Movie review: Venom

IT IS such a let-down when you so badly want a badass anti-hero like Deadpool, but end up being served a hot mess called Venom.

You are not sure if this movie is supposed to be a drama, horror, or comedy, and that is one of the reasons Venom will not resonate with many people.
Despite having some great talents involved, the film lacks any sort of depth to make it memorable.
It begins with a rocket crashing into the jungles of Sibu (woo hoo!), and the paramedics discovering one of the scientists onboard still alive. Turns out the rocket was carrying some alien life-forms, and one of them has gone missing.
You kind of expect what happens next, and this particular alien parasite thingy starts moving from body to body.
We are then introduced to Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy), a committed investigative journalist who seems to be enjoying a good career and also a great life with his lawyer girlfriend, Anne (Michelle Williams).
Given a simple assignment to interview genius inventor and billionaire Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed) for a public relations-type segment for his channel, Eddie decides to pose some very hard questions about some controversial experiments that Drake’s company has been carrying out.
With no proof to back his claims, Eddie gets fired and also loses his girlfriend after he not only breaks her trust but gets her fired from her job as well.
Months later, a completely down-on-his-luck Eddie is approached by Dr Skirth (Jenny Slate), a scientist who works for Clayton.
Appalled by Clayton’s human experiments with the symbiotes (aka alien life-forms which were taken off a rocket), she sneaks Eddie into the lab but Eddie ends up getting infected instead.
When Clayton sends his goons after Eddie, the symbiote – which has become one with Eddie – unleashes havoc.
The best parts of the film are obviously in the trailer, while Eddie’s constant wisecracks (not as enjoyable as Deadpool’s) during tense scenes are neither funny nor necessary.
The actors try to do their best with their roles, but it is a pity that Riz never got to utilise his considerable talents fully.
There are two post-credit clips, one of which shows there are plans for a sequel. Maybe the studio executives should consider waiting until they see how well (or badly) this does at the box office.