Sony’s newest venture into the movie scene re-introduces the infamous anti-hero “Venom” to the big screen. It delivers a film full of some highs and many lows.

My first impression when watching the trailer six months ago was, “This will be a violent, rated R horror movie just in time for Halloween. Nothing can go wrong, right?”

I was wrong. Venom’s special effects and cinematography were not enough to compensate for the horrible story. Venom in the comics is an ultra-violent character that forces its hosts into eating people. It felt out of place to see him simply knocking people out instead of going further.

The predictably and unoriginality is astonishing. I feel bad for director Ruben Fleischer who was matched with a horrendous script. Surprisingly, Fleischer makes the most of the script, making Venom look miles better than Venom’s sub-par appearance in 2007’s Spider-Man 3.

This charisma could have saved the film if it wasn’t for the supporting cast. First, the antagonist Carlton Drake was one of the most cliche villains on the big screen in years. Drake, who is played by Academy Award winner Riz Ahmed, is your typical rich antagonist where his motives are nothing but money.

Overall, Venom stumbles and shoots itself in the foot too many times. If you are looking for a fun movie to occupy two hours, you will have to look elsewhere.

Eamon

The Good:

Sony’s new Venom movie may not have been what people were expecting from the film, but it wasn’t a bad movie. Venom broke the October box office record by $20 million with a total debut revenue being $80 million.

People were expecting a gory, graphic, R rated movie. They had to cut the gory scenes, which were made so Sony could introduce Spiderman into the next movie Venom shows up in. Because Venom will return, maybe with you friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, they had to make the film appropriate for the Spiderman audience as well.

The story can be viewed cynically, where a person gets powers and fights evil. Or, it can be viewed closely and you can see they tried their hardest to make an original film with a intriguing story-line.

The concept of a person who finds a sentient being from a far off place that inhabits his body is definitely unique, but has been done since the concept appeared years ago in comics and movies picked up the concept later on.

This story mostly follows the plot of the comic series Lethal Protector which includes Venom going to Eddie Brock first, instead of Spider-Man, and they have to fight symbiotes that the Life Foundation has created in there labs. Knowing this might satisfy a couple of watchers wondering where Spiderman might appear.

Overall, the movie does have its flaws, but it definitely is not a bad movie. It’s still a good movie, I would give it a B-.