WHEN MARVEL FANS HEARD THAT VENOM WAS GETTING A STANDALONE FILM, EXPECTATIONS WERE MIXED. KNOWN FOR HIS SINISTER PRESENCE IN THE SPIDER-MAN UNIVERSE, VENOM IS ONE OF THE MOST COMPLEX ANTI-HEROES IN COMIC BOOK LORE. DIRECTED BY RUBEN FLEISCHER AND STARRING TOM HARDY, VENOM (2018) ATTEMPTS TO CARVE OUT ITS OWN IDENTITY—SEPARATE FROM THE MCU—BY BLENDING HORROR, ACTION, AND DARK COMEDY.
THIS REVIEW EXPLORES THE FILM’S PLOT, DIRECTION, PERFORMANCES, VISUALS, SOUND DESIGN, AND THEMATIC DEPTH. WHETHER YOU'RE A COMIC BOOK ENTHUSIAST OR A CASUAL VIEWER, VENOM OFFERS A UNIQUE CINEMATIC EXPERIENCE THAT’S BOTH CHAOTIC AND ODDLY CHARMING.
PLOT SUMMARY
EDDIE BROCK (TOM HARDY) IS A BOLD INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST IN SAN FRANCISCO WHO’S KNOWN FOR EXPOSING CORPORATE CORRUPTION. HIS LIFE SPIRALS DOWNWARD AFTER HE CONFRONTS CARLTON DRAKE (RIZ AHMED), THE HEAD OF THE LIFE FOUNDATION, DURING A CONTROVERSIAL INTERVIEW. DRAKE IS SECRETLY EXPERIMENTING WITH ALIEN SYMBIOTES—ORGANISMS THAT REQUIRE HUMAN HOSTS TO SURVIVE.
AFTER A BREAK-IN AT THE LIFE FOUNDATION, EDDIE ACCIDENTALLY BONDS WITH ONE OF THE SYMBIOTES NAMED VENOM. WHAT FOLLOWS IS A BIZARRE TRANSFORMATION: EDDIE GAINS SUPERHUMAN STRENGTH, AGILITY, AND A VOICE IN HIS HEAD THAT’S SARCASTIC, VIOLENT, AND HUNGRY. AS EDDIE STRUGGLES TO COEXIST WITH VENOM, HE UNCOVERS A LARGER CONSPIRACY INVOLVING DRAKE’S PLAN TO MERGE HUMANITY WITH SYMBIOTES PERMANENTLY.
THE FILM BALANCES EDDIE’S INTERNAL CONFLICT WITH EXTERNAL THREATS, LEADING TO EXPLOSIVE CONFRONTATIONS AND UNEXPECTED HUMOR. WHILE THE PLOT ISN’T GROUNDBREAKING, IT’S FAST-PACED AND ENTERTAINING, WITH ENOUGH TWISTS TO KEEP VIEWERS ENGAGED.
DIRECTION ✓ SCREENPLAY
RUBEN FLEISCHER, KNOWN FOR ZOMBIELAND, BRINGS A CHAOTIC ENERGY TO VENOM. HIS DIRECTION LEANS HEAVILY INTO GENRE-BLENDING—MIXING HORROR, SCI-FI, AND BUDDY COMEDY. WHILE THIS CREATES TONAL INCONSISTENCIES, IT ALSO GIVES THE FILM ITS QUIRKY CHARM.
THE SCREENPLAY, WRITTEN BY JEFF PINKNER, SCOTT ROSENBERG, AND KELLY MARCEL, IS SERVICEABLE BUT UNEVEN. DIALOGUE RANGES FROM SHARP AND WITTY TO CLUNKY AND EXPOSITIONAL. THE PACING IS BRISK, WHICH HELPS MASK SOME OF THE NARRATIVE FLAWS. THE FILM DOESN’T DWELL ON SCIENTIFIC EXPLANATIONS OR MORAL DILEMMAS—IT PRIORITIZES ACTION AND CHARACTER DYNAMICS.
FLEISCHER’S DECISION TO FOCUS ON EDDIE AND VENOM’S RELATIONSHIP RATHER THAN TRADITIONAL SUPERHERO TROPES IS A BOLD MOVE. IT’S THIS ODD-COUPLE DYNAMIC THAT GIVES THE FILM ITS HEART AND HUMOR.
ACTING ✓ PERFORMANCES
TOM HARDY DELIVERS A COMMITTED AND ECCENTRIC PERFORMANCE AS EDDIE BROCK. HIS PORTRAYAL IS PHYSICAL, EMOTIONAL, AND OFTEN HILARIOUS. HARDY ALSO VOICES VENOM, GIVING THE SYMBIOTE A DISTINCT PERSONALITY THAT’S BOTH MENACING AND ODDLY LOVABLE. THE DUALITY BETWEEN EDDIE AND VENOM IS THE FILM’S STRONGEST ASSET.
RIZ AHMED PLAYS CARLTON DRAKE WITH COLD PRECISION, THOUGH HIS VILLAIN LACKS DEPTH. HE’S MORE OF A PLOT DEVICE THAN A FULLY REALIZED ANTAGONIST. MICHELLE WILLIAMS, AS ANNE WEYING (EDDIE’S EX-FIANCÉE), BRINGS GRACE AND INTELLIGENCE TO A ROLE THAT’S UNDERWRITTEN. HER SCENES WITH EDDIE ADD EMOTIONAL WEIGHT, ESPECIALLY DURING THE FILM’S QUIETER MOMENTS.
SUPPORTING PERFORMANCES FROM JENNY SLATE AND REID SCOTT ARE COMPETENT BUT BRIEF. THE REAL STAR IS HARDY, WHO CARRIES THE FILM WITH HIS UNPREDICTABLE ENERGY AND WILLINGNESS TO EMBRACE THE ABSURD.
CINEMATOGRAPHY ✓ VISUALS
MATTHEW LIBATIQUE’S CINEMATOGRAPHY CAPTURES THE GRITTY STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO WITH FLAIR. THE FILM’S COLOR PALETTE IS DARK AND MOODY, REFLECTING VENOM’S SINISTER NATURE. ACTION SEQUENCES ARE FAST AND FLUID, THOUGH SOMETIMES HARD TO FOLLOW DUE TO RAPID EDITING.
THE VISUAL EFFECTS TEAM DESERVES CREDIT FOR BRINGING VENOM TO LIFE. THE SYMBIOTE’S LIQUID-LIKE MOVEMENTS, TRANSFORMATIONS, AND MONSTROUS DESIGN ARE IMPRESSIVE. WHETHER SLITHERING ACROSS WALLS OR MORPHING INTO WEAPONS, VENOM’S PRESENCE IS VISUALLY CAPTIVATING.
HOWEVER, SOME CGI-HEAVY SCENES—ESPECIALLY THE FINAL BATTLE—FEEL CLUTTERED AND OVERWHELMING. STILL, THE FILM MAINTAINS A CONSISTENT VISUAL TONE THAT COMPLEMENTS ITS NARRATIVE CHAOS.
SOUNDTRACK ✓ SOUND DESIGN
LUDWIG GÖRANSSON’S SCORE IS ATMOSPHERIC AND INTENSE, BLENDING ELECTRONIC PULSES WITH ORCHESTRAL SWELLS. IT ENHANCES THE FILM’S TENSION AND EMOTIONAL BEATS WITHOUT OVERPOWERING THE SCENES.
SOUND DESIGN PLAYS A CRUCIAL ROLE IN VENOM’S CHARACTER. THE SYMBIOTE’S VOICE ECHOES WITH DISTORTION, CREATING A SENSE OF OTHERWORLDLY MENACE. FIGHT SCENES ARE PUNCTUATED WITH BONE-CRUNCHING EFFECTS AND EXPLOSIVE AUDIO CUES THAT HEIGHTEN THE IMPACT.
THE SOUNDTRACK ISN’T PARTICULARLY MEMORABLE, BUT IT SERVES ITS PURPOSE WELL. EMINEM’S END-CREDIT SONG “VENOM” ADDS A PUNCHY, THEMATIC CLOSURE TO THE FILM.
THEMES ✓ SYMBOLISM
VENOM EXPLORES THEMES OF DUALITY, IDENTITY, AND MORAL AMBIGUITY. EDDIE IS A FLAWED MAN—DRIVEN BY EGO, GUILT, AND A DESIRE FOR REDEMPTION. VENOM, THOUGH VIOLENT, FINDS PURPOSE THROUGH EDDIE. TOGETHER, THEY FORM A SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP THAT’S BOTH LITERAL AND METAPHORICAL.
THE FILM ALSO TOUCHES ON CORPORATE GREED AND UNETHICAL SCIENCE. CARLTON DRAKE’S EXPERIMENTS REFLECT REAL-WORLD CONCERNS ABOUT POWER, CONTROL, AND THE COST OF PROGRESS. HOWEVER, THESE THEMES ARE LIGHTLY EXPLORED AND OFTEN OVERSHADOWED BY ACTION.
SYMBOLICALLY, VENOM REPRESENTS THE DARKER SIDE OF HUMAN NATURE—RAGE, HUNGER, AND SURVIVAL INSTINCT. YET, THROUGH EDDIE’S INFLUENCE, HE EVOLVES. THIS TRANSFORMATION SUGGESTS THAT EVEN MONSTROUS ENTITIES CAN CHANGE WHEN EXPOSED TO EMPATHY AND CONNECTION.
AUDIENCE RECEPTION ✓ BOX OFFICE
DESPITE MIXED REVIEWS FROM CRITICS, VENOM WAS A BOX OFFICE SUCCESS. IT GROSSED OVER $850 MILLION WORLDWIDE, PROVING THAT AUDIENCES WERE HUNGRY FOR UNCONVENTIONAL SUPERHERO STORIES. FANS PRAISED HARDY’S PERFORMANCE AND THE FILM’S HUMOR, WHILE CRITICS POINTED OUT ITS TONAL INCONSISTENCIES AND THIN PLOT.
ON ROTTEN TOMATOES, THE FILM HOLDS A 30% CRITIC SCORE BUT A MUCH HIGHER AUDIENCE SCORE OF 81%, HIGHLIGHTING THE DIVIDE BETWEEN PROFESSIONAL AND PUBLIC OPINION. IMDB RATES IT 6.6/10, REFLECTING ITS STATUS AS A FLAWED BUT ENTERTAINING RIDE.
THE FILM’S POPULARITY LED TO A SEQUEL, VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE (2021), FURTHER EXPANDING THE SYMBIOTE UNIVERSE.
FINAL VERDICT
VENOM ISN’T A PERFECT FILM—BUT IT’S UNDENIABLY FUN. TOM HARDY’S WILD PERFORMANCE, THE BIZARRE HUMOR, AND THE DYNAMIC BETWEEN EDDIE AND VENOM MAKE IT A MEMORABLE ENTRY IN THE SUPERHERO GENRE. IT’S MESSY, LOUD, AND SOMETIMES RIDICULOUS—BUT THAT’S PART OF ITS CHARM.
IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A DEEP, PHILOSOPHICAL MARVEL FILM, THIS ISN’T IT. BUT IF YOU ENJOY ANTI-HEROES, MONSTER MAYHEM, AND UNEXPECTED LAUGHS, VENOM DELIVERS. IT’S A POPCORN FLICK WITH PERSONALITY.
RATING√ ★★★★☆ {4√5}
RECOMMENDED FOR: FANS OF DARK COMEDIES, MONSTER MOVIES, AND UNCONVENTIONAL HEROES.
