TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
'Venom': A CGI-filled hit and miss
Venom is an entertaining watch with plenty of light moments between Brock and Venom, but die-hard fans may be disappointed.
Change Size
A still from 'Venom' (JP/Handout/Sony Pictures)
Eddie Brock and Venom take center stage in Venom, a superhero action movie directed by Ruben Fleischer.
The life of Eddie Brock, played by Oscar nominee Tom Hardy, seems to be perfect with a celebrity status from his shining career as an investigative journalist. His “perfect” life is accompanied by a loving, blonde and successful fiancé, Anne Weying, played by Michelle Williams.
Those who still remember Eddie Brock as a preppy-looking journalist who plagiarized Peter Parker’s works in the Spider-Man movies with Tobey Maguire may find Hardy’s version more appealing. Brock is portrayed in Venom as a rather reckless personality but undoubtedly someone with integrity.
A dramatic turn of events places Brock on a downward trajectory in life. He gets dumped by Anne and loses his job after trying to expose science genius and billionaire entrepreneur Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed) for conducting experiments on humans.
In his mission to find an alternative planet to colonize, Drake and his Life Foundation came across alien life forms he calls symbiotes, and in the beginning of the film we see them bringing the creatures to Earth to merge them with human hosts.
Determined to prove that Drake is up to no good, Brock snoops around the Life Foundation lab in search of evidence and gets infected by a symbiote.
Read also: Tom Hardy says on-screen 'Venom' stays true to Marvel comics
As the struggling and bumbling Brock, Hardy is given the chance to showcase his acting prowess and comedic chops. Unfortunately, his performance gets lost in drawn-out car chases, a story riddled with plot holes and bloodless fight scenes (for the PG-13 rating) dominated by CGI.
Even the message that Earth is heading toward disaster and we must be more concerned with environmental issues is forgotten by the end of the film.
Still, Venom is an entertaining watch with plenty of light moments between Brock and Venom, the “loser” symbiote. Die-hard Marvel movie fans or readers of the Venom comics, however, may not be entirely satisfied by the lackluster story or lack of character development.
Like many recent superhero movies that can't quite live up to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (to which this Venom is not connected), this one's a hit and miss.
Spoiler alert: the movie features two post-credit scenes, so if you love the comics, make sure to stay until the end.
