Venom
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Nicflix
Marvel’s “Venom” has gotten a lot of mixed reviews since its release, and I’d like to add my two cents to the mix. I DO think we should recognize my two cents are LAW because you respect me as a movie critic … or at least tolerate me as a peer. Either way, this article is all you need to read before watching “Venom” and I don’t believe in spoilers so proceed with zero caution!
My two cents: Is “Venom” the hottest movie to come out this year? Absolutely not. Is it the best movie to come out this month? Still no … BUT it is dope.
The coolest thing about “Venom” is that it’s Marvel’s first ever antihero movie! If you’re not sure what an antihero is, think “Deadpool” and how he’s not really a good guy but he has relatively good intentions or at the very least he’s only mean to bad guys. “Venom” has no influence over the Marvel Universe, similar to how “Deadpool” doesn’t affect the X-men Universe.
You might notice that Marvel steps away from Venom’s original backstory from the comics, removing the Spider-man story arc completely which might have taken away from some of the action sequences because without the Spider-man-like powers, Venom ended up being more Hulk-y—just jumping around and smashing people. The trailers had me expecting a lot more people-eating, but instead they took a more light-hearted approach to an otherwise gruesome story, only eating like three heads—weird flex, but okay.
Marvel also replaced the inner dialogue of Eddie Brock with the actual voice and consciousness of the symbiote, Venom and while some characters were overdeveloped for the insignificant role they ended up playing or just poorly cast, Tom Hardy was the perfect choice, playing both Eddie Brock AND the voice of Venom. His talent brought both characters to life and convinced the audience that his body was actually out of his control and he was conversing with a voice in his head when in reality, he was just an actor flailing around and shouting at nothing. THAT takes skill.
The fresh take on the relationship between Eddie Brock and Venom had less of a parasite-host vibe and felt more like they were just “bros” which allowed both characters to develop together—Eddie as the relatable “loser” and Venom as the creepy, funny and always hungry wingman we all wish we had.
-Your Friendly Neighborhood Movie Guy
Disclaimer: I’d spend $5 or less on this movie, but it’s definitely worth a watch and make sure you wait for BOTH end credit scenes.
Nicholas Morrison is a senior studying graphic design.