(symbiote liquefying)
- We are Venom.
- [Clint] One of Spider-Man's greatest foes
hits the screen as an anti-hero in Venom,
but you may want to brace yourself.
The web-slinger himself is nowhere to be found,
and the best description of Venom as a movie
may come from the character itself,
an armless, legless faceless thing
rolling down the street--
- Like a turd in the wind.
(dramatic music)
(aggressive grunting)
(man screaming)
- [Clint] In this Ruben Fleischer-directed monstrosity,
the slimy alien symbiotes that are brought to Earth
must merge with a perfectly-matched host
in order to survive.
Otherwise, the human body rejects them,
killing the host and potentially the symbiote itself.
(anguished screaming)
Sadly, Venom similarly rejects everything
that might've turned into a bad-ass joyride
in the vein of Deadpool or Guardians of the Galaxy.
The result is a muddled hodge-podge
that isn't sure whether it wants to be comedic
or take its troubled protagonist way too seriously.
- You recruit the most vulnerable
for tests that end up killing people.
- [Clint] The script and direction
yank the actors from overwrought expository scenes
to overproduced action scenes
with no sense of pacing or tone.
That's a surprising misstep
considering Fleischer's strong use of both
in the horror comedy Zombieland.
On paper, Tom Hardy is the ideal Eddie Brock,
confidently embodying the fluid physicality
and jittery paranoia of a man
being consumed by sentient space goo.
Exposure to his oozing extraterrestrial soulmate
imbues Eddie with enhanced strength and resilience,
but also sticks him with a chatty copilot with bad teeth,
an insatiable appetite for live prey and or tater tots,
and a surreal desire to fix Eddie's love life.
- You're not so bad yourself, champ.
- [Clint] Although he's saddled
with some of the clunkiest superhero dialogue
since Halle Berry's Catwoman
in both his human and monster forms,
Hardy at least manages to deliver
the movie's few intentional moments of humor
as Eddie comes to grips with his talkative body snatcher.
- [Venom] Let's bite all their heads off
and pile up them up in the corner.
- Why would we do that?
- [Clint] The first act is a snooze,
but things liven up once Venom shows up
and Eddie begins exhibiting some very strange symptoms.
These occasional bright spots
are largely due to Hardy's interplay with, well, Hardy.
This is the second time he's starred opposite himself
following 2015 underwritten but ambitious Legend,
and it's here that he proves himself
as an underused talent when it comes to physical comedy.
(stool breaking) (anguished groaning)
His vocal performance as Venom
is an effective blend of menace
and obsessive affection for his host,
so much so that it's frustrating to imagine
what kind of movie we might've gotten
if the creative direction matched
Hardy's obvious passion for the character.
- I don't know.
(dramatic music)
- [Clint] Without the benefit of a snarky alien companion,
the rest of the cast is adrift.
Riz Ahmed is serviceable
as generic corporate overlord Carlton Drake,
and though Michelle Williams is given more to do
than your typical comic book movie love interest,
there's not much reason to root for Eddie and Anne,
especially since they share zero chemistry.
- Ow, really?
- [Clint] There's something almost '90s
about the tone of Venom,
which relies on adolescent humor and gross-out gags
in a way that doesn't really gel
with the intensity of Hardy's performance.
(anguished screaming)
It shares more DNA with the super duds of the Aughts
where the storytelling approach is distinctly by the numbers
and the visual effects have a noticeable green screen vibe.
(monstrous growling) (man grunting)
(dramatic music) (man screaming)
Whether or not you know this character from the comics,
the most disappointing part of Venom
is all of its untapped potential.
Tom Hardy's committed performance
can't overcome a painful script and indecisive direction,
resulting in a film with a personality
that's as split as its titular character.
There are occasional moments of brilliance
in the dynamic between Eddie and the symbiote
that give a hint of what Venom could've been
in steadier hands,
but that only makes the rest of it harder to watch.
Does anyone have the antidote?
- So many slugs, so little time.
- [Clint] Thanks for watching.
For more reviews, check out what we thought
of Halloween and The Predator,
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