The Anti-Hero superhero has been most popular in this generation of movies, with recent success from Deadpool and Doctor Strange.
Sony Pictures attempted to capitalize on this phenomenon with Venom. Starring the brooding and mysterious Tom Hardy, whose experience in anti-hero movies dates back to 2012 when Hardy took on the role as the mercenary Bane.
In Venom, the 41-year old actor plays Eddie Brock, a hard-nosed investigative reporter whose passion for the truth gets him fired, and he is forced to move to San Francisco with his girlfriend Anne, played by Michelle Williams (The Greatest Showman).
In the Bay Area, Brock finds success again but gets confronted with a difficult decision when the billionaire Carlton Drake discovers an alien species of body-swapping parasites called symbiotes, and Brock finds out this information. Eddie’s choice whether to let the world know or not will make a lasting impact on his life and his morals.
Tom Hardy is the main attraction. The other cast members are well-known but not to the caliber of the Critic’s Choice award winner.
When it’s a stand-alone film, the expectations are higher, and with that, Hardy put on a well-executed performance. The portrayal of having Venom inside of him is very entertaining, both amusing and serious.
Hardy goes away from his usual intimidating and dark character and can be seen as more lightful and energetic. The type of character Venom is has never been portrayed in the big screen before, and Hardy, along with the visual effects crew, did an amazing job at showcasing the anti hero’s abilities while making it look realistic.
However, the biggest issue is the anti-hero storyline. There are a lot of plot holes and the script is thin.
The movie also is quite different than how the marketing for it made it out to be. It seemed dark and serious with no insight of it being a comedy. Their are some points where it takes this shape of a weird buddy comedy with Eddie and Venom talking while a huge action is taking place. It’s also fast and scattered, which is not a good formula for a superhero movie.
It’s good to see big companies giving chances to fan favorites such as Venom, but attempting to do a whole movie without Spider-Man, a character that made Venom famous, is a missed opportunity. Not to say that there should be a huge role for the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man but at least a mention would have been enough. With a Venom sequel already confirmed, it’ll be interesting to see where they take the beloved anti-hero.
Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures