if there’s anything this movie did right, it’s that it chose a suitable actor. Hardy provided a performance worthy of a leading man and one which the movie firmly stood on, or to put it otherwise the glue that held this movie together despite its other shortcomings. Also, something I really enjoyed in this movie, and I hope I’m speaking for a lot of other people, was the amusing banter between Hardy's Eddie Brock and the Venom symbiote. I’m not a fan of littering movies with comedic scenes but somehow I didn't mind it in this film, thanks to a likable symbiote.

If this movie was R-rated We'd chop off your arms and eat it

Like the movie slogan suggests, Venom is no superhero, he's probably one of the last Anti-Heroes out there, and Eddie Brock like the symbiote has little reservations about killing as a means to an end. I'm not saying the movie had to be dark and gritty to have been good, but some gore would have been appreciated. But then again, would a PG-13 movie with a raging sociopath as the leading man be the most sellable idea? maybe not. However, Fox's Deadpool (2016) showed modern cinema that R-rated comic movies could be just as successful as their lower age bracket counterparts, so since they were going to make a Venom movie away from the Spider-verse, why didn’t they just go for Gold? If there was ever a time to make a Venom movie in all its glory it was now! Being one of the more violent Marvel characters, Venom would have thrived on an R rating. Maybe it was just the dark hue, but the movie lacked 'colour', and maybe some blood spilling would have added some to the spectrum. Since the consistently rated PG-13 Spider-Man wasn't a part of this movie, I think a great opportunity was missed in not going down that R-rated lane.

So what's this thing I hear you do with your tongue?

Now comes a few of the bad stuff. This movie had plotholes bordering on the illogical and downright silly. Through the movie we learn that the symbiotes can only merge with certain compatible hosts, but for some reason other than to serve the plot, the Venom symbiote conveniently bonds with Anne Weying (Michelle Williams) and a Pomeranian, as it finds its to Eddie. More silly is how the Riot Symbiote bonds with several people through its journey from wait for it...Malaysia to the U.S.A without as much as raising any suspicion, are you kidding me! No way that little girl behaves normally through a 19 hour plus journey (yes I checked). It's almost less silly than how Eddie Brock makes his way into The Life Foundation's top secret, confidential science lab by riding on Dr Skirth's ID pass, "oh I'm just going to check out your top secret alien lab that probably cost this company billions of dollars by tailgating this scientist in glasses" The Life Foundation must really have the safety and security of its most prized assets as a priority.

I am a visionary, a visionascary!

Once again in order to create a Villain, the symbiotes aren't picky anymore and are just taking on all comers, step in Riz Ahmed's Carlton Drake - CEO of the Life Organization, (just another thing Spider-Man and Venom have in common other than the symbiote suit). Drake's supposedly a smart guy right, so why is his plan so stupid? His intention to bond humans and symbiotes as a case for evolution sounds as crazy as it is unprecedented. This supposedly makes him agreeing with Riot's plan to launch a space rocket to retrieve the other symbiotes that much easier. Which takes me back to the opening scene, which I felt came up short. Perhaps the studio were just trying to save money on an outer space scene, but I don’t think it would have been too much to ask for a two minute scene showing the astronauts collecting the symbiote samples or something like it. Ultimately a lot of these drawbacks were made in service of the plot, a plot that wasn't very good.

You have something in you Eddie, and its not a radioactive spider's venom

I really, really wish this movie could have been produced in collaboration with the MCU, but I guess Sony couldn't wait for Tom Holland's Peter Parker to go to college then start working part time at the Daily Bugle. Venom's removal from the Spider-verse and its refusal to go R-rated deprived the audience of a Venom movie that might have just been much better. Venom struggled to cut the umbilical cord from Spider-Man as their shared history and origins adds so much to the essence of the character, so much, that could not be overturned by the direction this movie went with. Tom Hardy was sublime, and for me he was suitably cast, and his return for a sequel will depend on how successful Venom is at the box office. Speaking of Sequels, If you wait(ed) long enough for the mid credits scene you’ll get to see Woody Harrelson as the serial killer, Kletus Kassady, who ultimately becomes  the host for Carnage (another symbiote, I’m guessing the Symbiote that killed the good Doctor Skirth escaped and somehow finds it way to him), which suggests that Sony have a sequel or trilogy planned for the near future. It'd be great to see Harrelson play that role, crazy seems to come easy for him.

So well we’ve gotten it, not the Venom movie you hopedfor, but a Venom movie in its own right. All in all, Venom isn't completely a 'bad' movie, it had great moments, championed by Tom Hardy's fine performance, and despite its weak plot, was mostly enjoyable, probably more so, if it can be seen as an isolated film. Casual film-goers will probably have a decent time while hard core Venomites might feel quite peeved to see The Lethal Protector become the object of a popcorn movie. 

Reject Rating: 6/10