VENOM

Publicity poster for Venom (© Ruben Fleischer/Columbia Pictures/Marvel Entertainment/Tencent Pictures/Arad Productions/Matt Tolmach Productions/Pascal Pictures/Sony Pictures Releasing - reproduced here on a strictly non-commercial Fair Use basis for educational/review purposes only)

On 23 October 2018, I paid another visit to my local cinema and finally watched Venom, the 2018 Marvel Comics Universe (MCU) movie directed by Ruben Fleischer that I'd been wanting to see ever since it came out a few weeks earlier, and I wasn't disappointed.

Originally created by comic book writers Todd McFarlane and David Michelinie, Venom has always been my favourite Marvel baddie, but is played here more as an anti-hero come good, and as can definitely be anticipated from any film attempting to bring this particular character to life on-screen it was liberally packed throughout with awesome CGI sorcery. The latter has certainly come a long way since my first on-screen Venom viewing, in Spider-Man 3 (2007), when the voracious V starred alongside the film's eponymous web-spinning hero (played by Toby Maguire).

True, it takes a fair length of time in this newest film before Venom makes its full visual debut – in stark contradiction to the age-old maxim that children should be seen but not heard, Venom is initially heard but not seen. However, once those tooth-brimming megalodon-worthy jaws and a tongue that puts even Gene Simmons's to shame finally do hit the screen, the scene is duly set for some delightfully OTT gurning and grimacing thereafter.

The plot basically revolves around the archetypal evil genius who this time round sees the future of humanity inextricably bound both metaphorically and physically to an alien life form retrieved from a comet that can live only by combining with another life form, i.e. good old Homo sapiens as usual. The alien symbiote gives its human host super-powers - but at what ultimate cost to the host?

 

 

My official Marvel 12-inch-tall Venom action figure (photo © Dr Karl Shuker)

Intrepid-to-the-point-of-foolhardy investigative reporter Eddie Brock, played with great likeability by Tom Hardy, is soon to find out, when he inadvertently becomes one such host, with the alien symbiote introducing itself to him as Venom, and uttering its amusingly laconic quips inside Eddie's head with a menacing but dry Lothario-like voice. Worth noting, incidentally, is that this latter vocal is also supplied by Hardy, but has been modified digitally in order to create an aurally distinct personality for Venom when the latter is not visually present.

Without revealing the twists and turns of the plot, I can say that the relentlessly evil symbiote Riot also makes, well, an absolute riot of an appearance, leading up to a climax of cataclysmic proportions. There is also a short but very teasing mid-end credits scene whose content strongly indicates that there are plans for further Venom movies – which is fine by me!

Click here and especially here to watch a couple of official Venom trailers showcasing to great dramatic effect its toothy, tongue-twirling MCU & CGI star leading long-suffering Tom Hardy a not-so-merry dance of duality in a fast, furious, and sometimes truly hilarious cinematic tour de force.

And to view a complete listing of all of my Shuker In MovieLand blog's other film reviews and articles (each one instantly accessible via a direct clickable link), please click HERE!

A second publicity poster for Venom (© Ruben Fleischer/Columbia Pictures/Marvel Entertainment/Tencent Pictures/Arad Productions/Matt Tolmach Productions/Pascal Pictures/Sony Pictures Releasing - reproduced here on a strictly non-commercial Fair Use basis for educational/review purposes only)