3 Things Venom Does Really Well
6 minutes ago
Warning: Spoilers follow for Venom. Come back after seeing the movie!
I'll get this out of the way: I was not a fan of Venom. The movie is no trainwreck, but it's so generic and by-the-book that it fails to impress in a meaningful way. The majority of critics seem to agree on this, but audiences are divided. Despite negative reviews, Venom now holds the No. 1 opening in October history and ranks at B+ with CinemaScore. For the most part, audiences seem to like the movie, and while there are are a few reasons for why the film had such a successful debut (practically no competition; A Star is Born is not appealing to anywhere close to the same demographic), I can't deny that Venom isn't without its bright spots.
On the whole, Venom is not a great movie, but that doesn't mean that it can't do a couple of things right. Director Ruben Fleischer and actor Tom Hardy give this film some weird energy that comes in sporadically, which fuels some of the more memorable scenes. I'm not entirely sure that I'll ever fully understand what about Venom propelled people to the theater last weekend, but the film does these three things pretty well, and it likely stopped the movie from becoming a big mess.
The Relationship Between Eddie Brock and Venom
You might think that the central romance in the movie is Eddie Brock and his ex-fiance Anne Weying (Michelle Williams, who was nominated for four Academy Awards), but that's incorrect. The real romance is between Brock and Venom, and it makes for the more intriguing and interesting moments in the film. It's no coincidence that once Venom starts talking that this movie begins to pick up steam. Brock and his symbiote are an underdog duo, with Brock as a prisoner of his own body. A lot of times the interactions between the two are fun, with Venom heckling Brock while the journalist tries to keep the symbiote from biting off heads. It's a bizarre Odd Couple situation, but the film is usually better when it focuses on that. Plus, they just straight up make out with each other, which will stay with you long after you leave the theater.
