“Venom” is the perfect movie for the casual moviegoer. Unlike other Marvel movies, every part of it can be enjoyed without the plaguing worry over not having seen the dozen others before it. There are no references to an “incident” or characters whose names no one has bothered to remember; it stands tall on its own, separate from the other movies in Sony and Marvel’s cinematic universe.
At least, that’s what fans think. Critics, on the other hand, feel the movie fell flat.
“Venom” has a 30% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes and 35 (out of 100) on Metacritic. Meanwhile, fans gave the movie 88%, 95%, and 6.3 (out of 10) on Rotten Tomatoes, Google, and Metacritic, respectively.
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In his review for Common Sense Media, Jeffrey M, Anderson wrote, “this flatly written, uninspired comic-book action movie feels more like a paycheck-driven business decision than an artistic inspiration.”
The harsh assessment may have merit, but it doesn’t diminish the film’s own. Everything companies do is for money—that’s how America is run, and we are all okay with it. We are not now nor have we ever been primarily concerned with the intellectual or artistic quality of the things we consume. While it is a wonderful feeling when a movie can invigorate and inspire you, leaving you awe-struck and a little dizzy when you leave the theater, it is not necessary for the simple enjoyment of a movie.
The purpose of entertainment is to escape. At the movies, you leave yourself behind for two hours and immerse yourself in someone else’s problems, perfections, trials, and triumphs. Moviegoers unconsciously appreciate the artistry of a great film, but it’s not what keeps them glued to the screen.
Audiences are unconcerned whether or not “the ingratiating eccentricities of Venom aren’t enough to really distinguish the movie from its superhero-movie brethren,” as Glenn Kenny wrote for NYT. The formula for a superhero movie is simple, and audience members know it. We are fine with movies “stomping from one plot point to the next,” as Neil Soans wrote in Times of India, as long as we see our favorite characters, fun fight scenes, and a few explosions.
It seems that the only thing critics can praise about the movie is Tom Hardy’s performance.
“The only reason to see Venom—the latest excrescence from the vast Marvel universe—is Tom Hardy, whose amiable mugging makes a nice change from his recent manly, mush-mouthed stoicism,” said David Edelstein, writing for Vulture.
But fans find so much more.
While Some fans thinks the movie has sacrificed character development, fans fell in love with the movie’s characters in just two hours and have been flooding the internet with fan art and edits since its premiere.
Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) is a sweaty, dumpster-diving, tater-tot-eating sweetheart whom everyone loves. The disgraced journalist has many flaws, all of which make him relatable to the equally flawed audience. Venom (also Tom Hardy), whom Eddie affectionately refers to as “parasite” is surprisingly less hostile than the previews make him seem. The movie shows an interesting take on Venom’s character by making him an anti-hero as opposed to a villain and main antagonist as we saw in “Spider-Man 3.”
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Though the internet is primarily concerned with the dynamic between Eddie and Venom, the other characters are lovable too. Anne Weying (Michelle Williams), Eddie’s former fiancé, is a strong woman in her own right while also playing a supporting role in Eddie’s life. She is more than ready to help him through the symbiote ordeal, and she is not afraid to “fight dirty” against Carlton Drake/Riot (Riz Ahmed) or to leave Eddie when he betrays her trust.
Dr. Dan Lewis (Reid Scott), Anne’s new love interest, is also quite supportive, and he is secure enough in his relationship with Anne that he does not show a hint of jealousy when Eddie comes back into her life; he even uses his medical knowledge to try to help Eddie deal with the side effects of being Venom’s host. Even Carlton, the typical rich, evil scientist who goes too far in the name of innovation, was made a little less typical by being good with kids.
The characters brought us on a ride filled with laughter, nail-biting suspense, head-biting action, and unexpectedly tender moments. Venom was the perfect action-comedy (and some would say romance) to take our minds off of the events of “Avengers: Infinity War” and to hold us over until the highly-anticipated releases of “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” “Captain Marvel,” and “Spider-Man Far From Home.” While critics may think of the movie as “nonsensical chaos,” as Umesh Punwan wrote for Koimoi, it is the nonsensical chaos that fans both need and want right now.
