VENOM (2018)

Studio:      Columbia Pictures
Director:    Ruben Fleischer
Writer:      Jeff Pinker, Scott Rosenberg, Kelly Marcel
Producer:  Avi Arad, Matt Tolmach, Amy Pascal
Stars:     Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed, Scott Haze, Reid Scott, Jenny Slate, Melora Walters

Review Score:

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Summary:

The conflict between a disgraced reporter and an egomaniacal scientist intensifies when human subjects begin bonding with vicious alien lifeforms. 

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Synopsis:     Show/Hide Spoilers

East Malaysia – Life Foundation’s LF-1 rocket crash-lands carrying four alien symbiotes. One of the symbiotes escapes and briefly possesses surviving astronaut J.J. Jameson III before subsequently possessing a female EMT tending to Jameson.

San Francisco, California – Investigative reporter Eddie Brock reluctantly accepts an assignment to interview Life Foundation CEO and entrepreneur Dr. Carlton Drake. Eddie’s boss warns Eddie to curb his desire to press Drake on controversial issues.

After their date together, Eddie secretly logs into a laptop belonging to his fiancée, lawyer Anne Weying, whose firm represents the Life Foundation. Eddie finds a confidential legal memo regarding a wrongful death lawsuit against Dr. Drake.

Dr. Drake cuts off Eddie’s interview with a veiled threat when Eddie tries exposing the deaths involved in Drake’s drug trials. Eddie gets fired from his job. Feeling used, Anne breaks up with Eddie after she loses her job too.

The other three symbiotes arrive at Dr. Drake’s lab for testing. In Malaysia, the missing symbiote bonds with an old woman after using the EMT to murder several people at an outdoor market.

Six Months Later – Life Foundation researcher Dr. Dora Skirth continues experimenting on the alien lifeforms. Dr. Drake compels Skirth to rush into human trials with the symbiotes.

Still unemployed, Eddie greets homeless woman Maria on the street outside a bar. Eddie also observes neighborhood convenience store owner Mrs. Chen being menaced by a local thug.

Drake, Skirth, and other Life Foundation scientists observe as a symbiote bonds with test subject Isaac. Isaac violently mutates and dies when the symbiote destroys its host body’s organs. Skirth sees Drake passionlessly asks for the next volunteer.

Dr. Skirth tracks down Eddie to tell him that his accusations against Drake were true. Skirth adds that Drake is killing poor people volunteering to be test subjects. Eddie tells Skirth he wants no part of the story since Drake already ruined him.

Eddie stops by Anne’s home to discover she is dating surgeon Dr. Dan Lewis. Anne rejects Eddie’s proposal to get back together.

Having changed his mind, Eddie contacts Dr. Skirth about exposing Drake. Skirth explains that Drake sent a rocket on a recon mission that found millions of organisms on a comet. Believing that the key to lasting survival involves humans bonding with symbiotes to live in space when Earth dies, Drake brought back four specimens for testing.

Skirth sneaks Eddie into the Life Foundation building. While taking pictures on his cellphone throughout Drake’s secret lab, Eddie discovers Maria is one of the test subjects. Eddie breaks Maria out of her chamber only for Maria to attack. A symbiote leaves Maria’s body, which causes her to die, and bonds with Eddie. Using newfound strength and abilities, Eddie athletically escapes the facility after it goes into lockdown.

At a Malaysian airport, the escaped symbiote possesses a little girl on her way to San Francisco.

After returning home with a voracious appetite among other bodily abnormalities, Eddie intrudes on a dinner date between Anne and Dan to rant about Drake’s experiment and his infection. Due to his strange behavior, which includes immersing himself in a saltwater tank to devour live lobsters, Dan takes Eddie to his hospital for testing. Eddie leaves after sound waves from an MRI scan cause the symbiote intense pain.

Life Foundation Security Chief Roland Treece brings Dr. Skirth to Drake as the person responsible for the security breach. Skirth confesses that Eddie Brock was the intruder. Drake forces a symbiote to bond with Skirth, resulting in her death.

Anne and Dan call Eddie to tell him they believe he is infected with a parasite. Eddie discovers that the sentient symbiote can telepathically communicate with him.

Treece’s team breaks into Eddie’s apartment. The symbiote uses its morphing abilities to murder several of the armed men and flee in Eddie’s body. Drake monitors the subsequent street chase over a drone’s video feed. To Eddie’s horror, the symbiote bites the head off one of Treece’s agents.

After they escape, the symbiote identifies itself as Venom to Eddie. Venom explains he is bound to Eddie and will use his human host to feed. Venom warns Eddie to cooperate if he wants to survive.

Based on his test results, Dan tells Anne that she needs to get Eddie back to the hospital immediately. Anne learns Eddie is involved in the recent riot of death and destruction.

Drake discovers that one of the symbiotes escaped after killing Dr. Skirth. Drake tasks Treece with capturing Eddie since he appears to be the only human host who can survive symbiosis.

Eddie unsuccessfully tries getting past security guard Richard to give his recorded evidence against Drake to his old boss. Venom uses his abilities to climb up the outside of the building instead. The sound of a plane passing overhead causes Venom intense pain. Eddie leaves his phone on his old boss’ desk.

Armed men confront Eddie in the lobby. Venom completely takes over Eddie’s body to take down the guards. Anne arrives. Eddie explains what happened and professes his love for Anne as she drives him to the hospital.

The possessed little girl from Malaysia confronts Drake in his lab. The symbiote takes over Drake’s body.

At the hospital, Dan informs Eddie that his heart atrophied and his body is deteriorating. Insistent that he can save Eddie, Venom takes over and attacks Dan. Anne activates the MRI machine, which separates Venom from Eddie. Venom escapes into a vent and bonds with a dog in another room.

Treece’s men capture Eddie at the hospital. Venom leaves the dog to take possession of Anne.

Drake confronts Eddie back at his lab. Drake reveals he now hosts a dangerous symbiote called Riot. Riot tells Drake there are millions more symbiotes in space that will follow wherever Riot leads, but they must find Venom first.

Treece escorts Eddie into a forest to execute him. With Venom controlling her body, Anne arrives to kill the other guards and bite off Treece’s head. Venom compels Anne to kiss Eddie.

Venom re-bonds with Eddie and leaves Anne behind. Venom explains that Riot plans to bring a symbiote invasion to feed on the planet. Venom vows to save Earth by stopping Riot.

Drake initiates a rocket launch that he plans to pilot himself to retrieve Riot’s symbiotes. When Dr. Emerson recognizes the threat and tries aborting the launch, Riot takes over Drake, causing chaos as he slaughters panicking scientists.

Riot races toward the rocket. Venom confronts him. The two symbiotes fight until they eventually morph together.

Anne arrives at the lab and uses amplified sound waves to separate the two men from the symbiotes. Eddie and Drake continue fighting on a raised platform until Eddie kicks Drake to his apparent death.

Riot impales Eddie with a large piece of metal through his torso. Eddie collapses. Riot begins ascending the rocket.

Venom revives Eddie by re-bonding with him. Venom goes on to destroy the rocket with Riot aboard. Venom then intentionally separates from Eddie and seemingly incinerates himself in the rocket’s explosion.

Eddie eventually recovers and repairs his friendship with Anne. Eddie keeps it secret that he is actually still bonded to Venom.

Eddie lays ground rules for Venom about distinguishing between good guys and bad guys. Eddie allows Venom to bite the head off the extortionist thug who menaces Mrs. Chen.

San Quentin Prison – For his new job, Eddie Brock arrives to interview serial killer Cletus Kasady. Cletus vows that there will be “carnage” when he ultimately escapes prison.

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Review:

“Venom” really isn’t as bad as you may have heard. Oh, it’s not good either. Story structure, character development, and technical execution all border on irresponsibly sloppy. But for one hell of a messily mediocre movie, “Venom” can still land more than a few raw punches of enjoyable nuttiness.

Plenty of comic book movies capture the awestruck wonder and excitement that comes with discovering newfound superpowers. “Venom” belongs to the minority of origin stories that showcase the panicked confusion and utter fear that would realistically come with such an extraordinarily horrifying metamorphosis.

You’re probably already familiar with the plot’s basic setup. A megalomaniacal CEO (is there any other kind in movies?) who runs a secretly evil science corporation (is there any other kind in movies?) comes into possession of several alien lifeforms. There’s a mostly irrelevant why behind the shifty CEO’s actions, but motivations barely matter anywhere in “Venom.”

Down on his luck after he loses his job and down in the dumps after he loses his fiancée, gold-hearted tough guy Eddie Brock (more than once referred to as a “loser” although his tattoos, leather jacket, motorcycle, and muscles send other signals) becomes a reluctant host to one of the symbiotes when it bonds with his body. Confronting a fresh identity crisis of a most unusual variety, Eddie now manages a villainous voice in his head demanding to feed an insatiable appetite for human meat.

Also in the mix is a new boyfriend for Eddie’s old girlfriend, a whistle-blowing Jiminy Cricket out to expose the bad guy, a baldheaded enforcer doing that bad guy’s dirty work, and other inconsequential mopes like ‘Homeless Woman Maria,’ whose actress actually receives her own title card. Mostly, every sub-story and side scene blares extraneous noise in a movie with no shortage of it. The meat and potatoes comes from Eddie’s ongoing struggle to retake control of his body while heading toward a showdown with another symbiote more powerful than his.

A sizable chunk of the film coasts on flippancy, though that attitude only accounts for a minor amount of frivolous fun. It’s no wonder “Venom” turns out to be a not-so-serious movie since the filmmakers treat the material similarly.

Much of the writing is lackadaisical. Acknowledging their occasional kiddiness, comic books will explain away a villain’s silly name by having someone say, “that monster will bring ‘Doomsday’ to Metropolis!” Hence, you get a guy nicknamed Doomsday.

In this movie, Eddie’s symbiote just says, “I’m Venom.” Another symbiote identifies itself as ‘Riot’ as though it’s totally normal on their planet to be named after violent words in the English language.

That’s not necessarily cynicism so much as an example of the level of effort at crafting entertainment we’re looking at here. “Venom” usually does only the minimum, but damn if the movie doesn’t get away with it more often than not.

Everyone else already has and can continue telling you how much awkward affability Tom Hardy brings to the lead role. They’re not wrong. Hardy makes the movie. It’s impossible to understate how his amalgam of possible contempt for the weird role, likely confusion over precisely how to tune his performance, and total embrace of all-out corniness singlehandedly saves “Venom” from sinking under the weight of its confusingly cut to ribbons content.

Riz Ahmed also deserves copious credit for his overlooked turn as the villain. With Ahmed’s slim frame and soft features, you might not immediately think he could be menacing. While he may not be physically imposing, Ahmed makes up for it with smarmy confidence, steely stares, and slick smiles to paint a robust portrait of an archetypical antagonist. He’s part Lex Luthor, part mad scientist, part Bond villain, part media mogul, part Elon Musk, and all terrific as a mildly reserved monger.

Elsewhere, “Venom” overloads on actors whose star status either isn’t needed or isn’t used. Even in low power mode like she is here, Michelle Williams still squeezes charismatic blood out of a thinly written stone. Meanwhile, Jenny Slate plays a humorless part that could have been filled by any average headshot with a modicum of Hollywood experience listed on the back.

While we have the red pen out, for adventuresome action egregiously heavy on CGI spectacle, digital effects are surprisingly under par for something sold as a studio tentpole. Actors and laborers must have enjoyed plenty of downtime while digital artists programmed much of the movie. Lengthy sequences feature animated symbiotes slugging it out against artificially generated backdrops of endless artifacts and motion blurs the human eye cannot keep up with. This demand to process overstuffed imagery becomes increasingly taxing when Venom and Riot continually morph into indiscernible piles of goo with countless whipping tendrils constantly contorting into various shapes at warp speed.

I’m on board with what’s popularly called “popcorn entertainment” when it’s all in the name of well-meaning fun. “Venom” certainly isn’t un-fun. It also isn’t campy enough, creative enough, intense enough, or polished enough to pass as a fully flavored candy and soda escapist diversion. Three out of five stars still suits the film as a fair evaluation of its general value. “Venom” is approximately 60% of a complete film, mindlessly entertaining at times through sudden rushes of over-adrenalized action, but emptily unfulfilling as a top to bottom experience in cursory comic book glibness.

Review Score: 60

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