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Venom, 2018
Eddie (Tom Hardy) is an investigative reporter who get wrapped up in an otherworldly nightmare when he is infected with an alien parasite, Venom, who was brought to Earth by megalomaniac tech entrepreneur Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed). With the help of his ex-girlfriend, Anne (Michelle Williams) and a scientist at Drake's company, Dora (Jenny Slate), Eddie tries to take down Drake.
I went into this film looking for some dumb fun. Unfortunately, it only really delivered on the first part of that equation.
I like to start reviews with positives and then give my criticisms, but I find that I have very little to say that's actually about the film itself. It is stacked with actors I love or really like. I will follow Jenny Slate ANYWHERE, I would watch her regrout a bathroom for 90 minutes. I think Michelle Williams is one of the most talented actresses of her generation. I really like Riz Ahmed. Tom Hardy is into helping rescue animals. For me this cast is a slam dunk.
And yet I feel like down to the last one they were all wasted with thin writing and even thinner characterization. If pressed to describe the characters themselves, I guess I would say that Slate's doctor is the best developed, because she is at least grounded in an understandable conflict and we understand the different stakes for her. She wants to do world-changing science, she has already somewhat compromised her personal and professional ethics, she has children who are threatened by Drake if she doesn't comply, etc.
Williams easily gets the worst of things as Anne. She's just sort of this weird trophy object, getting mad at Eddie or going out of her way to help him depending on which way the wind is blowing. A sequence where Venom takes over her body (and of course gives her this weird porn-y catsuit form because why not?!) leading to little entendres about Venom "being inside her" just felt gross. The one note I enjoyed from her character was when she and her new boyfriend, Dan (Reid Scott) agree to help Eddie. Usually the "jerky new boyfriend" trope is a strong one, and I appreciate its subversion here.
I also cannot overstate just how stupid a lot of this movie is. And I don't mean the crash-bang car chases or fight scenes. I mean basic logic problems. In one scene, Venom says he knows everything about Eddie because he's in Eddie's head. Two scenes later the phone rings and Venom asks "Who's Anne?". You're in this guy's head and know his deepest darkest secrets but not the part about the woman he's in love with? Let's not even talk about Dora sneaking Eddie into her workplace. And by "sneaking" I mean openly leading him around in full sight of the cameras without even trying to costume or disguise who he is.
The fight scenes themselves wring a few fun moments out of Eddie's amazement at what his body is now able to do, but they all devolve into the kind of chaotic CGI slugfests that have come to characterize comic book action. I'll admit that I didn't even fully watch the final fight scene. I half-listened to it while watching a YouTube video about cleaning my refrigerator's metal coils. This kind of action--so often totally lacking in any consequences--completely fails to engage me at this point.
Weak stuff, barely buoyed for me by a cast I like.
Venom, 2018
Eddie (Tom Hardy) is an investigative reporter who get wrapped up in an otherworldly nightmare when he is infected with an alien parasite, Venom, who was brought to Earth by megalomaniac tech entrepreneur Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed). With the help of his ex-girlfriend, Anne (Michelle Williams) and a scientist at Drake's company, Dora (Jenny Slate), Eddie tries to take down Drake.
I went into this film looking for some dumb fun. Unfortunately, it only really delivered on the first part of that equation.
I like to start reviews with positives and then give my criticisms, but I find that I have very little to say that's actually about the film itself. It is stacked with actors I love or really like. I will follow Jenny Slate ANYWHERE, I would watch her regrout a bathroom for 90 minutes. I think Michelle Williams is one of the most talented actresses of her generation. I really like Riz Ahmed. Tom Hardy is into helping rescue animals. For me this cast is a slam dunk.
And yet I feel like down to the last one they were all wasted with thin writing and even thinner characterization. If pressed to describe the characters themselves, I guess I would say that Slate's doctor is the best developed, because she is at least grounded in an understandable conflict and we understand the different stakes for her. She wants to do world-changing science, she has already somewhat compromised her personal and professional ethics, she has children who are threatened by Drake if she doesn't comply, etc.
Williams easily gets the worst of things as Anne. She's just sort of this weird trophy object, getting mad at Eddie or going out of her way to help him depending on which way the wind is blowing. A sequence where Venom takes over her body (and of course gives her this weird porn-y catsuit form because why not?!) leading to little entendres about Venom "being inside her" just felt gross. The one note I enjoyed from her character was when she and her new boyfriend, Dan (Reid Scott) agree to help Eddie. Usually the "jerky new boyfriend" trope is a strong one, and I appreciate its subversion here.
I also cannot overstate just how stupid a lot of this movie is. And I don't mean the crash-bang car chases or fight scenes. I mean basic logic problems. In one scene, Venom says he knows everything about Eddie because he's in Eddie's head. Two scenes later the phone rings and Venom asks "Who's Anne?". You're in this guy's head and know his deepest darkest secrets but not the part about the woman he's in love with? Let's not even talk about Dora sneaking Eddie into her workplace. And by "sneaking" I mean openly leading him around in full sight of the cameras without even trying to costume or disguise who he is.
The fight scenes themselves wring a few fun moments out of Eddie's amazement at what his body is now able to do, but they all devolve into the kind of chaotic CGI slugfests that have come to characterize comic book action. I'll admit that I didn't even fully watch the final fight scene. I half-listened to it while watching a YouTube video about cleaning my refrigerator's metal coils. This kind of action--so often totally lacking in any consequences--completely fails to engage me at this point.
Weak stuff, barely buoyed for me by a cast I like.