Venom (Limited Edition Steelbook) [4K UHD + Blu-ray + Digital]

This is an MCU adjacent movie. It exists in the world of Spiderman, but the decision was to use it as a stand alone movie without using the black suit version of Spiderman to introduce Venom (as was done in Spderman 3), Therefore, the symbiots were brought to Earth from a space mission, killing all but one of the astronauts. They were discovered by the head of the company that funded the mission called Life Sciences, who then begins experimenting bonding the symbiots with homeless and drug addicted humans. Tom Hardy plays Eddie Brock, a former reporter who was fired and now doing freelance work. Of course, one of the symbiots joins with him to form Venom.The movie is a great blend of action and very dark humor. Because they did not use Spiderman, Venom is introduced in the anti-hero version of the character, doing bad things (mainly eating) bad guys. There is a great supporting cast including Jenny Slate, Scott Haze, Riz Ahmed, and Michelle Williams, who plays the ex-wife of Eddie Brock. She does a really great job playing off Tom Hardy, and brings a lot of the comedy to the movie, which is outside her usual acting roles. The best part of the movie is the discussions/arguments/bickering that goes on between Brock and Venom, mostly in Brock's mind which makes it look to everyone else like he is talking to himself. It also requires Hardy to do a lot of physical comedy, which he turns out to be great at.For those who get the 4K blu-ray, the movie looks and sounds great. On the UHD disc there is only the movie and the into the spiderverse preview. All the other extras are on the regular blu ray. Those include several deleted scenes, including an extended version of the end credits scene which teases where the next movie will go assuming it gets made, then about an hour's worth of making of and behind the scenes material mixed with some featurettes on the history of the Venom character. Definiitely a lot there, and very good.I cannot say everyone will like the movie, and it definitely pushes the PG-13 rating to the limit, mostly because of the language. There is a lot of swearing and some sexually suggestive jokes. It is closer to Deadpool than it is to say Avengers. But it puts a different twist on the MCU movies, and sets up a good possible franchise to exist in that universe. It worth checking out.

It was good

I don’t know why I took so long to watch this movie. Tom did a really good job in this and the plot wasn’t too bad even if it didn’t follow the story that I am used to. The family really enjoyed it and it made us want to watch the sequels

I'm not a comics guy, and didn't love this character in the 1st-gen Spider-Man movie with Topher Grace. But I like Tom Hardy's work, and the trailers looked good, so I took a chance. I was pleasantly surprised.I'm not going to dive too far into the plot, which is fine -- good even -- but with this genre to me it's more about how well the superhero-type premise works. Venom is decidedly different from the patented Marvel films. The characters are not as black and white (save for the villain, a capitalist entrepreneur type who is actually pretty evil) and the "super" conceit is not as slick. Venom is darker and dirtier, with a protagonist who isn't a painful jerk like Eddie Brock in the Spider-Man film, but isn't necessarily a glossy Marvel hero-type either.Tom Hardy's performance carries the film. The premise here is different from the outset -- Venom is a space-born alien parasite, not a lab accident or a magic ring. He's not nice. Not evil, necessarily, but definitely not a magical force for good. Hardy's Eddie Brock would like to be a force for good, but he's a bit of a mess as a struggling reporter who gets fired for being too aggressive with a self-aggrandizing scientist in an interview and manages to lose his girlfriend in the process.The fun of the movie is seeing what happens when Venom and Brock get together. Hardy acts the Venom voice he hears in his head as well, and it's that terrific, gonzo performance that propels the movie. It would not have worked with anything less.The effects and production values here are fine -- for the most part as high as people have come to expect. The biggest Marvel Movies have more whiz-bang in the CGI department, but lack the interesting off-center characterizations here. IS Venom evil? Is Eddie good? If neither of these things are clear, can the combination of the two of them nevertheless be worthwhile?Don't get me wrong -- this film isn't a deep, probing Oscar-bait drama. It simply isn't the genre for that. But it's fascinating to watch Hardy navigate his dual role and make something happen here. The sensibilities in play are more textured than the usual comic-book-based morality play, and it manages to feel both spookier and more grounded than the shiny superhero sky-battle stuff (okay there might be one sky battle).Four stars for a different, and arguably better take on the superhero movie. I'm looking forward to the sequel and hope it holds on to the quirky, gritty flavor that make Venom a lot more fun than many reviews would have you believe. Check it out.

I love the venom movies, very entertaining, highly recommend

My friend convinced me that this franchise was not the horror genre that I thought it was. It really was quite funny and places. I had to rent it to watch it on Amazon, but it was well worth it.

Good movie

Great movie