'Venom'- Movie Review

You know, just because a movie is not all that great, it does not mean that it is not an enjoyable film. Venom is one of those movies that are pretty fun and enjoyable to watch, but it just is not as great as you would have hoped. Rather than being another subplot from a Spider-man story, Venom is its own story that still works out pretty well without their web headed foe. While watching, I almost forgot that he was a villain of one of the best superheroes of all time, which might not even be such a bad thing.

Although it is not your average "good guy versus bad guy" superhero film, it still does have some MCU-like jokes and tones throughout the film, which in my opinion was a little too much. That is one of the multiple problems with this film. The tone of the movie was very inconsistent, with some pretty dark and heavy lines and scenes every once in a while here, and then some cheesy MCU joke right after. On the other hand, at least the cheesy jokes made by the symbiote are not as that bad as the lines and actions of Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker when he first bonded with the symbiote. I would so much rather hear Tom Hardy make a cheesy joke with a Batman voice instead of watching Tobey Maguire walk down the street to some funky jazz while making a fool of himself.

The pacing was also inconsistent which is what, to me, makes a not-so-good film an even-less-good film that is hard to enjoy. The first half of the movie was pretty slow until Eddie discovered his relationship with Venom. Watching Eddie and the symbiote gradually strengthen their relationship was mostly my favourite part of the film. Most of them were action scenes, which seemed a little much as well, but overall were pretty enjoyable. After the slow first half and rising action, the climax seemed very much rushed, which was not as great as I would have hoped. It was just as climactic as beating one of the boss levels on a video game on easy mode.

I believe the performance from both Riz Ahmed and Tom Hardy were both excellent. The antagonist of the film was interesting, but I just wish we could have seen a little more interaction between him and Eddie Brock. I think that would have made the climax more tense and enjoyable. I enjoy superhero films where the villain is not your classic "evil dude trying to dominate the world" type of villain. I find the best villains are the type of characters that does not have the intentions of a villain. Drake strongly believes that what he is doing is right, but he just takes things to the extreme. He has the wrong things to achieve the right goal. I find these antagonists much more interesting.

Despite the inconsistent tone and pacing of the film, the acting and thrill is great and is enjoyable and worth watching.