Marvel’s VENOM: An Enjoyable Thrillride Through and Through!

***Contains Minor Expository Spoilers***

While pondering if you are going to see Sony Pictures’ first foray into the MCU, you might be tempted to look at Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB review scores. While 187 RT critics currently score it a 32%, I urge you to join the mob and their 89% Fresh rating average between 16.2 THOUSAND viewer ratings; in this case, the mob is right.

Tom Hardy plays the lovable, reprehensible loser that is Brock VERY well. His self-deprecating banter and it comes across as authentic and genuinely funny without cloning other wisecracking heroes like Deadpool, Starlord and Peter Parker. Though the first act is a bit long, setting up the antihero is paramount to making you care about the dual-natured Venom and the PG13 action-sequence payoffs are HUGE.

VENOM isn’t a perfect movie; Michelle Williams’ character is portrayed in a strong-willed supporting role, but her attitude towards the monstrous symbiote is a bit inhumanly stoic at times. Riz Ahmed’s character is treated with a somewhat heavy-hand, forcing the audience to accept and hate him as the villain. Despite these and other minor issues, I disagree with most of the vehemently negative reviews critics gave this movie. It seems expectations for superhero movies have made many critics tone-deaf as to what they really are meant to be: entertainment. Also, for those that are disappointed with the absence of Spider-Man or VENOM’s mostly complete departure from the “black suit” origin as presented in the comics, I say that this is the MCU and you should expect this by now. I totally understand if you don’t like the situation, but it is never going to change. Just stay away from the cinema and let the rest of us eat our popcorn.