Venom review

Being as big a Spider-Man foe as he is you wouldn't expect Venom to get his own movie let alone one that isn't set inside the MCU. But 'Venom' has arrived and it is certainly a mixed bag. Tom Hardy stars as Eddie Brock a reporter who has a great life honestly. He's got a great job and he's engaged to be married to the love of his life. As he is given a new assignment by his bosses he is asked to report on a company named Life Foundation and it's chairman who by all accounts is not a very nice guy. Brock agrees and this is where his life completely spirals out of control as during the interview he accuses the movie's main antagonist Carlton Drake of a whole host of criminal activities leading to Eddie losing his job, his fiance and ultimately his entire life almost. The set up is fine but for the most part it just plods along until Eddie meets the symbiote about 30 minutes into the movie and it just takes off from there.

Tom Hardy's performance is completely off the wall. At times it's laughable to the point of being utterly terrible and at others he plays it brilliantly. The dynamic between him and the symbiote that later becomes known as Venom is the real highlight of the movie and worth the price of admission alone. But for the rest of the movie it's boring, bland at times and at other times very enjoyable as some of the set pieces especially the motorbike/car chase are truly adrenaline fuel. The rest of the cast are also fine but they don't offer anything in terms of major story or do much to advance the entire plot. The real star here is Eddie Brock and Venom who both infuse to become one and it's a joy to watch whenever the duo are merged on screen together.

While not terrible Venom does have some major pacing issues and small problems with it's overall narrative which is trying to be so many things at once instead of focusing on one thing and sticking with that. It tries to be a comedy, an action movie and at times a horror but it sort feels so forced for the most part. Speaking of forced however the final act is a complete mess and is so rushed you wouldn't believe it. Also the main villain who also bonds with a symbiote is borderline terrible and offers little to nothing in terms of real treat. Issues aside Venom is an interesting experience and something that I would recommend you check out. If anything just for Tom Hardy's bonkers performance.

★★★