Sony's Spider-verse Begins: Venom Review(Spoiler Free!)

   

  I originally was not intending to see Venom at all. But after my younger brother's excitement and hearing about the mixed reviews, I decided to take him up on his offer to go see it. I was very pleasantly surprised.

   Tom Hardy is perfectly cast in the main role as Eddie Brock. He's a very believable investigative journalist. I was also happy to find he was behind Venom's voice as well, given his role as Bane in Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy. He delivers the performance easily. Not once did I think he fell out of character and his relationships to the others, especially Amiee and Venom, develop naturally and are properly affected by the events.

   Michelle Williams disappears into her role as Brock's love interest, Amiee. This is a good thing. You don't get jarred out of the movie. She's believable as well, and the fact that she stood her ground when the relationship got rocky was refreshing. So was the fact that she was never presented as a helpless damsel in distress or used as a pawn against Brock/Venom.

   I won't say too much about the antagonist, Carlton Drake, played by Rid Ahmed. He's better developed then most, but not to a Loki/Killmonger level. He reads kind of like a bio medical version of Elon Musk. And while we don't see how he went off the rails, he is ever the sociopath in the negative end.

   Over all the film has a dark feel to it that is required by the nature of the character involved. But not so much, or so gritty, that it leans toward DC style territory. And because of how burned we've been with Sony's more recent entries into the superhero realm, Venom is a true breath of fresh air. I recommend seeing it if you have the oppertunity.