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A Review of Venom: Spider-Man’s Foe Gets his Own Spotlight

It made sense that a lot of people were skeptical when Sony announced that Venom would be getting his own movie. It made sense that people were confused when it was confirmed that Spider-Man would not be involved in the film’s plot whatsoever. The mixed reactions to the movie also make sense, seeing that the movie isn’t necessarily good, but it can still be entertaining. 2018’s Venom is a fun time for its overall goofiness and good action scenes, although it’s not a movie that you should watch for an engaging plot or thought-provoking moral themes which you would see in a superhero movie like The Dark Knight. This is Venom, and if you go into the theater with no expectations but an entertaining ride with awesome-looking monster aliens, you should exit the movie feeling satisfied.

Venom stars Tom Hardy, who plays both Eddie Brock, the title character’s human half, and voices Venom, the alien “parasite” who makes Brock his host. The first 30-40 minutes before the Symbiote and Eddie become one are entertaining enough, with some weird dialogue that isn’t really meant to be funny, but will likely still make you laugh. However, the movie truly begins when Brock is infected with the Symbiote and Venom becomes the full focus of the plot. Between the Symbiote being attached to Brock and Venom’s first full monstrous appearance, we get to see Eddie Brock do some very out of place things, including eating garbage and jumping into a lobster tank. That’s never something you’d expect to see in a Venom movie, but I found it ridiculous and funny. Again, I’m not sure these scenes are supposed to be comedic, but that’s what they were to me. It’s scenes like this that help the movie, since I was still entertained to some capacity while Venom wasn’t on screen.

The scenes with Venom were the peaks of the film, and the alien himself was the best character of the film. The fight scenes where Venom really gets to lash out are the highlights in an otherwise average superhero movie. Tom Hardy’s augmented Venom voice sounds menacing, and unlike his voice for Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, you can actually understand it. Even if Hardy’s Venom was unable to face off against Peter Parker in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this interpretation of the character was far superior to the one portrayed by Topher Grace when we last saw Venom on the big screen, in 2007’s Spider-Man 3.

When looking at Venom as a whole, though the movie is by no means a masterpiece, it does have some positive aspects. If you’re a fan of the character or you just want to sit down and watch a movie that offers action mixed with comic book superpowers, Venom may be worth your while. I wouldn’t recommend going all out and paying for an IMAX ticket to see this one, but it’s entertaining nonetheless.

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