Film Review – Venom

Just over a decade ago, Sony attempted to do something with the character of Venom, adding the wily symbiote to an already overstuffed “Spider-Man 3,” assigning Topher Grace the challenge of bringing a vicious alien organism to life. It didn’t work, but there’s a distinct never say die attitude in the world of comic book movies, and Venom is much too bizarre a creation to pass up for good. The hulking black beast with Cadbury Creme Egg eyes and a Gene Simmons tongue has returned in “Venom,” finding a much more committed actor in Tom Hardy to portray the duality of man and symbiote. The picture is not without its problems, offering one of the weaker third acts in recent memory, but director Reuben Fleischer captures a particular spirit with “Venom,” which is violent and silly, juvenile and demented, summoning a compelling mess of personalities and property destruction. It doesn’t have the epic stance of its superhero competition, but the feature does just fine existing in its own world of impish behavior and premiere Hardy freak-outs. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com