The Marvel Comics character Venom has a soft little nostalgic place in my heart. I haven't read much with the character in probably twenty years but back in the late 80's and early 90's when I started collecting comic books and Marvel Super Hero trading cards I thought Venom was pretty cool. I liked him more than I liked Spider-Man (but truthfully that's not saying much. I'm not much of a Spidey guy, sorry World). Anyway, eventually I found the characters I really connected with and left Venom behind. But even so I still remember that awe I felt for Venom as a kid.
When I first saw the trailer for VENOM it seemed underwhelming and premature. The second trailer, which actually showed what Venom would look like, captured the symbiote exactly as I imagined he'd look like when I was a kid. Based solely on Venom's appearance I wanted to see the movie. Tom Hardy I can take or leave. I got really excited when early in the year rumors spread that Venom was going to be rated R. Then a month ago the executives announced it was PG-13 and my enthusiasm dried up. The movie premiered and most of the reaction was "meh" to downright negative. I prepared myself for a crappy movie.
I saw VENOM the previous night and it ended up being pretty much what I expected. At my kindest I'd say it was average or par for the course and nothing special.
THE PLOT
A space rocket from the LIFE FOUNDATION reenters the atmosphere and crashes. Four alien organisms were being transported aboard, three were recovered. Meanwhile San Francisco reported Eddie Brock interviews the Life Foundation president, Carlton Drake, accusing the foundation of nefarious deeds. Drake has Brock removed from the building and fired from his job. As Eddie's life begins falling apart, the three alien organisms are delivered to the foundation. Six months later Eddie sneaks into the foundation to uncover more dirt on Carlton Drake. While skulking about the labs Eddie is attacked by one of the organisms. The alien merges with Eddie, the two becoming Venom.
INITIAL IMPRESSIONS
I had a difficult time getting into the movie. I liked the initial sequence where the rocket crash lands and we catch a glimpse of John Jameson. But once the film shifts focus to Eddie Brock the narrative really slowed down for me. The origin story super hero movie archetype is in full swing here. Maybe ten or twelve years ago this would've felt fresh or at least tolerable. After having seen a dozen or more super hero "origin" story movies, this part of the movie felt uninspired and wasn't very engaging. A part of this was because I didn't find Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, or any of the actors particularly compelling.
Humor is littered throughout the film but, unlike the ANT-MAN movies or the GUARDIANS movies, most of it didn't land with me. Tom Hardy was doing some weird things with his voice that made him difficult to understand and then does his best impression of Jim Carrey in LIAR LIAR. The film proceeds to go through all the standards of an origin story i.e. the awkward learning of powers, the run in with the police, and the final showdown with the man we've known was bad since the beginning where the hero finally makes the choice to become the hero. There were some good action scenes here and there and a cool electric guitar in the score. But all in all it felt like a "by the numbers" super hero film from the early 2000's.
I liked Venom's voice and his look was wonderful. There were some good exchanges between him and Eddie. And when She-Venom showed up it was like seeing Greg Luzniak and Scott Koblish's artwork come to life. Actually seeing Venom in his full symbiote glory was the best aspect of the film. But while there was plenty of killing and biting off heads, the movie felt toothless in that there isn't a single drop of blood shown. Literally, there's a scene where Eddie breaks a character's nose and Carlton Drake saying something to the effect of "you're bleeding all over my lab," but the lab floor is shiny clean when the camera pans back. It also seemed like the film couldn't make up its mind whether it was going to be serious or a B-movie comedy (which it very much seemed like at times. And Woody Harrelson in a terrible wig as Cletus Kasady was lame.
This movie, to me, further illustrated why MARVEL STUDIOS is so special. Yes, they're not perfect and they have some troubled movies of their own, but they're the studio that's pushing super hero films further and actually trying to evolve the genre. Venom feels like a movie perfect for 2007 but old and tired for 2018. Avi Arad and everyone at Sony/Columbia and Warner Bros. all seem stuck with an old mindset about how super hero movies need to be made. They are the guys running Super Hero movies into the ground and Venom to me felt like a prime example of why the genre nearly died out by 2007.
THE VERDICT
Venom felt like a standard "by the numbers" super hero movie for the mid 2000's. For 2018 it feels tired and formulaic. I liked the look of Venom but I found it hard to like Tom Hardy. Was it bad? Not necessarily. If you're new to super hero movies or started watching them only a few years ago then maybe this will work for you. If you're someone whose seen the evolution of the genre over the last few decades this will likely prove a nice diversion from everyday life for 112 minutes. Will I go see it again? Probably not. Will I buy it when it comes out? Absolutely not. If anything this makes me fear for Morbius next year.
Overall Ranking: 5 out of 10
For my thoughts on other super hero cinema check out these films below.
And for more Marvel, DC, and comic book related movies check these out too!
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