Venom

The live action Venom movie finally dropped in theaters this weekend. I refused to read any reviews in depth. But I came across a lot of posts on social media bashing the crap out of the film. While I didn't allow any critics to dissuade me, I did not go into Venom with high expectations.

The biggest hurdle with doing a Venom movie is the absence of Spider-Man. The wall crawler is at the very beginning of Venom’s 30 plus years of existence in the Marvel Universe. This film being the introduction (reboot) of the Symbiote makes this a ‘superhero’ origin film.

Can a Venom movie without Spider-man be done? Answer: yes. Can it be done well? Answer: Yes! That doesn't mean that this Sony picture was without it's problems. The film is roughly two hours long. The first 45 minutes is filled with rather slow back story.

Venom starts with disgraced reporter Eddie Brock hitting rock bottom when one of his stories gets him fired. Eddie went after a brilliant scientist for unethical practices on the homeless in a series of clinical trials. Doing so made some powerful enemies and caused him to lose not only his job but his fiance.  But Brock's luck is about to change when one of the researchers gets him an inside look at the laboratory.

It's here that Brock becomes fused with an alien Symbiote recovered from a recent venture in space. After a narrow escape from security, Eddie awakes in his apartment to a terrifying voice in his head and a number of heightened senses and abilities. Eddie and Venom are now one. And it's here where the pace of the movie changes for the better.

Up until this point, Venom was turning out into a John Carpenter's The Thing meets Michael Crichton’s Coma. A bunch of scary piles of goo were being unleash on hapless homeless guinea pigs. However once Brock fuses with the Symbiote, the movie now becomes an sci-fi version of the Lethal Weapon flicks!

Tom Hardy's Brock is Danny Glover's Murtaugh. He's too old and tired for this crap. Tom Hardy is also the voice of the alien parasite Venom, probably thanks to a lot of auto tune. Regardless, Venom is the Mel Gibson character of Riggs. He's abrasive, bullying and what's going to keep Brick alive when the villains strike in order to retrieve their missing science project.

Of everything to expect out of the Venom film, a buddy cop comedy wasn't anywhere near my list of expectations. Nor was the main female role of Brock's love interest Anne, played by Michelle Williams. Anne is a pretty strong character that manages to escape the film never once being a damsel in distress. Williams character is a lot like Judy Greer's character in the Ant-Man films in that she knows that Brock is merged with Venom and pretty fierce. But Greer's character was nowhere near as badass as Anne!

Venom has a great ending with two secret end credit scenes. One was expected, involving a possibility of a sequel ( if the box office take is good.) But that second one blew away the remaining audience. So be sure to stick around for it.

I'm about done with my review and you might notice that I have not spent much time talking about the movie's villain. For one thing, Riz Ahmed’s character of Carlton Drake didn't feel like baddie. He's got a plan to save the Earth in regards to the experiments his company is doing with the Symbiotes. And while he racks up a body count, Drake does at least have his patients sign waivers prior to experimentation.

Also Drake's hired goon, played by Scott Haze, isn't slimy enough to hate. He's a formidable foe to Brock/Venom. But he's not a character I cared enough to see killed like I felt about Andy Serkis’ Klaw in the Black Panther movie.

A slow start with a hilarious turn as a buddy cop comedy-drama. A stronger than normal female lead. Plenty of not evil enough foes. This made for an unexpected and uneven result. In the end, Spider-Man wasn't missed but I hope he'll pop up in Venom's neck of the woods one day.

I give this film a solid 8.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 8 out of 10.