Ruben Fleischer, known for movies such as Zombieland (2009), 30 Minutes or Less (2011) and Gangster Squad (2013), has been tasked with giving fans a look at one of Marvel’s more menacing and interesting characters. His work on Venom will prove to be tricky waters to navigate since the bar is substantially higher in terms of what moviegoers expect to get out of today’s comic book movies. Building a solid foundation with what’s been done, or rather redone, with its Spider-Man commodity, we will be approaching a pivotal moment of which Sony could either solidify or slip and die as a real player in the world of comic book cinema.
Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) is a reporter on his last career leg due to his inability to play nice with his interviewees. When an opportunity to “play nice” and interview the Leader of the Life Foundation Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed), goes awry, Eddie will ring bells that can’t be unrung. Due to Eddie going off script and asking questions about something that he shouldn’t even be privy to, he becomes professionally blacklisted and it also costs him his fiancée, Anne (Michelle Williams). It is in these lowest moments of Eddie’s life that he will be introduced to someTHING that will forever change him in ways that he couldn’t imagine. As this mysterious conspiracy grows, Eddie may be the only one that can put the genie back in the bottle. But he won’t be able to do it alone, and that’s where Venom comes in.
Tom Hardy is a great actor, I’ve seen it in roles such as Locke (2013) where he quite literally carried the movie by himself. Both he and his co-star, Michelle Williams have been nominated for Oscars. That said, what they give us is far from Academy Award material. It’s more Hardy than Williams. It would be unjust to pin the blame on Hardy. He only did what he was directed to do and that came from the interpretation of what his character Eddie Brock should be like. The second half of Venom is much more enjoyable and it’s mostly due to how Hardy is allowed to act. He just doesn’t do hapless very well.
I tried, I mean really tried, to look at Venom with a glass half-full perspective. I’m going to give director Ruben Fleischer the benefit of the doubt in this respect. This story is suited for, and would have been told, on a R-rated platform. Instead, once again, an individual (or individuals) presumably from Sony, made the “business decision” to release a much tamer version of Fleischer’s vision. And all in the pursuit of the mythical belief that PG-13 movies are a safer choice to recoup your cash. I’m saying that the decision to go this route is what may sink this franchise before it gets going. And the irony of all of this is that it’s going to another rated R new release that will have this film quickly earning its box office dud label while the majority of moviegoers will be “Star” gazing over something much more enjoyable.
Sony, you were given the keys to the kingdom this fall the Walt Disney conglomerate away on a second half of the year siesta. Somehow you missed a golden opportunity to build on your Spider-Verse cursed launching pad. While a portion of Venom was decently entertaining (emphasis of portion and decent), in no way is it worth the full price of admission. My 2.5 star rating is quite generous when reflecting on this. Similar to what Warner Bros. did with their Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) Ultimate Edition release, the wheels had better be turning to give fans an uncut look at what should have been when this is available for home viewing. I think I’m pretty clear on my recommendation to wait for a matinee or see it at home. If you should decide to go see it this weekend, remain seated through the credits as you’ll get a couple of extras.
