This highly anticipated action sci-fi movie by Marvel was released two weeks ago and I’m stoked! It’s been a minute since my last movie review and like I anticipated in Since We’ll Soon be Having Coffee.

Adjusting to Uni-Life has been incredibly tough and I’ll tell you all about that in subsequent posts. I don’t see movies as often as I used to, but on this occasion, I’d had a tough day and desperately needed a break. What better way to escape life than to plunge into an alternate reality? Movie Night!

Venom is a Marvel comic adaptation of a dark anti-hero series. If you read the comic or played the video game like I did, you already know who I’m talking about. If you haven’t, do the needful below and let’s talk!

Reporter Eddie Brock stalks his fiancé’s email and attempts to expose Carlton Drake, a wealthy and influential scientist suspected of unethical practices. While snooping around Drake’s lab on a tip-off, Venom, a slithery alien life-form enters Eddie’s body, talking in his head and making him unrealistically strong. They both struggle for power over Eddie’s body and become unintentional allies fighting to save the planet.

Venom is inquisitive, persuasive and often sardonic, making it one of those movies you have to dial into the dialogue to get the best of.

Venom: “Eyes, Lungs, Pancreas…so many snacks, so little time…

Even though the idea of the anti-superhero isn’t new, the plot is interesting and the character is unique compared to the life-saving, cape-wearing heroes Marvel is famous for. This movie doesn’t stand a chance compared to Black Panther or Avengers: Infinity Wars but it is still very entertaining.

If you love fast-fight scenes and near misses, this movie is for you. There’s fighting with goons, fighting with policemen and fighting with the other symbiote, Riot. It’s intense. Much of the fighting was in the dark so I’ll admit that it did get a bit confusing like “Who is beating who?” “Who is winning?”.

Next, Edward Thomas Hardy is such a versatile actor even though his performance here isn’t his most noteworthy. This British bloke has played major roles alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in Inception and in The Revenant, and his role with Charlize Theron in Mad Max: Fury Road. However, he is best known for his work as Bane; the villain in the Batman movie Dark Knight Rises. Casting Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock/Venom was perfect. Tom is comfortable playing the bad guy and even when he isn’t, the character is often dangerous, melancholic and dark.

Tom Hardy’s big break was his role in Inception

Tom Hardy in Mad Max: Fury Road

Bane in the Batman movie Dark Knight Rises

Despite almost always looking unkempt; sweaty, beaten and dusty in his roles, I am enamoured by his tattoos and voice. His hoarse voice is E.V.E.R.Ything, number 2 only to Vin Diesel but, I digress.

My misgiving was, again like in Avenger: Infinity Wars, not a drop of blood anywhere. How do you eat off a man’s head and I don’t see it? No crunching sound-effects and not a drop of blood splashed on the camera lenses? How do you take a large sword through your chest and I can’t see any blood pooling? In a bid to appeal to a larger audience including children the movie felt significantly less realistic for me.

Despite the lack of blood, it’s not a great movie for kids, not just because Venom is hideous and menacing and guaranteed to cause nightmares with those glowing eyes and sharp fangs, but because there is quite a lot of violence and loads of swearing. Much like Deadpool, strong language like bullshit, fuck, shit and pussy are used often and there are a lot of guns, shooting and fighting. This movie pushes the PG-14 limits and left me feeling like Marvel was trying so hard to make money; targetting everyone and no one and leaving us all half-full so to speak. I feel like this movie could have been so much more if it were better targeted.

I’m a huge fan of movie soundtracks and Eminem, but I found this to be noisy and somewhat out of sync. Maybe it’s just me. Let me know what you think in the comment section.

Related: Mission Impossible – Fallout

As you’d expect, I was curious about who did the voice of Venom. Turns out Tom Hardy did. Obviously, his voice was edited to be so much more throaty but when it comes down to it, Tom was really talking to himself the whole time. Genius, insane and comical when you give it some thought.

Summarily, I feel like there’s a Venom in all of us, chatty and bursting with mischievous ideas, only lacking super-human abilities and hopefully a taste for human flesh. Critics have given this movie a bad rap but it is worth watching. It’s a great movie to see alone and freshly heart-broken, or with a significant other, with friends or perhaps family.

Will I see this movie again? Definitely! I’ve seen it twice already and you definitely should.

P:S Don’t hurry off and miss the post-credit scene. It alludes to a sequel with Woody Harrelson as Carnage and I’m here for it. Is there a Venom Snapchat filter yet? I’m dying to have my own symbiote!

Have you seen Venom? Let me know what you think in the comments!
As always, thank you for reading!
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