Venom (2018 Film) Review
"Venom," a film about the massively popular Marvel anti-hero, stars Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock/Venom, Michelle Williams as Anne Weying, and Riz Ahmed as Carlton Drake/Riot.
Ruben Fleischer, known for directing "Zombieland," "30 Minutes or Less," and "Gangster Squad," directed "Venom" while Jeff Pinkner, Scott Rosenberg, and Kelly Marcel wrote the script. Avi Arad, Matt Tolmach, and Amy Pascal served as producers.
Introduction
Without even going into too much detail, the superhero film landscape is pretty crowded. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has risen the number of crowdpleasers it releases each year to three, the DC Extended Universe continues to have a hard time in hitting their stride, and though 20th Century Fox's division of Marvel is slowly coming to an end, it has recently carved out a zone where it can thrive by making R-rated films for some of its famous X-Men characters. Outside of live-action movies, many animated studios have made their mark on the genre, such as Pixar with their two "Incredibles" films. With such a crowded market, one has to wonder what Sony has to offer with yet another superhero franchise of their own.
Sure, they made superhero film history with Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man" trilogy, for good and bad reasons, but their "Amazing Spider-Man" series ended before it even began and now, as they gain serious credibility for allowing the MCU to play with the world of Spider-Man, they're producing a "Venom" movie. Oh, that's not a problem. What is a problem is that this film is meant to be the start of a separate franchise, yet one that's still tied to the world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. What?! That's all kinds of puzzling! Having that in mind, I didn't know what to expect from this film. Especially with all the recent bad buzz surrounding it. Many are shouting, "A 'Venom' film can't be rated anything but R. Why isn't Spider-Man in this?" Early reviews claim that this is a superhero film as bad as 2004's "Catwoman." Now you got to be a special kind of bad in order to receive such a comparison, but hey, Sony's messed up a superhero franchise before. Do they do it again?
Sure, they made superhero film history with Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man" trilogy, for good and bad reasons, but their "Amazing Spider-Man" series ended before it even began and now, as they gain serious credibility for allowing the MCU to play with the world of Spider-Man, they're producing a "Venom" movie. Oh, that's not a problem. What is a problem is that this film is meant to be the start of a separate franchise, yet one that's still tied to the world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. What?! That's all kinds of puzzling! Having that in mind, I didn't know what to expect from this film. Especially with all the recent bad buzz surrounding it. Many are shouting, "A 'Venom' film can't be rated anything but R. Why isn't Spider-Man in this?" Early reviews claim that this is a superhero film as bad as 2004's "Catwoman." Now you got to be a special kind of bad in order to receive such a comparison, but hey, Sony's messed up a superhero franchise before. Do they do it again?
Overall Thoughts
No, they do not do it again. "Venom" shows that Sony has its heart in the right place, but the studio desperately needs to hire better screenwriters in order to be producing home runs. Yes, despite adding a few new interesting concepts, "Venom" recycles already-stale plot beats from other superhero films. The unoriginal plot is undeniably where the film is at its worst, not to mention the first-act which makes the crucial flaw of rushing through the introduction of its protagonist. As we move through the first-act, "Venom" gets the dull elements out of its system and truly gets good when, well when Venom shows up.
From what the trailers tease, "Venom" seems to be a dark, moody affair, right? Wrong. As it turns out, the film has a lot more comedy than what you expect from the marketing. Much of it comes from Tom Hardy having conversations with himself as Eddie Brock/Venom. For as formulaic as they made the story, the screenwriters do well in writing jokes and one-liners. Though I feel as if Tom Hardy was improvising some jokes on the spot. To the writer's credit, the humor overall felt too well-thought-out to sound improvised. Michelle Williams elicits a few chuckles and Riz Ahmed is, I think, intentionally funny as the villain. However, Tom Hardy is the sole source of humor and with that, now is a perfect time to transition to talking about the cast and their characters in detail.
The Cast
If this movie didn't have Tom Hardy's inspired performance, I would be way more negative on the film than I already am. He is the reason to see this movie. Without him, the movie only has cool action and effects keeping it from being one of the worst superhero films in recent years.
I know that I just spotlighted the humor as one of the best parts of this movie, but if Tom Hardy wasn't in the part, the humor would not have been delivered the way Hardy delivers it. While there is something inherently hilarious about Tom Hardy having verbal fights with himself, the actor amplifies the wittiness by showing his reactions to the conversations with simple facial expressions. As Eddie and Venom have their own debates, Hardy's gleefully going about the film, clearly having the time of his life. Though humor proves to be the character's specialty, Venom felt much like an extension of Eddie. Now, Venom would have to be in order to live within Eddie, but this goes more deeper. They learn from each other and discover that they share similar personality traits and their realization to this fact results in some heartwarming dialogue, which I wouldn't have thought I'd say about this movie. For me, the buddy cop aspect is the best part of the story and what makes "Venom" stand out among other superhero films. Unfortunately, the romance department has no such distinction.
Michelle Williams plays the conventional, superhero film girlfriend as Anne Weying. She's shown to be Eddie Brock's finance when the film starts, but through a series of spoiler-filled events, they split up and thus, Williams is left with a "been there, done that" part. Her scenes consist of the usual attempts on Eddie's part to earn Anne's love back until, quite obviously, they get together and she plays a part in the climax. Just because it's been done before doesn't make Anne a terrible character necessarily. She's likable, just not particularly engaging. Williams and Hardy share a sufficient, if not entirely clear, chemistry. On a side note, I'm not exactly certain why the actress wears long blond hair wigs for her characters. The role of Anne Weying doesn't need her to have long hair. She could have just easily had her usual pixie cut hairstyle and there would not have been moments in "Venom" where it's clear that she's wearing a wig. In conclusion, I guess that the most praiseworthy-ish thing about Michelle Williams' character is that she and Eddie share one of the weirdest kisses in all of cinema. That's not necessarily a good thing, but it's not a bad thing either.
As someone who appreciates certain superhero film villains who are otherwise criticized by others, "Venom" simultaneously does a good job crafting its antagonist and a terrible job dealing with its antagonist. Riz Ahmed as Carlton Drake/Riot seems like a legitimately nice guy at first, and the thesis for his point of view is introduced when you first meet him. Sadly, the screenplay, with no such transformation, molds Drake into a villain as if he was always fine with killing people in his experiments. I mean, he's not even remorseful and this is before the symbiote, Riot, bonds to him. I felt like I missed a part between his introduction and the point at which he indirectly involves Eddie in the plot. From then on, Carlton Drake was a predictable character. I had unfortunately guessed most decisions that the character would make. To the film's credit, I did not accurately predict how he would bond to Riot, but when the moment comes, it's over in the blink of an eye. There is one standout moment that briefly makes Drake interesting again, and that's when he and Brock are having a discussion. That scene was a sign of what could've been if the screenwriters had been smart to know what to do with the antagonist. As for the symbiote known as Riot, while I enjoyed what he brought to the action department, he felt like a last-minute baddie, a villain who was separate from Drake. I think that was the point, but the film didn't make it clear enough if it was. Thus, I can't give full credit to the movie if that was the intention.
I know that I just spotlighted the humor as one of the best parts of this movie, but if Tom Hardy wasn't in the part, the humor would not have been delivered the way Hardy delivers it. While there is something inherently hilarious about Tom Hardy having verbal fights with himself, the actor amplifies the wittiness by showing his reactions to the conversations with simple facial expressions. As Eddie and Venom have their own debates, Hardy's gleefully going about the film, clearly having the time of his life. Though humor proves to be the character's specialty, Venom felt much like an extension of Eddie. Now, Venom would have to be in order to live within Eddie, but this goes more deeper. They learn from each other and discover that they share similar personality traits and their realization to this fact results in some heartwarming dialogue, which I wouldn't have thought I'd say about this movie. For me, the buddy cop aspect is the best part of the story and what makes "Venom" stand out among other superhero films. Unfortunately, the romance department has no such distinction.
Michelle Williams plays the conventional, superhero film girlfriend as Anne Weying. She's shown to be Eddie Brock's finance when the film starts, but through a series of spoiler-filled events, they split up and thus, Williams is left with a "been there, done that" part. Her scenes consist of the usual attempts on Eddie's part to earn Anne's love back until, quite obviously, they get together and she plays a part in the climax. Just because it's been done before doesn't make Anne a terrible character necessarily. She's likable, just not particularly engaging. Williams and Hardy share a sufficient, if not entirely clear, chemistry. On a side note, I'm not exactly certain why the actress wears long blond hair wigs for her characters. The role of Anne Weying doesn't need her to have long hair. She could have just easily had her usual pixie cut hairstyle and there would not have been moments in "Venom" where it's clear that she's wearing a wig. In conclusion, I guess that the most praiseworthy-ish thing about Michelle Williams' character is that she and Eddie share one of the weirdest kisses in all of cinema. That's not necessarily a good thing, but it's not a bad thing either.
As someone who appreciates certain superhero film villains who are otherwise criticized by others, "Venom" simultaneously does a good job crafting its antagonist and a terrible job dealing with its antagonist. Riz Ahmed as Carlton Drake/Riot seems like a legitimately nice guy at first, and the thesis for his point of view is introduced when you first meet him. Sadly, the screenplay, with no such transformation, molds Drake into a villain as if he was always fine with killing people in his experiments. I mean, he's not even remorseful and this is before the symbiote, Riot, bonds to him. I felt like I missed a part between his introduction and the point at which he indirectly involves Eddie in the plot. From then on, Carlton Drake was a predictable character. I had unfortunately guessed most decisions that the character would make. To the film's credit, I did not accurately predict how he would bond to Riot, but when the moment comes, it's over in the blink of an eye. There is one standout moment that briefly makes Drake interesting again, and that's when he and Brock are having a discussion. That scene was a sign of what could've been if the screenwriters had been smart to know what to do with the antagonist. As for the symbiote known as Riot, while I enjoyed what he brought to the action department, he felt like a last-minute baddie, a villain who was separate from Drake. I think that was the point, but the film didn't make it clear enough if it was. Thus, I can't give full credit to the movie if that was the intention.
Action/CGI
Though Tom Hardy is the highlight of the film, the action sequences and CGI in "Venom" are close seconds.
In the action department, "Venom" showcases blood-pumping chase and fights scenes. (Of course, this is after Eddie is infected.) Director Ruben Fleischer puts the protagonist's abnormal abilities to good use as Venom acts much like he did in the comics. Die-hard Venom fans might be bothered by the lack of gore and the fact that there isn't exactly an abundance of action sequences, but personally, they were beyond satisfying. Of course, as teased in the trailers, the action comes down to Venom battling Riot, someone with similar abilities. That's something we're no stranger to, especially in Marvel movies. While this concept is maligned by many, I have no qualms with it because the filmmakers behind these movies keep finding new and interesting ways to handle the premise and sure enough, "Venom" is no exception. The third-act climax has Venom and Riot going at it, exchanging and receiving brutal blows. At one point, one combatant will rip the opponent's symbiote off them and attempt to gain the upper hand. At another, both symbiotes will flee the fight due to sharing a certain weakness and the fight will continue with Brock and Drake kicking and punching each other. It's elements like that that make "Venom" unlike any other superhero film.
With so much carnage (pay no mind to that pun) happening, the symbiotes are sights to behold. For the most part, though I knew they were CGI, I never questioned their presence in the story. It helps that the film builds up to Venom's first appearance. Yeah, we've seen the trailers, but there's always something different between seeing something in a trailer and seeing it as part of the final product. So though they gave away Venom's look in the promotional material, I still couldn't take my eyes off of him when he showed up.
Score
One of the things that excited me about seeing "Venom" was the knowledge that Ludwig Göransson composed the musical score. The man did "Black Panther," it was fantastic, moving on now.
The score in "Venom" is yet another example of a score working well in the film, but not connecting to me outside it. Göransson did something entirely different, I'll give him that. He put his focus on making sure the film has a distinct vibe and that the music was an important part of that. He gives "Venom" a moody, often bombastic theme. It plays over the appropriate moments, but in retrospect, it clashes with the comedic undertone that the film maintains throughout.
I wouldn't call this score a failure. As of my writing this, I'm also listening to it and the track I'm on ("Pedal To The Metal") is quite exhilarating. I only wish that Göransson had made his music more suited the overall film, as opposed to exclusive scenes only. That, and maybe less techno themes next time. It was too much for my taste and did not seem to fit well with the character himself.
Grade: C+
With the inclusion of Tom Hardy, absorbing action sequences, and eye-catching CGI, "Venom" is a treat, but just for good measure, it also has a bipolar screenplay and a formulaic plot, resulting in a film that, much like its protagonist, has difficulty walking the line between being good and bad. Overall, I encourage you to see it. At the very least, see it once. After that, you can decide if you want to see this again. Even with its flaws, I'd watch this again whether in the theater or when it comes to iTunes.
Should you chose to see this in theaters, it's unnecessary to pay the added 3D expense. Know that there are two end credits scenes. One of them I found to be unintentionally hilarious and self-aware. The other was a huge surprise even though the end credits spoil it mere moments before it plays.
Conclusion
Another film, another review. It goes without saying that I'm grateful that you decided to read what I thought of "Venom." I welcome any responses that you send my way, regardless if they agree or disagree with my opinion. I also invite you to send me any recommendations for future reviews. Thanks for reading, I'm Dallin, the Film Fanatic, bye-bye.
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