Film Review: Venom

I always thought doing a Venom movie would be pointless. Especially one that stands alone without the presence of Spider-Man. It just seemed like one of those ideas that would never work. I also thought there was never really that much of a character there to explore, and that the only time he was ever interesting on a deeper level was in Spider-Man 3. So, you can imagine my skepticism going into Venom, the new effort by Sony, and specifically producer, Avi Arad, who has been trying to get this off the ground for decades.

Well, consider it a surprise that after finally seeing Venom…absolutely none of my thoughts about it has changed.

Before we get to the details, the basic setup of the film is Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) is an investigative journalist with a popular news show in San Francisco, and he lives with the love of his life, Anne Weying (Michelle Williams). However, everything falls apart after an interview with tech genius, Schmelon Schmusk-er, wait – I mean, Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed), turns south, resulting in him losing his job and Anne. His suspicions on Drake do turn out to be right when he finds out Drake has been experimenting an alien substance from space on humans. In an attempt to see what’s really going on, Eddie investigates, but ends up infected by one of the “symbiotes.” This symbiote begins talking to Eddie in his head, as well as giving him abilities no human could possess, and the being calls itself Venom.

So, Venom is a weird movie. It feels like the kind of film that would’ve come out in the early 2000s, before the big superhero boom, when studios would just put out adaptations of whatever they had the rights to, often at the expense of capturing what made the characters so interesting. For the entire first act, that’s all I could think about. The characters are bland, the setting is bland, the dialogue is almost nothing but exposition. The filmmaking is devoid of personality and vibrancy. It’s completely dull.

But once the second act kicks in, and Eddie becomes possessed by the symbiote, the film takes a turn. More humor is brought in, the film continuously makes stranger decisions, and it builds this manic energy that finally gave the film some life. A lot of that energy came from Hardy, who feels like he’s channeling his inner Jim Carrey from The Mask and Bobcat Goldthwait from…well, anything. It’s honestly a ton of fun, and sure, the enjoyment often comes at the expense of the film, which makes a number of strange decisions throughout this section, but it’s engaging nonetheless. The action is solid, the lines from Venom (voiced by Hardy) are consistently funny, and there’s a fun camaraderie between the two characters, as they have these oddball banter.

Unfortunately, as soon as the film heads into the climax, it’s back to business as usual. It’s confusing, contrived, the arcs – particularly of Venom – feel half baked, and the big action finale is literally two black blobs fist fighting at night, so good luck trying to make out what’s happening. The film is very much Not Good™. It often teeters on the edge of full blown campy trash, but lacks the bite (almost literally so) necessary to go all the way. Ruben Fleischer is the director here, working off a script by Jeff Pinkner, Scott Rosenberg, and Kelly Marcel, and he doesn’t bring much to the table here beyond workmanlike competence. Had the same material been through a more warped visionary, like the guys behind Crank for example, then we’d really have something here.

There is a good supporting cast here, but they play thongs too straightforward and understated. Ahmed doesn’t get much opportunity for some idiosyncrasies in between his tech and science jargon. Williams gets slightly more to do than a standard, thankless, and underwritten blockbuster love interest, but by the time she gets a moment to shine, it’s too little too late. Even the work by people behind the scenes like cinematographer, Matthew Libatique, who has more interesting work in the other movie opening this very weekend, and composer, Ludwig Göransson, who brought stellar, and memorable beats to Black Panther’s score, while his efforts here don’t feel anywhere near as inspired.

Depending on your mood, and the nonsense you’re willing to sit through, Venom can be a really good time for that big chunk in the middle of the movie. It might not be fully engaging in the way the filmmakers intended, but entertainment value is entertainment value, and for what it’s worth, I did come out of it thinking more on the various bizarre choices and humorous lines from the second act than any of the unremarkable and boring stretches that sandwiched it. Whenever Tom Hardy is allowed to go full bananas with this role, he single-handedly makes this whole thing watchable, especially considering how wasted everyone else is. I’m still not entirely sure who the filmmakers were aiming at here. It’s too gritty for kids, not gritty enough for adults, and for comic fans hoping for a faithful adaptation are treated with a mostly comedic tone that they likely wouldn’t have wanted, which makes it even more odd – yet not surprising – when a mid-credits scene teases a sequel that appeals to those very fans who will likely end up disappointed. As for me, like Eddie Brock for most of this movie, I’m still trying to figure things out.