“31% on Rotten Tomatoes?” After looking forward to this film’s release for months, my dreams of a quality Venom film were somewhat squashed. I went into the movie theater not expecting to be wowed in any sense.

But after leaving the theater, I felt satisfied with what I had watched for the past two hours. Critics are known to be overly harsh on movies, picking apart every little detail down to camera angles and word choice. They did no different with Sony’s Venom. Claiming that the film was too chaotic and noisy, critics resort to giving poor reviews. While critics gave this movie negative reviews, the audience consensus was actually positive, scoring an 88% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

On the contrary to the critics, I actually enjoyed Venom. Tom Hardy stole the show as the titular character, providing laughs and intense moments throughout the film. The portrayal that Hardy brings to the table is (somewhat) comic book accurate and relatable. I think movies are like people—they have good qualities and they have bad qualities. But just because they have bad qualities doesn’t mean they are a bad person, or in this case a bad movie.

Pros

• Tom Hardy’s performance as Eddie Brock is perfect. Sony could not have chosen anyone else that could do as good of a job.  
• The special effects are really good. Venom looks genuinely creepy and above all, terrifying.
• The action was easy to follow and fun to watch.
• Venom was funny, with an almost cynical type of humor that appeals to audiences.
• The sort of “dynamic duo” between Venom and Brock is highly entertaining, providing a fun experience for viewers.

Cons

• Venom’s main issue was definitely the dialogue. Some lines felt weird or unfit , and others just had strange word choice.
• Venom also had a lack of character development with anyone that wasn’t Tom Hardy. Sometimes it felt like Tom Hardy’s character was the only person in the movie. This is a result of a combination of Tom Hardy’s stellar performance and a lack of solid performance from actors that shared the screen with Hardy.

While Venom certainly has some issues, it is also a fun and entertaining movie, I think Marvel fans will certainly enjoy.