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Venom Movie Non-Spoiler Review


JayC

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Obviously I am a bit late to the party with this review. I’ve been tied up covering a little event called New York Comic Con so did not get a chance to see the new Marvel Venom movie from Sony until last night.

I did catch a few of the early reviews for the film that compared it to the likes of Catwoman, so honestly I went in last night with pretty low expectations. To my surprise the movie wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. That is not to say this is a great movie, because it’s not. At best I would call it a mediocre movie with a number of spots that will make you laugh, mainly at the internal interactions between Eddie and Venom.

The overall story is so-so with a plot that involves a corporation called the “Life Foundation” led by a madman CEO named Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed) who manages to obtain sentient alien lifeforms known as Symbiotes that he wants to merge with human beings to support life off-planet.

Without going into too many plot details, Drake’s plans go wrong and one of the Symbiotes merges with a washed-out reporter named Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy). After that, you are treated to some good comedic moments and multiple action sequences including a wild motorcycle chase through San Francisco and a climactic battle with the villain.

The CGI is decent but a little iffy at times. Compared to modern Marvel Cinematic Universe films like Infinity War, the CGI is somewhat laughable at times.

Like I said, the saving grace is the interactions betweenn Eddie and Venom. I also recommend staying for a very cool after-credit scene.

With the weekend just about over, I am guessing most die-hard Venom fans already took the plunge to see the movie. If you haven’t, the movie has just enough to make it worth going - although I might recommend a cheaper matinee screening. If you aren’t a huge Venom fan or think this will reveal anything new about Tom Hardy’s Spider-Man, then I would say with wait for home rental or pass all together.

Grade C

 

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I was really on the fence about this movie. Was initially going catch it, but after the horrendous reviews I was gonna pass. However, word of mouth has been far more positive than the critics. Most of the complaints were about the story and supporting characters, the actual depiction of Venom seems to be receiving some praise. After hearing your take on it as well, I may check it out after all.

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In my opinion, as a general rule, if the critics hate it its gotta be good. The critics mostly hate anything that has a budget of over 50k and isn't starring some reputable actor doing an indie stint on his "time off". Sometimes a movie is just good fun, fantasy & fiction. Personally I've heard it's not half bad, even good if you're already a fan of the character. Pretty much in the same vein as the X-Men movies. Take them for what they're worth. Not every movie has to have some deep, meaningful, life affirming message. It's a cool comic book character doing crazy, impossible, fantastic things.

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1 hour ago, monron999 said:

In my opinion, as a general rule, if the critics hate it its gotta be good. The critics mostly hate anything that has a budget of over 50k and isn't starring some reputable actor doing an indie stint on his "time off". Sometimes a movie is just good fun, fantasy & fiction. Personally I've heard it's not half bad, even good if you're already a fan of the character. Pretty much in the same vein as the X-Men movies. Take them for what they're worth. Not every movie has to have some deep, meaningful, life affirming message. It's a cool comic book character doing crazy, impossible, fantastic things.

Sometimes that’s true, but Sony already left me with a bad memory with Topher Disgrace Venom. Plus, with movie prices today, sometimes it’s best to wait it out for Hulu or Netflix.

I’m all for fun movies but I don’t want to sit through crap either. When people (average movie goers) start comparing it’s overall value to Halle Berry’s Catwoman, that’s a legitimate red flag.

However, enough of friends have viewed it recently and their take is comparable to JC’s. Most of the issues seem typical of your standard comic movie. Confusing plot points, weak supporting characters, and a bland villain. What I’m happy to hear is that almost everyone is praising the Eddie/Venom component. Tom Hardy reportedly did a good job with the character. It’s even outperforming box office predictions, so it can’t be completely terrible. With all that taken into consideration, I may check it out when I can get a night without the kids.

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Not gonna lie I do want to see what Venom actually does in this movie. However, I’m hoping the movie does badly (is that bad?). That way Sony will go crawling back to Marvel and let them do Venom rightly with MCU Spidey Tom Holland. So, I don’t think I’ll watch it theaters like you said I’ll probably just wait for the rental. 

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Yeah... Tom Hardy is a great actor, but I think I'll wait until i can see this one for free. I agree- I hope they kind of disregard this, and do the symbiote story the right way, with Tom Holland, leading to Eddie Brock Venom eventually. The story of this film sounds very hokey and lame compared to Venom's comic origin. 

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15 minutes ago, Falls22 said:

Not gonna lie I do want to see what Venom actually does in this movie. However, I’m hoping the movie does badly (is that bad?). That way Sony will go crawling back to Marvel and let them do Venom rightly with MCU Spidey Tom Holland. So, I don’t think I’ll watch it theaters like you said I’ll probably just wait for the rental. 

Yea, I was really hoping Sony would have learned from their mistakes and at least partnered with Marvel Studios to pursue this movie. They had to know the longevity was going to be limited without MCU. Spider-Man is essential to Venom, just like Batman and Joker, Superman and Luthor. You can’t have them existing separately if you want a lasting franchise.

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30 minutes ago, Hogun said:

I kind of liked it. I mean it isn't as bad as people say it is. I didn't like it the first time. But after seeing it a second time, I liked it more. I do think there were too many forced gags in the movie and if the movie was R-Rated, it would have been better.

I heard the same about the R rating issue. It sounds like the studio had too much control and wanted to maintain the PG-13 rating for a wider audience. Should’ve followed the Deadpool formula. Movies meant to be R rated need to be R rated.

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11 hours ago, GojiBill said:

Yea, I was really hoping Sony would have learned from their mistakes and at least partnered with Marvel Studios to pursue this movie. They had to know the longevity was going to be limited without MCU. Spider-Man is essential to Venom, just like Batman and Joker, Superman and Luthor. You can’t have them existing separately if you want a lasting franchise.

Exactly! You can’t have Eddie Brocks Version of Venom without Spidey! 

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Well I saw it at the premiere and I was also with low expectations, however to my surprise I thought it was a very fun movie. Started slow and building up until Eddie gets Venom. It was very interesting from that part one. My wife is very nick picky about effects and CGI and though it was very executed for what it was.

To compare it to MCU is not fair at all. They proposed to do something and in the end they delivered. Would be a better movie if it was R rated with more gore. 

I watched Shartimus Prime movie review and I agree with him almost 100%. One of my biggest disappointments was that after seeing the movie I got the idea that the trailer showed too much and took away some of the surprises. 

Bottom line I would not dismiss this movie so easily neither brand it as rotten. People should go see for themselves and stop worrying about the critics. I was have in my mind that msot critics don't like movies, If they don't get it or something like that they will bash it. 

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Critics should never be listened to when it comes to comic book adapted material.  

 

I was surprised at how good Venom was.  Was it perfect?  No, few flicks are.  Did it work for what it was trying to do?  Yes, it did.  We all knew going into this it had nothing to do with Spidey...so to say that as a negative is not fair to the film.  I feel bad for Tom Hardy.  I think he did a really good job in the role of Eddy and would like to see him continue that in future movies...but alas, once Venom gets in the Marvel Studios reboot he is unlikely to come along for the ride.

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