CINEMA OF THE SKY: VENOM

“Eyes! Lungs! Pancreas! So many snacks, so little time!”

— Venom

Full disclosure before you spend a single second more reading this blog: I am a massive superhero guy. And Venom takes place in a superhero universe. I am obviously completely biased.

Okay, read on...

THE FILM

SO being transparent I had massive expectations for this movie. Most of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is very whimsical and fun. This movie is a production in conjunction with Marvel, but not a part of the MCU. In simple terms, there is no chance of Venom every trickling his way into the next Tom Holland Spider Man movie, or in the next Avengers masterpiece. This movie is completely separate and stand alone. It was because of this, mixed with the pretty dark previews, that I thought Marvel was gonna take a very Dark Knight-esk approach to this film. Very angry, very dark, very real world.

I was wrong.

Instead, they chose to take a very MCU-esk approach with cheeky humor and one liners. I chuckled, and it was entertaining, but it didn't result in an award winning movie. Please don't get me wrong, I did not hate this movie. As previously stated, I am a super hero guy, so seeing Venom on the screen was a joy for certain. Additionally I find Tom Hardy to be one of the most overlooked and gifted actors of his generation. If you don't believe me, go watch Bronson on Netflix. 'Nuff said there. ANYWAYS, Tom Hardy does a smashing job with this movie as he plays a confused reporter whose life takes a turn for the worse, and eventually, the supernatural. He made me believe the character, and believe the hardship of being both Eddie Brock and Venom.

However, for me that was about as far as the positive's went. Without giving too much away, common knowledge tells us Venom is an alien being who merges with our hero Eddie Brock, and the two become one. That being said, you can rest assured there is a lot of alien mumbo jumbo in a film like this, and if you aren't careful, alien speak can come across as far fetched, unrealistic, and comical. That's exactly what happened here.

The movie shined brightest during action sequences, and when it leaned on the very rugged shoulders of Tom Hardy's performance. It struggled when it focused on any other character, including the main villain, and the general plot. If you do aliens like Amy Adams 2017 movie Arrival, you will do great things. Take the cheesier approach we see just about everywhere and your out of luck.

I loved seeing the Venom come to life, and I am a big Tom Hardy fan, but overall it was nothing earth shattering. My rating for THE FILM: 5.2

THE PLANE

This is the type of movie that plane rides were invented for. The Wright Brothers were like, "Have a movie with a strong amount of action with no real need to hear the dialogue or understand the plot?? I give you: The Airplane!!".

Obviously I am being sarcastic, but this would be a fantastic movie to watch on a plane. This movie doesn't really need too much focus, you don't need to be locked in on technical word play, you could dose off for 20 minutes and still get the gist of what's happening again when you wake up. Will the movie be better if you stay up? Duh, but I'm just saying it isn't a deal breaker here. There is no adult content so it will be untouched, and it's always nice to know you are watching the same film that came out in theaters. On your next flight, feel free to sit back, relax, and watch Venom the way it might as well have been made to be watched:  30,000 feet in the sky. My score for THE PLANE: 9.4

THE VERDICT

In summation, this movie was really nothing special. If you can appreciate a solid performance within a lackluster movie, give Tom Hardy a watch. If you enjoy the superhero world, this take on Venom was refreshing and fun, but don't expect a movie that will change your life. The movie isn't great, but it's perfect for the plane. That gives it a nice little boost, making THE VERDICT: 7.3

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