Tom Hardy is Venom (2018)

[Caped Baldy]

Like the Fox-verse, it's a refreshing alternative to Disney's bland, uber-safe, made-for-kids cinematic universe.

The talent it's attracting (Hardy, Williams, Fleischer, etc) is also very indicative of the serious tone they're aiming for, which right now is completely absent from the MCU's take on Spidey.

*This convo is starting to annoy me but I'll respond because I'm bored at the gym.

As a filmmaker myself, I can tell you that knowing you aren't able to do certain things because you won't remain within the PG-13 terrain is exhausting. Its not about trying to make your movie "Hard R". Its about letting the story you're trying to tell, flow naturally. Cletus Kasady is a serial killer. Eddie Brock is a sociopath. Imagine Michael Mann's Heat done PG-13. **** that.

SONY granting their auteurs the freedom of an 'R' rating is something to be celebrated. This "Hard 'R' is nothing to be stoked about" attitude is idiotic. Its like wanting more of the crap that's happening over at Disney and WB to taint every CBM being conceived.

I thank God for FOX's Marvel efforts and SONY's proposed Spider-verse. Without the aforementioned this genre would be ****ing dead.

Dead.

Don't even bother arguing with the guy. Dude genuinely thinks Disney is "home" to all Marvel properties. Dude missed the part about Marvel selling their heroes to various film studios 20 years ago and Disney just FIVE years ago purchasing the MCU from Paramount.

Lol Dude loves the bull**** "Bring 'em home" line in regards to Disney purchasing characters which is hilarious because the true home to Spider-Man is Columbia Pictures/SONY and has been since the idea of a live-action Spider-Man movie was proposed to them by James Cameron.

 

[karamazov80]

Look, you can't hem in the artistic visionary behind Gangster Squad and episodes of Between Two Ferns and the Santa Clarita Diet. You might as well tell birds not to fly and fish not to swim.

 

[ironwez20]

Dead.

Lol these are hilarious. He must be crying while eating s bowl of ice cream looking st the score on RT

 

[loki2371]

Looking good so far.....



Oh wait, those critics are Gaga fans & Russian Bots...

 

[Sweet Rabbit]

Lulz.

 

[Zurdo95D]

 

[Scareb]

It was ok, nothing amazing. It honestly felt like it could have belonged to the Tobey Maguire spiderman era or the X-Men films. It was pretty funny though.

I have to wonder though if that half hour of deleted scenes would have helped flush out the film a little more.

Ultimately, I wish Sony had handed the reins over to Marvel. It probably would have been a better film, even if it followed their cookie cutter formula.

 

[jye4ever]

At least he looks great lol

 

[twistedfreak]

Yeah, he does look good. I never understood what Sony was going for with this. Venom without Spider Man? They really have no idea what to do with the Spider Man content. Sony should really just stick to hiring studios to make AAA games. Spider Man is fantastic.

I was figuring this film would be an easy pass, and these reviews are a good reminder to keep my money and save my time.

 

[noisetrigger]

I couldn’t resist. I got to see for myself how bad is it. Bought a ticket for a matinee show.
Screening starts in ten minutes.

Impressions in two hours my fellow Freaks!

 

[Rulk]

The only way this could’ve worked is if they approached it how Marvel approached the first Blade film.

The character Blade is an anti hero that’s not accepted on either side, human or vampire.

Venom could’ve been the antagonist you sympathize with... he obviously doesn’t like Spider-Man

This trailer was brilliant and it’s fanmade



This tried too hard to be like Deadpool

When it should’ve been Spawn meets Blade meets the Crow

 

[Rulk]

Man vs self

Man vs nature

Man vs man

 

[ironwez20]

Looking good so far.....

View attachment 428692

Oh wait, those critics are Gaga fans & Russian Bots...

Muh auteur haz betrayed meh!

 

[EndoSickness]

Spoiler

Woody Harrelson as Kletus/Carnage is ******* PERFECT!!! Can´t wait to see it tonight.

 

[Sweet Rabbit]

Muh auteur haz betrayed meh!

Muh auteur...

 

[noisetrigger]

Ok, just got back from a matinee screening. Here is my impression.

Spoiler

Firstly, lets get the obvious out of the way. It is not as bad as Catwoman. I would put it in the veins of Blade Trinity. It doesn’t take itself too seriously despite the dark potential. In fact, Venom comes across as more of a brainless jock than a truly scary threat. You can tell this movie was made with PG-13 in mind. No actual gore, no blood, you don’t really see people die horribly on screen (only implied). Visually it is weird because they went with the desaturated and dark tone but then there are all these cheesy jokes and gags that don’t really work because the mood is totally wrong. It is not even dark humour. More like juvenile humour you expect from an Adam Sandler’s flick. Movie is also a little slow in the first act only really picking up at the 40 minute mark.

I am not a fan of how Brock was written. I can see that they want him to be this sympathetic person who doesn’t always do things right but at least he has a clear moral compass but it comes off more like he is just a stupid jerk. I am also not sure why they made Tom Hardy talk like he has brain damage. It is almost veering to rainman territory in some scenes. That actually makes it hard to believe that he is some credible investigative journalist.

Michelle Williams you can tell is just there for a payday. They try writing her as a smart, independent, and strong woman but she is very underutilized and she is really just there to show how sad Brock is. At the same time it is hard to sympathized with Brock because he is not a very likeable character. He is not even anti hero likeable. To Hardy’s credit he did play the role well and is very committed to it. Could have been a very different movie is they take the material more seriously.

To me the real stand out is Riz Ahmed’s villain character. He is actually believable as this megalomaniac with a god complex that is willing to tear down any moral boundaries to achieve his goals. Kinda like a Lex Luther type. Heck he is more believable as Lex Luther than Jesse Eisenberg ever was.

He is obviously set up as a counterfoil to Brock’s unethical reporter with a moral compass and it could have been a great showdown with two great actors trading wits and subtext (kinda like Deniro and Pacino in heat) but alas it was a missed opportunity as both shared very little meaningful scenes and when they do it delved into the typical hero villain banter.

The CGI is actually not too bad but no doubt mainly hidden by the night scenes. There is a standout chase sequence and one decent fight scene with SWAT that was shown (they basically released the best fight scene of Venom online before the movie came out!!!)

This movie could have probably work almost twenty years ago if it came out during the Blade movie and before any live action Spider-Man movies. The bar was much lower for a comic book adaptation and we are more open to liberties taken with the source material then.

They are basically introducing Venom as a new kind of hero (anti-hero) kinda like Blade back then but unfortunately Venom doesn’t work as one today. He has been known as a Spidey villain and he works best as one. Without Spidey, Venom seems almost pointless. MCU has also raised the bar so high that this movie is really ill timed and failed to reach the expectation needed in a comic book movie today.

The first end credit scene sets up Carnage is a wasted cameo by Woody Harrelson. I have no doubt he will be an amazing Clay but I doubt this movie will make enough to warrant a sequel.

The second end credit is a scene from the upcoming Spider-Man animation and that looks fantastic. I was more entertained by that short preview than any scene in Venom. Sony should just stick to the animation and games. They excelled there. Leave the live action to Feige and co.

 

[Johnny Utah]

Sony are just greedy, clueless pricks. The throw **** against a wall and just pray it sticks. Today's audiences are smarter and demand more. That **** might have worked in there early 2000's but not anymore.

 

[jye4ever]

Great review noise.

 

[xipotec]

Grace loved it

She said it’s Raimi like, a mix of Evil Dead and Darkman!

I bet it’s more like a mix of The Predator and Turd in the Wind.

Can we just hurry up to the Halloween movie already lol

Grace, whos opinion was never something I cared for, has clearly be bought by Youtube.......

That being said , Venom is a cursed character....he just cannot be brought to screen.....

Sent from the inside of a giant slug in outer space.....

 

[ironwez20]

Ok, just got back from a matinee screening. Here is my impression.

Spoiler

Firstly, lets get the obvious out of the way. It is not as bad as Catwoman. I would put it in the veins of Blade Trinity. It doesn’t take itself too seriously despite the dark potential. In fact, Venom comes across as more of a brainless jock than a truly scary threat. You can tell this movie was made with PG-13 in mind. No actual gore, no blood, you don’t really see people die horribly on screen (only implied). Visually it is weird because they went with the desaturated and dark tone but then there are all these cheesy jokes and gags that don’t really work because the mood is totally wrong. It is not even dark humour. More like juvenile humour you expect from an Adam Sandler’s flick. Movie is also a little slow in the first act only really picking up at the 40 minute mark.

I am not a fan of how Brock was written. I can see that they want him to be this sympathetic person who doesn’t always do things right but at least he has a clear moral compass but it comes off more like he is just a stupid jerk. I am also not sure why they made Tom Hardy talk like he has brain damage. It is almost veering to rainman territory in some scenes. That actually makes it hard to believe that he is some credible investigative journalist.

Michelle Williams you can tell is just there for a payday. They try writing her as a smart, independent, and strong woman but she is very underutilized and she is really just there to show how sad Brock is. At the same time it is hard to sympathized with Brock because he is not a very likeable character. He is not even anti hero likeable. To Hardy’s credit he did play the role well and is very committed to it. Could have been a very different movie is they take the material more seriously.

To me the real stand out is Riz Ahmed’s villain character. He is actually believable as this megalomaniac with a god complex that is willing to tear down any moral boundaries to achieve his goals. Kinda like a Lex Luther type. Heck he is more believable as Lex Luther than Jesse Eisenberg ever was.

He is obviously set up as a counterfoil to Brock’s unethical reporter with a moral compass and it could have been a great showdown with two great actors trading wits and subtext (kinda like Deniro and Pacino in heat) but alas it was a missed opportunity as both shared very little meaningful scenes and when they do it delved into the typical hero villain banter.

The CGI is actually not too bad but no doubt mainly hidden by the night scenes. There is a standout chase sequence and one decent fight scene with SWAT that was shown (they basically released the best fight scene of Venom online before the movie came out!!!)

This movie could have probably work almost twenty years ago if it came out during the Blade movie and before any live action Spider-Man movies. The bar was much lower for a comic book adaptation and we are more open to liberties taken with the source material then.

They are basically introducing Venom as a new kind of hero (anti-hero) kinda like Blade back then but unfortunately Venom doesn’t work as one today. He has been known as a Spidey villain and he works best as one. Without Spidey, Venom seems almost pointless. MCU has also raised the bar so high that this movie is really ill timed and failed to reach the expectation needed in a comic book movie today.

The first end credit scene sets up Carnage is a wasted cameo by Woody Harrelson. I have no doubt he will be an amazing Clay but I doubt this movie will make enough to warrant a sequel.

The second end credit is a scene from the upcoming Spider-Man animation and that looks fantastic. I was more entertained by that short preview than any scene in Venom. Sony should just stick to the animation and games. They excelled there. Leave the live action to Feige and co.

So hold up a sec? Your telling me...... that this movie isn’t hard R serious compelling drama that digs into the mind of the viewer? Your saying that this is just a mindless , akward blatant cash grab that is on par with films like ghost rider and blade trinity? It’s not a Logan style thought provoking movie that tugs at your heart strings? It’s more of a mindless popcorn forgettable flick like the resident evil series?

Well.... I must say I’m....... I’m shocked..... I can’t believe it. And here I thought this movie was made by a passionate studio who get the character and want to pick our brain with Venom the alien leech monster who eats heads and makes poop jokes. Wow ..... I don’t know what to say. I better sit down