Superhero movies may or may not work at the box office. For every MCU movie, there's a DC one that lacks the thrill or is simply not good enough. Now, this is a popular belief and has nothing to do with Sony's latest offering. The ones who went against the popular notion and loved Spider-Man 3 would be happy for its antagonist has an entire movie dedicated to him. But does Venom live up to its expectations? Is it as bad as the critics in the west are claiming it to be? And lastly, is it worth your time? It's time to answer all your queries.

The story is pretty simple. It's about how an over-ambitious Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed) brings 'Symbiote' - an ugly looking 'parasite' on Earth through his rocket. Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) is an investigative reporter who's on a mission to unveil Drake's dark secrets. During one such investigation, he ends up becoming a host to Venom, who bites off heads and feeds on human brains. How does Brock help Venom change and how do they save our precious planet against a mighty villain, forms the second part of the story.

It's hard to mess with an intellectual property that already exists. Yet filmmakers add their vital inputs that either screw the entire movie or take it a notch higher. Unfortunately, Tom Hardy's Venom falls in the first category. The movie had ample scope to shine but it simply fails to evoke any 'wow'. I wonder if I should blame its predictable storyline or the execution.

Is it necessary to add humour to every superhero outing? Many consider it a norm but then you need to justify it with something as well as Thor: Ragnarok. Firstly, Venom didn't need those unwanted jokes and secondly, if makers had to follow Marvel's concept, they could have scripted it better. Venom as a film has nothing new to offer. With the same old plot of good v/s evil and how an alien cum parasite needs a strong host to survive, it lacks innovation. The story becomes predictable after a point and later it's Tom Hardy's sheer good screen presence that makes this affair worthwhile. Also, the climax between Venom and Riot doesn't give you an adrenaline rush. It's boring and quite underwhelming.

There are a couple of great scenes in the film. I personally loved the chase sequence between Venom and Carlton Drake's guards, who want to get back the Symbiote (oh, that's the scientific name of Venom). Guess having a chase sequence in your movie is another essential ingredient after Black Panther and even Deadpool 2 were lauded for the same.

Coming to the performances, Tom Hardy is brilliant. As we mentioned before, it's his screen presence that holds the movie in its weak spots. He is too good as Eddie Brock who is vulnerable yet strong enough to lend a helping hand to Venom to fight the deadly Riot. His camaraderie with Venom is amusing but again, it could have been better. Riz Ahmed is good as Carlton Drake. He is cruel, he's selfish and he justifies the tag of being an antagonist in the film. Michelle Williams as Anne though looks dull throughout. She looks as pale as Kirsten Dunst in any of the Spider-Man movies.

The movie's mid-credit scenes will excite all the comic book fans but others may wonder if it was as epic as they assumed it to be. Also, a superhero marks his entry in the post-credit scene. Revealing his name would be a spoiler. So, be patient and watch it for yourself.

Yay! 

Tom Hardy

Riz Ahmed

Nay!

Poor script

Bad execution

Underwhelming climax

Final Thoughts

Overall, Venom is good in parts but they had scope to make it better. Watch it for Tom Hardy and if you love any damn superhero movie.

 

Rating:2.5out of 5

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 05, 2018 12:46 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).