Lance Thoo
(Photos: hdqwalls)
Now that the Venom movie, starring actor Tom Hardy, who is best known for his portrayal of ‘Bane’ in 2012’s ‘The Dark Knight Rises’, has been unleashed to the world, it’s time to see if the hype was worth it.
Venom is one of the Marvel characters still owned by the Sony corporation and not under the control of the legally separate Marvel Cinematic Universe.
(Warning! Possible spoilers ahead. Proceed at your own risk!)
The movie was directed by Ruben Fleischer, best known for helming “Zombieland” and “Gangster Squad”. The plot centers around Eddie Brock, a journalist who becomes infected with an alien ‘symbiote’ called Venom.
Venom gives Eddie superhuman strength, healing powers, and conveniently takes over Eddie’s hands and legs to help him in fights. Other times, Venom just takes over completely, turning Eddie into a hulking, black-and-white monster with gnashing teeth and a penchant for eating people’s heads. Venom is also, unfortunately, eating Eddie from the inside out, like the parasite he is.
‘Neue’ (@whatsneue) was among the firsts in Brunei to catch the movie. But I’ll share my views after first going through what Twitter users had to say about the movie.
Below are some early reactions about the movie:
Those who ENJOYED it:
Those who straight up HATED it:
Those who VOWED not to even watch it:
Others who felt sorry for Tom Hardy:
Now, this is what Neue thought about the movie: SURPRISINGLY FUN!
Some of the movie’s most enjoyable moments come while Hardy is trying to feed his often insatiable parasite (Venom). There’s a scene where he sits in a tank full of lobsters and starts eating them raw.
One thing that will catch you attention will be Hardy’s “bizarre” accent. The actor is often known for his mumbling characters (such as Bane from ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ and Max Rockatansky from ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’).
Twitter user @Wickedlydeeper jokingly asked, “Tom Hardy why is your go-to American accent somewhere between Brooklyn and desperation?”
All in all, Venom has elements of a good movie. Hardy and Venom’s chemistry is enjoyable to watch. The film also has some impressive action sequences; Venom’s first appearance in Brock’s apartment and a motorcycle chase through San Francisco as Brock learns the extent of his superhuman abilities. They bicker like a married couple over when to eat, what to eat. Apparently, there are rules about whose heads Venom is allowed to devour. The bickering is quirky and it’s down right silly but enjoyable.
And yes! There is one obvious thing that people will notice: SPIDER-MAN IS A NO-SHOW!
Director Fleischer was quoted in a report on why he believed his film could work without the appearance of Spider-Man.
Speaking to IGN, Fleischer said, “There is more than enough Venom to go around. Venom is a really huge character, and Hardy is an amazing actor, so there is plenty to mine just from Tom’s performance, the character and the world he inhabits.”
And to be honest, there’s nothing wrong with having no Spider-Man in this Venom.
Oddly enough though, it felt like Venom was the least-present character in a movie. (Strange … given the fact that the movie title is Venom.) When Venom is there, he’s the best thing on screen. But when he’s not, the movie suffers, and he isn’t there for long. Venom is little more than a supporting player in his own film, who acts as a sounding board for Eddie and a big excuse for big CGI battles.
So what is Neue’s verdict of this movie?
Not the greatest, but it’s alright (3.5 vials of venom out of 5).
If you’re a fan of Hardy, you will be in for a treat. You’ll also enjoy trying to make out the words that he’s saying through his accent. However, if you are an avid comic-book fan, be warned that based on the first social media reactions, you may end up feeling a little shortchanged, even though the movie runs for 2 hours 20 minutes.
Are there any after-credit scenes?
Yes! Two of them in fact. One is a teaser for any potential future Venom movies, while the second is just a teaser for Sony’s upcoming animated “Spider-Man” movie in December.
This is what you would have seen had you been patient.
At the end of Venom, Eddie Brock (Hardy) is on the path to resurrecting his journalism career after landing the interview of a lifetime. In the mid-credits scene, Brock pulls into San Quentin, the oldest and most notorious prison in California. Brock approaches his subject, who has written “WELCOME EDDIE” (in blood, probably) in his cell.
The red-haired prisoner turns, revealing himself to be the deranged serial killer Cletus Kasady. And as he eerily looks into the camera, he teases that when he gets out, “There’s going to be carnage.” The best part about this is that he’s played by none other than Woody Harrelson. (Fun fact: Harrelson has previously worked with Venom director Ruben Fleischer in 2009’s Zombieland.)
Have you seen Venom in the cinemas? Did you miss the after-credits? We’d love to hear from you. Drop us a line in the comments section below or reach out to Neue via social media.