Written by: Devin Burrow
SONY’s spider-verse entry “Venom” earned $80 million its opening weekend, breaking the box office record for an October opening. This comes as a surprise as some of SONY’s previous entries into the spider-man universe were financial flops. Many critics and fans have criticized the company for straying too far from the comics. But times have changed.
Venom begins by introducing the relatable and downward-spiraling Eddie Brock. Brock is a reporter who is struggling after he commits a mistake that costs him his job and girlfriend. Meanwhile, a ship transporting several astronauts crash lands in Malaysia. This introduces us to the infamous “Symbiotes.” A corrupt company called “The Life Foundation” captures these alien beings. Brock decides to investigate the company’s ventures because of a tip he receives from a staff member. Venom, who possesses Brock, is a loser symbiote who wants to help the human race survive an invasion. Brock and Venom face off against Carlton Drake, who is the CEO of “The Life Foundation” and is also possessed by a symbiote called Riot.
Venom fails in several key points as a movie. The first distracting error is the low amount of blood and gore that the film seemed to need. For an Alien who bites people’s heads off, there are only 2 moments of blood. And those aren’t even from one of those horrific sounding scenes. Most of this is due to the movie trying to reach the PG-13 rating that caters to younger audiences. The movie also couldn’t connect to the Disney Marvel cinematic Universe with a “R” rating. There was also a scene that seemed to last forever. The Motorcycle chase scene. Another problem that stuck out to me was a storyline error. In the first act of the movie, Brock commits a serious offense to his girlfriend and job. We never see him redeem himself from this mistake. Brock’s ex-girlfriend kisses him while she is in a committed relationship. Why? Because Brock is Venom? This plot moment, meant to be significant, falls short.
Although these mistakes were noticeable, they were minor. The movie does succeed in bringing a refreshing taste to Eddie Brock/Venom. Venom was a good mix of funny and scary. Venom is 8 feet tall and bulky, with a huge mouth and swirling tongue. The character was able to add a few quips to the movie that made me laugh out loud. The action sequences never made me feel bored and the acting was well done. Tom Hardy, playing Eddie Brock, gives a very believable performance as a New York reporter. And his love interest, played by Michelle Williams, was interesting and brave. I usually can’t stand her performances as I find them bland.
Venom is good enough to make me hold my built up urine until after the post credits scenes and it still leaves me wanting more. I want more venom scenes, I want more funny moments and I want more butter on my popcorn. I give Venom a B+.
Venom was in theaters and will be out soon.
Devin is a Junior Communications, Media and Culture Major with a minor in Worship Arts at Bryan College. Devin Serves as an R.A. and loves food, entertainment and politics.
