Under the lens takes a deep look at films by focusing in on one or two particular areas of the picture that helped to define it for better or for worse. Spoilers will be included in this review.
Venom is the latest title from the Sony Spider-Man Universe, directed by Ruben Fleischer, and starring Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, and Riz Ahmed. The picture is a villain/antihero focused one, that takes the lens off Spider-Man and gives it to his frenemy Venom. Indeed there is not a mention of Peter Parker anywhere in the tale of Eddie Brock and his meeting of the symbiote named Venom.
Under The Lens: Humor and Tom Hardy
Humor: The story of Venom is somewhat dark and twisted, as the symbiote will often eat people and kills on a whim. However this picture seeks to showcase Venom and Eddie is a more sympathetic light, framing them as antiheroes fighting a greater evil. With this in mind, the film has some very funny moments, mostly involving Venoms’ weird sense of humor. The quirky humor is well placed and allows the body horror to not overwhelm the tone of the picture. Such as when the Venom symbiote takes over Eddie’s girlfriend and she then kisses him to transfer it back to him, afterward Eddie asks if the kiss means she has feelings for him again, and she responds “oh that was not my idea that was your friend Venoms”
Tom Hardy: Hardy clearly is having the time of his life playing this role, he gives 110% in every scene and it’s hard to tell at times if this is the best or worst performance of the year. It simply must be seen to be believed.
Highlights
The Venom vs SWAT scene was very well shot, the flashbangs and tear gas brought out the horror of Venom and showed what a scary character he can be.
It was refreshing the picture did not go out of its way to world build, instead slowly let you see the world they existed in, without sidelining the narrative,
The script is bad, and I mean at times cringy bad, it’s simple and formulaic and its cast deserved better, that being said the humor was well written.
Something to think about
What other Spider-Man universe characters would you like to see get origin films?
Conclusion
Venom is a fun yet dumb science fiction thriller, it doe not aim to be a lofty picture like Logan or Spider-Man, it seeks to entertain and leave you laughing with a smile on your face. In the end, I had a good time watching it, had the script been tighter the picture could have been a cult classic, yet its flaws are just glaring enough to render the film nothing more than a breezy fun time at the movies.
