If you had a star like Michelle Williams in your film, wouldn’t you give her something to do? Director Ruben Fleischer, more interested in the alien Symbiote who calls itself Venom, reduces Michelle Williams’s role to “girlfriend” of Tom Hardy. Tom Hardy plays the edgy San Francisco investigative reporter, Eddie Brock, who is obsessed with telling the Story. When Brock antagonizes billionaire industrialist Carlton Drake (Aiz Ahmed)–a darker shade of Elon Musk–his TV network fires him. Brock is just scraping by when one of Carlton Drake’s scientists, Dr. Skirth (Jenny Slate), tells him that Drake is feeding people to alien organisms. Dr. Kirth smuggles Brock into the secret lab where the aliens are being kept and…Brock gets infected. And dangerous.
Carlton Drake wants his alien returned so he sends a small army to bring Brock and the Symbiote back. Plenty of havoc, chases, and violence result. Venom isn’t in the league of The Avengers: Infinity War but Tom Hardy and Michelle Williams do their best to make this movie entertaining. GRADE: B-
I was confused by the tv ads for this, and your review makes it clear about what is going on. Not sure it’s for me, though I like Tom Hardy. He’s played lots of different and interesting roles
Maggie, Tom Hardy and Michelle Williams are top-flight actors in my book. I wish the script to VENOM was better.
The reviews have not been very good. I’ll probably see it anyway. Not much else opening this weekend other than this and A Star is Born which I don’t have much interest in although it has to be better than the Streisand version.
Steve, you’ll like VENOM. It’s okay. I’m hoping the next VENOM movie improves on this one.
I’m surprised this wasn’t released in the summer. No thanks.
Jeff, VENOM is a darker MARVEL movie than audiences are used to. Releasing it around Halloween might have been a better idea.
Can’t imagine why you went to see this, I doubt you’re the target audience for it. As for Williams, if that’s her role and she as an actress accepted it, I guess you should too.
Rick, I heard an interview with Michelle Williams where she admitted that she was accepting more “commercial” roles instead of the independent film roles she’s known for. Williams performs her role as girlfriend in VENOM. But, if I was the Director and had a wonderful actress like Michelle Williams in my movie, I’d provide her a more challenging role. Almost any 30-something actress could have performed as Tom Hardy’s girlfriend without breaking a sweat.
According to Tom Hardy they cut 40 minutes out of the finished film. They could be scenes that allow more character development.
Steve, hopefully that missing footage will show up on the Blu-ray six months from now.
George, my son liked VENOM and my daughter not so much, so I’ll probably be the decider when I watch it later this week.
Prashant, VENOM is setting up the sequel which should be a lot more fun.