Review: Venom

(Dir: Reuben Fleischer, 2018)

Venom is the closest any of the films in the modern Marvel sphere have gotten to horror (we're talking about the post Blade trilogy Marvel renaissance of course, and it should be noted that Venom is not part of their bigger universe). No-one could actually claim it as a horror film, but the first half intriguingly toys with dark atmospherics, allusions to zombie flicks and body horror. And of course there's the Venom character himself – an horrific looking alien, all razor sharp teeth, slithering skin, demonic bug eyes and that muscularly lolling tongue. He's superbly realised on screen; surely the stuff of nightmares for some. He takes a little while to appear but how he's revealed through his symbiosis with Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) is effective.

Hardy is a solid choice for Brock with his cross of muscularity, intelligence and ability to pull off the requisite physical comedy. Initially he's particularly engaging, almost playing against type as a happy, successful, erudite reporter. Although he all too quickly descends into the more commonly seen moody Hardy, but clearly has free reign to go a little crazy in the role. Once past the dark set-up (it's a shame it never follows through on the horror vibe!) it all regresses into standard overblown, action-heavy beats. The overarching plot is a rudimentary, by-the-numbers, got to stop a megalomaniac bad guy story. It serves it's purpose for getting Brock to Venom, but beyond that it distracts from the real, more interesting story of Brock and Venom becoming "we".

There are plenty of comedic overtones at play which offers some balance. This is particularly effective in the form of the Brock/Venom dialogue but it could've used even more of this. The way Venom's voice has been mixed into the overall sound design of the film is slightly jarring and disorientating, which was a smart decision. But on the other hand it's all frustratingly bloodless. We're in a post Deadpool / Logan world where the reality of the violence meted out by comic book characters is writ in crimson and riddled with body parts – so it is disappointing to not see that applied to such a dark character (he has a penchant for biting off people's heads after all!). It is however refreshing to see love interest Anne (Michelle Williams) be a strong character. She may be under-utilised but is thankfully not pushed into the old damsel in distress scenario. Whereas Riz Ahmed plays Carlton Drake with a manically predictable megalomania, but always feels too young, despite clearly trying to ape today's young billionaire tech CEO's.

Venom is an entertaining first attempt at the character (forgetting Spider-Man 3 of course) and there's certainly more to like than dislike. A sequel direction has been teased – let's just hope it pushes the character angle more than the OTT CGI action, whilst amping up the comedic dialogue and the bloody violence.