Movie Reviews - Venom

Director: Rubern Fleischer
Genre: Action
Runtime: 112 minutes
Year: 2018
Starring: Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Jenny Slate, Riz Ahmed, Melora Walters

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

Review: Venom is a fascinating anti-hero and (almost) villain in the superhero universe of Marvel and deserves his own film. Is refreshing to give the stage to a villain.
Eddie Brock is a journalist, with unorthodox methods and he will go far to get his story. While trying to unveil the secrets of a big company, he acquires the powers of a symbiote and an alter-ego comes to life: Venom.
Eddie is fighting his inner demon, he hears Venom’s voice in his head. He tries to fight it, but he can’t and he eventually has to find a way to live with it and use it for his benefits. A bit of Jekyll and Hyde.
When it comes to looks, Venom is perfect. “Spider-Man 3” tried it in 2007, but with no success. Here Venom looks exactly like he was created, like he just walked out of the comics. Tom Hardy is a good choice, he has played the anti-hero before in movies like “Warrior” and “Mad Max: Fury Road”. And the film is at its best when Eddie tries to fight Venom, for the outside world it’s like he is talking to himself.
The villain in this film is played by Riz Ahmed (star of “The Night Of"). He plays an Elon Musk type of opponent, the master brain behind the symbiote tests. I somehow never find him very believable as a villain.
I think “Venom” would have worked better if it got an R-rating, like “Deadpool” or “Logan”. It’s too righteous and colors within the lines too much. Heads are bitten off, but it’s never really seen. It feels more family friendly, when a character like Venom should go all out
The action is a bit messy and edited way too much. Too much digitalization was added.
“Venom” flirts with the dark side, but eventually turns to the safe zone. I was so excited for this film and it disappointed me. This is such a cool character and it deserved a better movie. It wasn’t as bad as “Spider-Man 3”, but I expected more.

Rating: 2,5 / 5