Venom

British actors have a special way to make characters, and give us solid films. There are of course many names we could mention when we talk about British actors. But let´s get into 3 actors who have made a big impact in cinema history. Sir Anthony Hopkins have made a lot of films in a very long time. And of course one of his most legendary characters is of course Hannibal Lecter in The Silence Of The Lambs. But if i had to choose another film with Anthony Hopkins, i would have to choose the 1993 film The Remains Of The Day, where he made a wonderful performance as Mr James Stevens, the butler of Darlington Hall. If you have not seen The Remains Of The Day, i suggest you see the movie. Legendary actor Emma Thompson also does a really good performance in this film. The next British actor that comes to my mind is Benedict Cumberbatch who have done a lot of really good performances, especially in the historical drama film The Imitation Game, based on the story of British mathematician Alan Turing. A very good drama film, where Benedict Cumberbatch gave a performance that made you feel for his character. Benedict have of course done a really good performance as Sherlock Holmes for several years, and i have not seen all of the British TV series. But i plan to watch all the episodes, since i enjoy the adaptation on the legendary detective. The final actor that we need to talk about is actor Tom Hardy. Most people might think about his amazing performance in Mad Max: Fury Road. But the first time i really discovered him was in the British film called Bronson. Released in 2008, the film tells the story about Michael Peterson ( based on the real English criminal Charles Bronson, who was born as Michael Peterson ). Tom Hardy did a really powerful performance as Bronson, and he really went all in to try and portrait the life of this well known criminal. If you have not seen Bronson, you should check it out. I know that not many people i have talked to have seen the film, for different reasons. But i think this film deserves to be recognized, for being a great crime drama. Tom continued doing a lot of quality films, such as Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Warrior. We have to mention a very special film known as Locke. A unique film since the whole film takes place inside a car, and you only see Tom Hardy as the only character, and the other actors are only speaking on a phone. Locke is a 2012 film that manage to capture you, for being both original and intelligent. And the performance of Tom Hardy strikes hard, a film you need to see.When i heard that Hardy was chosen to play the Marvel comic book character Venom, i was excited. A great choice for this character. Since many of the Marvel films have been really good, is Venom one of the highlights in recent years, or a big disappointment for both fans and audiences ?

A probe belonging to Life Foundation, is exploring space for new habitable worlds. A comet is discovered with symbiotioc lifeforms. Four samples is taken back to Earth, but one escape and crash in Malaysia. The Life Foundation recover the other three and transports them to their research facility center in San Francisco. CEO Carlton Drake ( Riz Ahmed ) learns that the symbiotes can not survive without oxygen-breathing hosts, so Carlton use humans as experiments to see what happens with the symbiotes. Journalist investigator Eddie Brock ( Tom Hardy ) reads about Drake´s human trials in a classified document in the possession of fiancée Anne Weyning ( Michelle Williams ). Eddie confront Carlton to find out the truth about, but is later fired from his job, and also make his fiancée Anne fired from her job as well. Eddie is forced to live on his own, and find a way to go on with his life. 6 months later, Drake is close to achieving a successful symbiosis. One of Carlton´s scientists known as Dr. Dora Skirth ( Jenny Slate ) approach Eddie since she is ready to expose Carlton´s research work. Dora helps Eddie to get inside the research facility to find evidence. Eddie finds out that a homeless woman named Maria ( Melora Walters ), has become one of Carlton´s test subjects. Eddie attempts to rescue Maria, but the symbiote possessing her body move into Eddie´s body instead as Maria dies. Eddie manage to get out of the research facility. Something is happening to Eddie, he hears voices and notice himself changing, especially when he is angry. Carlton finds out that Eddie have the symbiote inside of him. Eddie is now hunted, and have no idea how to control this other personality.

Before i watched this film in Cinema, i know fans and critics were very divided about this film. So i am going to tell you my personal opinions about Venom, without being affected by other critics. Let´s get into the positive first. Tom Hardy is the best part about this film. His journalist character Eddie Brock helps this film get on the right track, since Hardy knows how to develop characters. The scenes where he hears another voice talking in his mind, also shows you that he can act outside the comfort zone. Actor Michelle Williams as district attorney Anne Weying is also a highlight in this film. Michelle have no problem making her character feel interesting, but we don´t get to see her that much. I would have liked to see more of her in this film, since she clearly have a big impact on Eddie´s past. The CGI effects of Venom may not be perfect, but i think it works with the concept of the character. Venom actually feels like a great character to make in a stand alone film, and there are scenes here where we get to see Venom make an impact. The action scenes is also one thing that works, for the most part. Especially the fighting scenes. Now, let´s get to the negative. Riz Ahmed as inventor Carlton Drake is way to bleak to care about. The scenes we see Hardy and Riz on screen, it becomes very clear that Riz Ahmed can´t act out on the same professional level as Hardy. And this is not a good sign, in a film like this. You would have needed a stronger actor to play Carlton Drake. The story is not very interesting to be honest. We do get to find out about some deails on the alien symbiote, but other than that it is a very basic story that follows. As a movie based on a comic book character, i still feel that Venom has something to offer, especially for fans of the Spider-Man audience. Director Ruben Fleischer ( who have directed several films, especially his well made directorial debut film Zombieland ) have taken on a project that is not easy to do correctly. I don´t think he have done everything correct with Venom, but as a first stand alone film for Venom this is a good start. But let us be clear, that without Tom Hardy in the lead role we could have had a completely different film here. One of the things director Ruben Fleischer does well, is to make sure that the main character Eddie give this film a dark tone with his transformation. And when you have a human transforming into Venom, you need a dark tone to make it work. If you enjoy the previous Marvel films in the past, i don´t see any reason why you should not see Venom. This is not one of the better Marvel films, but still entertaining. If you love comic book adaptations, i think you should give Venom a chance in a Cinema near you. 

Rating: DDD