Warning: There are spoilers for "Venom" ahead.
I recently went and saw "Venom" in theaters. I quite enjoyed the movie. Tom Hardy was the perfect fit for the role and did an amazing job. However, it seems as though not everyone was a fan. The movie received a score of 30 percent "fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes.
I thought the storyline held together, the humor was well used and the characters were perfect. Overall, it certainly felt like your average origin movie — one that leaves you waiting for more. I'll admit, the storyline is a bit cliché, but then again, isn't every origin story? It still held its own and made it work.
The movie centers around Eddie Brock, an investigative journalist who ends up accidentally bonding with a symbiote — aka Venom. The story then follows his fight with this life form that has become a part of him.
The story begins with a space exploration by the Life Foundation. We find out that they are bringing life forms back from their trips to space. Their ship, however, explodes. One of the capsules containing the life form gets lost, while the rest they manage to recover.
We learn more about the life forms, which they call symbiotes. The goal is to get them to bond with humans, as they need an oxygen-breathing host to survive. However, the human's body often rejects the bond, unable to handle it, and in turn, dying.
Eddie Brock goes in search of answers after being approached by Dora Skirth, one of the scientists from the Life Foundation. After breaking the glass and trying to free a homeless lady he knows, the symbiote that was trying to bond with her moves onto him. Eddie struggles for a while, trying to figure out what is inside of him and how it works, and also just trying to stay alive. He receives some help from his former fiance, Anne Weying, and her current boyfriend, Dr. Dan Lewis.
After some more battles, as Eddie is chased by CEO Carlton Drake and his men, we reach the final scene. Eddie learns that a symbiote named Riot has bonded with Drake. He was the one that was lost at the beginning and has made his way there by jumping from body to body. Venom, having grown to understand and enjoy human life through Eddie, warns him that they must stop Riot from bringing more symbiotes to earth — as they would devour and destroy the human race.
The fight had me anxious, rooting for Venom and hoping for the best. He manages to blow up Riot, seemingly dying along with him as he protects Eddie from the fire. But a little while later, while Eddie is talking with Anne, we learn that Venom is alive and still bonded to Eddie.
As Eddie leaves, he talks to Venom. He tells him that if he is going to stick around, he can't just kill and bites the heads off people — that they have to work together and the only time he is allowed to fight is when it comes to bad guys, which they encounter right after at a corner store where a man is robbing the place.
The post-credit scene shows Eddie visiting a jail, having returned to the journalism field, to interview serial killer Cletus Kasady. It ends before we get any information. However, I looked it up and learned that he is the host of a symbiote called Carnage.
It is strange to me that a lot of people didn't enjoy the film. Richard Roeper wrote an article on the film for the Chicago Sun-Times, saying it was a, "A tone-deaf, uneven and maddeningly dumb clunker that never settles on an identity, all the way to the closing credits."
Another article, written by Michael Rougeau for Gamespot, said, "'Venom' has all the ingredients of a decent superhero movie — 10 or 15 years ago. With spotty CGI, poorly drawn characters, tonal inconsistency including forced "edginess" and awkward humor, sidelined female characters and even cringeworthy licensed musical cues, it feels like a relic from the distant, pre-Marvel Cinematic Universe past." This is followed by a chart that lists off what he feels are the good and bad aspects of the movie.
I don't find myself agreeing with either review, but maybe I'm just easier to please. I don't overanalyze movies as much as others probably do. I think my only problem was thinking about Spider-Man. I love Venom bonded to Eddie, so it's hard for me to picture the transition and direction they would take if and when they brought in Spider-Man.
For me, I believe that "Venom" held its own and lived up to expectations. Despite the negative reviews, it wormed its way into my heart. Luckily, I am not alone, as there were still a decent amount of people who enjoyed the movie.
Commonsensemedia.org had some good reviews from parents. One stated, "Venom is a great comic adaptation. I really like what they did with the character and the story. I thought the film was done well. The special effects are pretty good. I thought the characters were cast well, and overall I just enjoyed it."
Another positive reviewer wrote, "Absolutely AMAZING! Best action, actors, humor and stunning CGI! A successful movie without the use of sexual scenes." I liked this because it is true. I feel like a lot of movies nowadays usually have a sex component to them. This movie had none. There was one scene where it was implied, but that was it.
I certainly recommend seeing the movie if you already haven't. Even if you've read the bad reviews, I believe in still giving things a chance. You never know how you will end up feeling!
