“How Did You Do That?” “Apparently, I Have a Parasite.”
Venom wasn’t on my radar to watch when it first came out. Even when a sequel came out, I figured it was a comic book movie that wasn’t for me. However, a friend suggested we watch it, and I went along. While I’ve seen movies I’ve enjoyed more, this one was better than I expected.
The movie centers on Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy), an investigative reporter who will go to any length to get a story. At times, that includes crossing lines he shouldn’t cross, like taking advantage of his fiancee’s (Michelle Williams) work emails to get a jump on a story. When he tries to use that information to confront Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed) about his inhuman medical research, it goes wrong and Eddie loses his job and his fiancĂ©e.
However, Eddie was right, as he learns first hand one night in Carlton’s labor. That’s when Eddie accidently gets infected with an alien symbiote that begins to control him. And this might be Earth’s only chance against others who want to take it over. Will Eddie learn to work with the symbiote in time to save the planet?
I’ll admit, part of my problem with this is that it is a typical superhero origin movie. We know where things are going, and it goes there. I felt myself waiting for the typical plot points to happen so we could get to something new.
That’s not to say there weren’t a few surprises along the way. A plot twist or two I hadn’t expected threw me off, and there were plenty of fun scenes along the way.
I was surprised to find that the special effects didn’t really work for me. Since Venom, the creature that Eddie turns into, is all CGI, that was an important element to the film. It just looks fake. I know, I know, how is a space creature supposed to look? Still, it just didn’t look quite right to me.
But I did have fun along the way. There are some great action scenes and there is plenty of humor. Some of it was a bit grosser than I like, but I still laughed multiple times over the course of the movie.
I’m glad I watched Venom. While I’m not anxious to watch it again, I’m curious enough to watch the sequel at some point. This isn’t a rush out and watch movie, but if you are curious about the film, you’ll be glad you watched it.
I agree. I didn't blog about this movie since I focus mostly on cozy-feeling books and movies (and this one obviously isn't that...lol), but I watched it a couple of years ago and also rated it 3/5 on Letterboxd. It does have more gore than what I usually prefer, but as you, said, it was better than I thought it would be. :)
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