Venom
Directed by: Ruben Fleischer
Written by: Scott Rosenberg & Jeff Pinkner and Kelly Marcel and Will Beall
Starring: Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed, Jenny Slate, Reid Scott, Scott Haze, Ron Cephas Jones, Peggy Lu
Action/Horror/Sci-Fi - 112 min Reviewed by Charlie Juhl on 5 Oct 2018
Written by: Scott Rosenberg & Jeff Pinkner and Kelly Marcel and Will Beall
Starring: Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed, Jenny Slate, Reid Scott, Scott Haze, Ron Cephas Jones, Peggy Lu
Action/Horror/Sci-Fi - 112 min Reviewed by Charlie Juhl on 5 Oct 2018
Ruben Fleischer’s Venom feels different from the superhero / comic book films swamping us for the past decade. The Marvel/Disney franchise, think Avengers, are more cheeky than serious. The DC world, think Batman, is more dour than amusing. Venom, brought to you by Sony, is part of the Spider-Man universe - remember the off-putting Spider-Man 3 where Topher Grace played him? Spider-Man has also been showing up as part of the Avengers, but this Venom does not appear to connect to that world - yes, this tangle is getting a bit dense to see through. Regardless of where this particular Venom slots into the larger comic book universe, it’s so far out there and distinct from its cousins, you can’t help but relish the originality in a genre where it can be a MENSA exercise to remember which hero did what to whom in which sequel.
If this was Fleischer’s intention, to ensure you do not confuse his central character with any others, he succeeds. First off, Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy, Dunkirk), is not quite a superhero; in fact, he’s such an asshole in the beginning, he not only loses his job and any prospects of employment, but his fiancé also kicks him to the curb. Brock enjoys the mystique of being San Francisco’s premier gumshoe investigative reporter. He’s on the side of the little guy, the downtrodden versus the city elite and those who seek to exploit the lower classes. Eddie has no problem reporting live from the landfill or springing serious accusations at all-powerful billionaires.
If this was Fleischer’s intention, to ensure you do not confuse his central character with any others, he succeeds. First off, Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy, Dunkirk), is not quite a superhero; in fact, he’s such an asshole in the beginning, he not only loses his job and any prospects of employment, but his fiancé also kicks him to the curb. Brock enjoys the mystique of being San Francisco’s premier gumshoe investigative reporter. He’s on the side of the little guy, the downtrodden versus the city elite and those who seek to exploit the lower classes. Eddie has no problem reporting live from the landfill or springing serious accusations at all-powerful billionaires.
The film’s resident evil genius, a thinly veiled composite of Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, with a splash of Steve Jobs, is Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story). Drake recognizes our planet is doomed because of global warming and over population; therefore, he funds a personal space program to find new places for humans to exist - it seems more altruistic than self-serving at first glance. However, when his latest manned expedition brings home some foreign creatures, referred to as symbiotes, Earth’s destruction may have just accelerated far faster than even the most extreme predictions. The symbiotes, which look like veiny silly putty, absorb into whatever organic matter is available and assume control of it, be it rabbit, dog, or human. It must be a match though - if the symbiote and host are incompatible, they will both die.
The script does not explain why one person can be a match and another cannot, and honestly, I don’t care. These symbiote alien things give themselves some awesome names though. Venom escapes Drake’s high-tech lab and stows away inside Eddie Brock. Regular Joe Eddie can now take out entire SWAT teams if necessary, can bite an entire head off a human being, and can even turn into a 10-foot tall, black alien being with the largest, jagged teeth you’ve ever seen. The action is more ho-hum than anything, that is not what holds our attention. It’s the back-and-forth, push and pull between Eddie and Venom. They can talk to each other. They argue. They negotiate. It’s quite witty and is by far Venom’s ace in the hole.
Another reason I’m backing Venom is the casting. Tom Hardy and Michelle Williams (The Greatest Showman), who plays Eddie’s ex-fiancé, Anne, are heavy-hitters. Williams has an obscenely short amount of screen time and it really doesn’t matter who plays Anne, but Hardy is a fascinating choice. Tom Hardy disappeared into his characters in The Revenant and Legend. His bold choices, which some claim are campy (think Bane in The Dark Knight Rises) are really deeply considered methods to approach a character a lesser actor would play more narrow and safe. Hardy’s over-the-top to some is a breath of fresh air to others. Venom isn’t an entirely new comic book movie specimen though.
While a motorcycle chase through San Francisco’s twisty and inclined streets is impressive, a gunfight with a few dozen cops is mundane. To launch us into the climax and throw in a plot grenade, the four credited writers have Venom do something they did not set up earlier, throwing a wrench in the character’s credibility and cementing an ‘anything can happen’ vibe which cheapens Fleischer’s experiment. And while Eddie Brock is a tragic hero who experiences a familiar fall due to hubris, we know deep down he’s a good guy; he gives money to the homeless. When he’s down and out, Eddie declares, “I’m done with all this saving my fellow man shit!” No more mister nice reporter. I wonder if an out of town alien will change his mind.
In an intimate foreshadowing conversation early on, Anne says anything worth having requires a sacrifice. I assume she was talking about time management or a paycheck, not giving over one’s physical vessel to an outsider who can manipulate you any way it so chooses. While the film has its fair share of eye rolls and gimmicks, its experimental atmosphere and desire to offer us just enough of a superhero ironic spin is enough to make Venom a decent addition to the club. You should take it in the same way you do exhibits at a Ripley’s Believe It or Not or the freak show tent at the traveling circus, with morbid amusement and cheap thrills.
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