The Marvel movie is a different take on the usual superhero film, instead focussing on the villain who made his debut in 2007′s ‘Spider Man 3’, but it hasn’t exactly gone down well with the critics.
In fact, that might be a bit of an understatement, as it has been almost universally panned.
Here’s a round up of what the critics are saying...
″‘Venom’ is a mess of a movie, a baffling mishmash of sci-fi, horror and comedy elements and one which squanders most of the resources at its disposal. Prime among these are the two stars, Tom Hardy and Michelle Williams, who are giving intriguing and appealing performances before the parasite gets into the system and sucks out all the juice from the drama.”
The Guardian (One star)
“Director Ruben Fleischer, who made ‘Zombieland’ and ‘Gangster Squad’, is uninspired. ‘Venom’ is riddled with the poison of dullness.”
Digital Spy (Two stars)
“Venom’s plot is riddled with clichés, from Carlton’s moustache-twirling to Eddie’s every predictable move, and repeatedly abandons story elements. The script is painfully basic, at times resorting – like an old comic book that explains in words what is clearly happening on the page – to just telling us exactly what we’ve just seen.”
“Venom could have been a fun creation, but the film spends too long watching him…originate. The movie ‘Venom’ actually wants to be is the sequel.”
Entertainment Weekly (C+)
″‘Venom’ isn’t quite bad, but it’s not exactly good either. It’s noncommittally mediocre and, as a result, forgettable. It just sort of sits there, beating you numb, unsure of whether it wants to be a comic-book movie or put the whole idea of comic-book movies in its crosshairs.”
“As an origin story, this one seems rote and unimaginative. On top of that, the writing and filmmaking are blah in every respect; the movie looks like an imitator, a wannabe, not the real deal.”
“It’s easy to watch a film like this and wonder why the likes of Hardy and Ahmed – great actors in so many other things – are wasting their talent. But spare a thought for someone like Michelle Williams, whose entire role here is to get shocked at dead bodies, tongue someone as an alien, and look dewy eyed at someone possessed by a parasite. You can just imagine the agent saying: ‘But Amy Adams did it’. She did, and with her CV and talent, that was even more depressing.
“The script is soon going to hell in a squishy handcart, since no one — not the three screenwriters, not director Ruben Zombieland Fleischer — appears to have any idea where to take the tale’s development except into a Hades of molten special effects and biff-bang showdowns.”
It hasn’t fared much better on social media either...
However, there were some who managed to find some positives...
‘Venom’ is out in UK cinemas now.