Okay, seriously: What was that? I still haven’t the faintest idea what I just saw. What was that? Was it a comedy? A romance? An action flick? I don’t know, and I’m pretty sure the movie doesn’t know either. To say Venom is a mess is something of an understatement, and there’s no doubt that your mileage will vary tremendously with this abomination. That said, did I have fun? Kind of. I think I was having fun at the movie’s expense, but fun is fun. Right?
Before you completely dismiss my opinion because of my admitted preconceived biases against the avalanche of comic book films we’ve seen in recent years, Venom has always been my favorite supervillain. And I actually quite enjoyed Tom Hardy’s erratic and unpredictable interpretation of the antihero Eddie Brock. He is the best thing about this very raw and messy film, as director Ruben Fleischer clearly gave Hardy total creative freedom in portraying the character. Fair warning: If you’re not a fan of Hardy’s performance, there is little else here to enjoy.
Riz Ahmed portrays a rather entertaining villain, Carlton Drake. And the great Michelle Williams, as Anne, is not given the screen time she deserves; however, I mention her because she’s played by Michelle Williams, and I love her.
You know what is bad, though? Every second of this movie when Eddie Brock/Venom aren’t together. Which is a lot. Specifically, for the first 45 minutes of this thing Ruben Fleischer and company rush through a meaningless backstory for Eddie Brock that features some hilariously bad montage sequences, dialogue and plot points. Honestly, this would’ve been a better film had we simply started with Eddie/Venom merging together, because after the first 45 minutes trying to be a cheesy romantic drama, the film veers hard right into a shockingly entertaining comedy. I was never really sure if I was laughing with the film or at the film, but I knew I was laughing throughout the second act.
The fun dissipates in the final act as Venom falls victim to some horrific CGI sequences that even give The Amazing Spider-Man 2 a run for its money (which makes even less sense considering the second act had a fairly enjoyable action sequence in it as Eddie learned what Venom could do on the fly while he mowed down baddies in true PG-13 fashion).
As Venom incomprehensibly moves from act to act, from sequence to sequence, the only thing that is certain is that “your guess is as good as mine.” And that Tom Hardy is nuts when he wants to be.
The post-credit scenes are terrible. The first introduces Woody Harrelson and a horrific wig in a shameless attempt at sequel-baiting that does anything but get me excited for Venom 2, and the second is a tease for Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse. So, literally nothing but long teasers for upcoming Sony/Marvel films.
This movie is unashamedly outlandish, and it all hinges on Hardy’s uniquely bizarre but polarizing performance. If you’re into it, there’s enough fun in this mess of a film to like in between the useless opening act and CGI-thon of the final act. But if not? Stay very far away.
