Directed by:
Ruben FleischerCinematography:
Matthew LibatiqueComposer:
Ludwig GöranssonCast:
Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed, Jenny Slate, Woody Harrelson, Michelle Lee, Sope Aluko, Reid Scott, Scott Haze, Mac Brandt, Jane McNeill, Wayne Pére (more)VOD (4)
Plots(1)
Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) becomes the host for the alien symbiote Venom. As a journalist, Eddie has been trying to take down the notorious founder of the Life Foundation, genius Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed) – and that obsession ruined his career and his relationship with his girlfriend, Anne Weying (Michelle Williams). Upon investigating one of Drake’s experiments, the alien Venom merges with Eddie’s body, and he suddenly has incredible new superpowers, as well as the chance to do just about whatever he wants. Twisted, dark, unpredictable, and fueled by rage, Venom leaves Eddie wrestling to control dangerous abilities that he also finds empowering and intoxicating. As Eddie and Venom need each other to get what they’re looking for, they become more and more intertwined — where does Eddie end and Venom begin? (Sony Pictures)
(more)Videos (8)
Reviews (16)
Venom is getting a lot of hate so far, because critics on RottenTomatoes gave it an average rating of only 4.3, but on IMDB it's a rather satisfactory 7.0, so again it looks like the audience is mostly satisfied, only the critics are grumbling, but they always do when it's not a sophisticated drama, musical or cheap indie. Personally I wasn't expecting much, but Ruben Fleischer, director of Zombieland and Gangster Squad, has once again pleasantly surprised me. It's a shame it’s not R-rated, but it still looks pretty gritty and dark even without the blood. The opening half hour is slightly slower, but once Tom Hardy meets Venom (the scene in the lab is atmospherically horrific), the film becomes an action adrenaline ride to the end that doesn't let off the gas. Tom Hardy's performance is different than ever before and he's surprisingly very funny, and those who like the guy will like him even more after this. Venom's voice is also great and his looks are perfect. The action is great, even though it often takes place in the dark, it's still suspenseful, gritty enough and with decent cinematography. So my only criticisms are the mediocre villain and the rather underwhelming finale, but I had a great time and that's what comic-book movies are all about. Woody Harrelson as Carnage is going to be awesome. The theater was packed, I hope the film succeeds financially. 75%
()
Sometimes I'm happy to be wrong. And I haven't been so wrong for a long time as when I was proclaiming that Tom Hardy, with his certain type of grim expression, could in no way be a suitable Eddie Brock. But he is not only good in the role of a talkative stubborn person, he is excellent. When combined with the thankfully presented second voice in his head, the comedic potential of the resulting situations, and the imaginative action scenes, Venom is a surprisingly enjoyable bit of entertainment. I would obligatorily send the authors of reviews that qualitatively equate the efforts of the Sony stable with the level of such bombs from the beginning of the century as Elektra or The Punisher to go fetch the DVDs of the aforementioned films and refresh their memory.
()
Hardy would be funny even if he played a used roll of toilet paper. This is true even in a film that is written and composed as cumbersomely as Venom. Something is being prepared for a very long time and quite illogically, then everything is revealed and resolved very quickly. The disobedient film works thanks to Hardy's charm. But it is on pretty thin ice.
()
I would like to say that in places Tom Hardy acts as poorly as Ben Affleck in Daredevil or Edward Norton in The Incredible Hulk, but that wouldn't be true. His performance is much closer to Nicolas Cage in Ghost Rider. In places it’s so bad that it's fun. I really wasn't sure if Hardy was grimacing because it's supposed to be funny, or because it's supposed to be serious (but in doing so, it's just inadvertently funny). The film is not terrible, but it is no gem either. I didn't mind at all, for example, that it didn't splash blood and heads were not flying, I much prefer it when filmmakers work with hints. The action scenes were quite solid (especially the one with the tactical unit) and the villain was also decent. Worse, however, was that everything in Venom seemed terribly hurried, and when the “grand finale" came, I almost didn't recognize it.
()
Following on from conflicting mixed reviews, I didn’t expect much, and in the end, Venom is just sort of OK – which slightly irritates me because this film could have been much better. This is due in part to the limits of a PG-13 certificate, so scenes intended to be gory are either cut so that you can’t see the gore, or made in a ridiculous way of not showing blood (for example, a symbiote turns its limbs into sharp blades, but does not slice up their opponents; instead he throws them on the side). The plot is nothing new – it’s a relatively engaging origin story with, unfortunately, a completely generic and uninteresting villain played by Riz Ahmed. At times, the logic is lost, like when Venom tells Eddie that he was in his head and knows everything about him, but then five minutes later he asks who Anne is. Paradoxically, the film works best as a comedy with Tom Hardy humorously muttering and fooling around, which is a fail if Venom is intended as a darker film – because it isn’t.
()
Ads