Comic book movies have always been a guilty pleasure and somewhat of an addiction for me. Lately, it seems that only Marvel movies can satisfy that fix. DC has tried time and time again and let me down consistently. Sony, after its disastrous Spider-Man reboot attempt, sold the character to Marvel. However, Sony did keep the rights to most of Spider-Man's allies and villains in an attempt to launch a cinematic Spider-verse. The first attempt at this was a Venom film. On paper, it makes a lot of sense. many comic book fans were left sour after Sam Raimi's attempt at bringing Venom to the screen in the bloated Spider-Man 3. Topher Grace was a horrible Eddie Brock, and the introduction of the character felt unnecessary in a film with two other villains present. When Venom cast Academy Award nominee Tom Hardy, audiences rejoiced as the perfect choice to play Brock's consistent loser persona. Director Reuben Fleischer of Zombieland fame was hired to direct and a supporting cast of Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed, and Jenny Slate was assembled. there is no way this movie could fail could it? Unfortunately... it did
Venom would work really really well, if it was an early 2000s comic book movie in the vein of Daredevil, Elektra, or Fantastic Four. Since then, films like The Dark Knight, X-Men: Days of Future Past, and the entirety of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have advanced how audiences view cinematic heroes or, in this case, anti-heroes. The fault of this film is not Hardy's. He brings great believability and effort to the role of Eddie Brock. The real error is the script and story. It is okay for a film to jump around and tell a story over a period of time. Venom uses eclectic timing within the script and jumps that don't seem to make sense. So much of the backing plot happens just within a few minutes of the film, and the viewer is left with a lack of importance or emotional connection to the characters because of this. Much of the plot then takes place over a period of a few days, while months pass in the previous time. The romance between Tom Hardy and Michelle Williams just felt forced and unconnected to the story. The film might have worked better without it. Great character actors such as Riz Ahmed and Jenny Slate were given such poor lines and a throw-away story that underutilizes their talents. Ahmed has proven that he is a versatile actor, but even the plan of his villainous Carlton Drake makes absolutely no sense. There are only one or two lines that divulge the general plot of the film, and this leaves the viewer feeling a large lack of consequence and that none of the plot matters. Also, I felt as though this film needed the R-Rating that was a thought when it was in the early stages of production. Though it tried to be a mild horror movie, it is hard to be a tough, brutal flick when you have a PG-13 rating. Venom is a character who's savagery and lack of empathy would be the perfect choice for an R-Rating. Even though it makes the movie less accessible to all audiences, films like Deadpool and Logan have proved that you can still make loads of money with an R-Rating
Technically, this film is a mess. I praised Matthew Libatique's cinematography in A Star is Born last week. This film felt choppy in its camera motions Some of this may be due to the horrible CGI that feels overdone in an early 2000s George Lucas way. Even the score, written by the Ludwig Goransson, felt out of place throughout the movie. very rarely do I feel a film is too short, but I have to say I felt that with Venom. The climax felt as if it came too soon and as previously mentioned, felt inconsequential. Hardy did say that much of his favorite footage was left on the cutting room floor, and perhaps this would have made the film work.
At the end of this movie, I felt myself enjoying Tom Hardy and his dual performance as Venom/Eddie Brock. The duality of the character was the only thing the script did very well. The rest of the film felt like reaching for bare bones when there was just nothing there. The film did have a post-credits sequence that I will discuss below. However, I will not discuss spoilers unless you've seen the film. If Venom is the foundation for a future Cinematic Universe as planned, is the weakest foundation since The Mummy.
Grade (4.5/10)
Spoilers Below! Stop Reading If You Haven't Seen Venom!
At the end of the film, Eddie Brock gets an interview of a lifetime. He is granted this interview because the authorities cannot get a word out of a criminal serial killer in a high-security prison. Yet the killer agrees to tell Brock what is going on within his deranged mind. Painting with blood on the wall, the camera pans up to Woody Harrelson in a red-Shirley Templesque wig. He says his name is Cletus Kasady, and when he breaks free of prison, "...there will be Carnage!" As I groaned loudly in the audience, I knew what this meant. In the planned sequel, Harrelson will play Kasady, who comic book readers better known as Carnage.
This is a nice post-credits sequence with a terrible line. Venom and Carnage have been friends and enemies within their long comic book history. Here's hoping that a sequel, assuming it happens, explores the relationship between these two. Once again, an R-Rating would serve these characters much better in the true nature of their origins. Also, please let Harrelson shave that god awful wig and burn the remains before the sequel hits production.
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