Tom Hardy is the enigmatic, complex Marvel character Venom in this Spider-Man spin-off co-starring Michelle Williams and Riz Ahmed (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story).
While investigating Carlton Drake (Ahmed), the notorious and brilliant founder of the Life Foundation, journalist Eddie Brock’s (Hardy) body merges with the alien Venom, leaving him with superhuman strength. Fueled by rage, Venom tries to control the new and dangerous abilities that Eddie finds so intoxicating.
Directed by Ruben Fleischer (‘Zombieland’, ‘Gangster Squad’, ’30 Minutes or Less’)
Starring Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed, Jenny Slate, Reid Scott, Woody Harrelson, Michelle Lee, Scott Haze
Written by Jeff Pinkner, Scott Rosenberg, Kelly Marcel, Will Beall
In cinemas NOW
So, what’d we think?
Tauted as a dark and twisted addition to the Marvel world, Venom comes out of the gate slow but picks up its pace around the halfway mark where things get surprisingly weird and funny. It’s a choppy mix of comedy, sci-fi and action that never really seems to fit together yet somehow works enough to pull together an entertaining watch.
The film opens with a spaceship crash landing in Malaysia, carrying a now deceased crew and an alien ooze that resembles Flubber after a week-long bender. We cut to San Francisco where we meet Eddie Brock (Hardy), an investigative reporter whose hard hitting style has landed him a small following and eventually culminates in him getting fired after he goes in too hard on local hi-tech billionaire and overall baddie Carlton Drake (Ahmed). A downward spiral sees him lose his fiancé (Williams), his house, his cat and what looks like his ability to shower.
Cut to a few months later when a series of events leads Eddie to come face-to-face with one of the alien symbiotes (as branded by Drake) and shit. gets. real. Merging seamlessly into the DNA of Eddie, the alien, who reveals himself to be named Venom, possesses the ability to take over Eddie’s body, healing him when he is injured and transforming him into this grotesque monster. It’s pretty awesome.
Sharing a telepathic link, the film takes on a comedic tone as a sarcastic Venom and a charming Eddie battle internally with their opposing desires and responses to certain situations. A few action sequences pad out the rest of the film and surprisingly there are a few tender moments between Venom and Eddie that give the audience bromance vibes.
The film also seems to have this underlying message about how we as humans act as parasites for the earth, taking more and more each day and slowly killing the planet without ever giving back. It’s deep. It’s out of place. Maybe it’s just me but a Marvel movie seems like a strange place to remind us about how shitty we are to mother nature.
But, should you see it?
If you love Tom Hardy, sci-fi and just want to have a laugh then grab a big bucket of popcorn and head to the movies. While a little slow to start with, the film eventually finds its legs to keep you thoroughly entertained and wondering where you can get your own alien BFF.
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Written by Monique Renee
Usually barefoot and deep in wanderlust mode, Mon loves binging Netflix, cuddling babies and stalking through Instagram looking for boho decor inspo and hotties with man buns. You’ll usually find her on holiday, planning a holiday or thinking about holidays.
Favourite Instagram to follow: @hotdudesreading
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