Justin’s Score: 8/10

“Fun film with great character chemistry. A movie for the fans that isn’t bogged down by a cinematic universe like the Marvel Cinematic Universe (…yet).”

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 28%

Metacritic Score: 35%

~Note: This Review Contains Minor Spoilers~

Here is my take on one of the most divisive movies of last year… where the critics slammed it and the audiences loved it. Well, I’m on the audiences’ side with this one. When I originally saw the trailers for this movie, I thought it was going to be rated R. When it was announced that it was PG-13, I was a bit hesitant. Not that this is a bad rating by any means (since it is pretty status-quo with superhero movies), but this is a dark and complex character. The last time Venom was portrayed in a PG-13 film – Spider-Man 3 with Tobey Maguire – it was an aspect of the movie critics had a big gripe with. With this in mind, I wasn’t sure how they would pull off Venom’s character in a PG-13 film a second-time around (Especially when there is not even a Spider-Man reference in this movie!)… Well, I’m happy to report that it was fun from beginning to end.

This movie doesn’t try to cram 50+ subplots – it is the simple story of Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) becoming invaded with an “alien” symbiote known as “Venom.” After becoming infected, it is “their” job to take down Carlton Drake, the founder of Life Foundation. Drake becomes Riot later on in the movie and this sets up the hero vs. villain plot. The chemistry between Brock and Venom is fantastic and it is entertaining to watch them bicker between each other. This film has some good light-hearted moments played for laughs, with one being a deleted scene where Brock tells Venom to stop playing with the car window. The action was fun and intriguing, and Brock/Venom is a character chemistry I can’t wait to see more of. The only real downside of the movie, which other reviews have mentioned, is the generic Carlton Drake/Riot supervillain. Riot is not memorable in the least, but in reality, it is challenging to have a supervillain introduced in one movie become interesting. If you aren’t tired of superhero movies or don’t have a case of superhero fatigue, I recommend watching this film at least once… You will be pleasantly surprised.