Director: Ruben Fleischer
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Runtime: 112 Minutes
Main Cast: Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed, Jenny Slate, Scott Haze, Reid Scott, Woody Harrelson, Peggy Lu, Sope Aluko, Wayne Pére
Plot: Eddie Brock, a once-famed reporter loses everything after trying to reveal the truth behind the ethically immoral work of Dr. Carlton Drake. After acquiring the powers of a symbiote – Eddie has to work with Venom in order to make things right.
My Thoughts: I almost skipped seeing this movie, and that would have been a huge mistake! See, when Suicide Squad came out, the critics hated it, but audiences loved it (apparently?). The same happened with Batman V Superman. I wasn’t impressed with either, and so when Venom received the same verdict, I got put off. Thank you, Twitter though, because I left it to a vote and you guys did not disappoint!
I’m reasonably well-versed in comics and superheroes but knew nothing about Venom. I haven’t even seen Spider-Man 3 so I literally knew nothing, so as far as comic-accuracy is concerned, I can’t comment. I also refuse to check this with my husband after he mocked me for pronouncing symbiote wrong – he’s such a nerd.
Anyway – I had such a fun time at the cinema seeing this. Yes, it takes far too long to get going, yes, the plot has several issues and contradicts itself. But! The action is wild, the humor is thick and fast when it finally arrives, and it was memorable for all the right reasons, and I absolutely cannot wait to see it again! Can Tom Hardy please do more lighter roles like this, please?
The team responsible for putting the trailer together for Venom need firing. They chose a scene to showcase the humorous side of the movie which is right at the very end, and without getting to know Venom it came across so weird and awkward, but when you see the movie and you have the context – it works! Thankfully more and more movie fans seem to be ignoring the critics, so fingers crossed we’ll be getting a sequel.
Best Bit: It’s so hard to pick one because most of the Venom moments are hilarious. I think my personal favorite is Venom daring Eddie to jump out of the building, and then calling him a pussy for opting for the elevator instead. Also lobsters.
Worst Bit: The chicken. The eating of the chicken. I’ve dealt with enough sickness bugs over the last few weeks to stomach that scene. I’m genuinely feeling quite ill even thinking about it.
Fun Trivia: Tom Hardy’s son Louis Thomas Hardy is a fan of Venom, and Hardy took the role to please him: “I wanted to do something my son could watch. So I did something where I bite people’s heads off.” Louis also guided his father on how to appropriately portray Brock/Venom, since Hardy didn’t know the character very well.
My Rating: 4 out of 5 turds in the wind!
Often Off Topic 
Nice write-up. I wish I left Venom feeling as happy with it. I love its edge and Hardy does a good job. But I found myself a bit bored with the action and with the villain. His whole purpose for doing what he was doing was just a bunch of mumbo-jumbo and I wanted him to move along and get Hardy back on the strength.
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I definitely get where you’re coming from Keith. My score is definitely reflective of the fact I thought I was walking into a disaster, which it definitely wasn’t!
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I think the critics have been a bit harsh but I didn’t enjoy this movie like you did. It had it’s moments but overall it felt weak. I wouldn’t mind seeing a sequel, though, especially because I like the symbiotes in the comics. Great review!
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I definitely get where you’re coming from Drew! It was clear from the trailers it wasn’t going to be a huge hit, I think.
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Love the turd ratings! I don’t know the first thing about comic Venom either but Tom Hardy and their back and forth completely sold me on this one. Glad you liked it.
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That’s what I love about Marvel movies in general, I don’t feel like knowing all there is about the characters is a requisite to enjoying the movie 🙂
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Great review! I haven’t watched this yet myself but I plan to. It looks fun.
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I reeeeeally hope you enjoy it when you do – there’s a real mix of opinions out there 🙂
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Hardy’s work here is my favorite performance so far. The way he was sounding like a scared girl in so many scenes was freaking hilarious!
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100% agree! There’s just something about grown men screaming like girls…Hardy and of course not forgetting Gosling in The Nice Guys!
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Glad you enjoyed!
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Definitely enjoyed it more than I thought I would 🙂
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Great review—I haven’t seen it yet but I can’t wait!
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I really hope you enjoy it when you do!
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Thank you for your review! A positive one, for a change… in fact, the more I read about this movie, the more I’m confused! X–D
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It’s been a bit of a mixed bag review wise! Don’t get me wrong, Venom isn’t a masterpiece at all. But it’s an enjoyable 2 hours, and sometimes that’s all you need from a movie 🙂
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I get that it’s not a masterpiece, of course, but at least you got something positive and it seems from your review that there’s entertainment value in it! :–)
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Glad you had fun with this one, Allie. It was just a TAD too damn stupid for me, though that said, I feel had I seen this like 10 years ago or something, I woulda been all about this movie, lol. Guess I’m starting to finally show my age a little. 😛
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That’s such a good point though you know. Our tastes really do change as time goes on!
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Great review! I had fun with the movie too. Not great, but fun.
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I think you’ve summed it up perfectly 🙂
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Awesome review! I almost missed this movie too, but gave it a chance and didn’t regret it. So much fun! Hardy was awesome!
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It was just good, simple, fun – and loads better than I expected!
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