Tom Hardy plays investigative journalist Eddie Brock who merges with the alien symbiote Venom in this late summer blockbuster. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Digital Productions Inc.
By Salvador Castillo
I was not expecting “Venom” to exceed my expectations, but it did.
Story-wise, the narrative is intriguing and exciting. It starts with Eddie, an investigative journalist, and his brash decision to drive an interview with the head of a corporation in the wrong direction, costing him his career and his marriage.
Then, six months later, he goes back to try and expose the same corporation, but bonds with Venom, a symbiote instead. The duo has to work together to try to stop a symbiote, which is a fictional species of inorganic, amorphous extraterrestrials. That mid-credit scene brought pure excitement to me and the rest of the audience.
The guest of honor is Venom, and he was done justice in this film. While he does heroic deeds, he does so because he wants to survive, representing his anti-heroic nature. Well, that and him eating people’s heads throughout the film.
An interesting point to mention is that the film managed to convey how brutal Venom can be with a PG-13 rating and the special effects hold up perfectly with the concept of symbiotes.
The casting was on point. Tom Hardy has experience playing comic book characters, seeing how he played the main villain, Bane, in “The Dark Knight Rises,” and he plays Eddie Brock in a way that’s faithful to his comic book origins and to this updated take.
Riz Ahmed’s portrayal of Carlton Drake is also spot-on. You can see Ahmed’s character wants to do good, but you see his scientific wonder and ambition get the better of him –– and I love that.
Hardy’s physical performance toward the start of his relationship with Venom portrays him as an unwilling and surprised victim of the symbiote’s survival instinct. His movements are jerky and inelegant, as if his body wasn’t really his own.
One undeniable detriment to the film is just how rushed Venom’s character development feels. Toward the end of the film, he has completely changed his attitude about Earth and its people. Although this is feasible, it probably wouldn’t happen in the span of a two-hour movie.
However, it might be possible to redeem this in the sequels. Hardy announced over the summer that he signed on for two more films in the “Venom” franchise.
Don’t listen to the critics who claim this film was a mess. I’d suggest going to see it before deciding whether to side with them or not. All I can say with certainty is that I truly enjoyed this film, and I’m looking forward to its sequels.
4/ 5 stars
