Venom : The Lethal Protector

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First and foremost, the film Venom has some issues. It has some lazy Hollywood plot devices, a convoluted love story, awful story logic, some horrendous CGI effects, and some very poor acting. That said, I kind of really liked the movie.

Starring cult film classic Tom Hardy, and directed by Ruben Fleischer, the movie features the David Michelinie/Scott McFarland Marvel creation Venom. More info can be found here regarding their creation and its origin/history for those unaware.

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Ultimately, the film’s narrative is as such:

• The Elon Musk archetype, Carlton Drake, uses his private space program to search for new habitats for humanity in outer space, because humanity is a parasite and the Earth is doomed

• On one such space exploration, the crew of Drake’s spacecraft discovers an asteroid with living organisms attached to it

• Let’s call these living organisms “alien symbiotes”

• The spacecraft has issues when reentering earth’s atmosphere, and crashes in Malaysia

• Three alien symbiotes are recovered in the wreckage; one symbiote escapes

• Drake’s company brings three recovered symbiotes back to San Francisco, discovers that these symbiotes are parasitic, and attempts to merge the parasite with the human host

We’ll call this a modified version of the transhumanistic vision; for humanity to continue to exist, and being a parasite in nature, it needs another parasite to continue its longevity as a species…a parasite required for the survival of a another parasite, as it were. God’s vision of human design was short sighted; the biology of the species needs something else to endure.

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As all of this is happening, renegade investigative reporter Eddie Brock is on the streets of San Francisco fighting social injustice. He’s happily engaged and employed, yet lets his desire for controversy ruin his life. He discovers information on his fiancé’s lap top regarding a lawsuit against Drake and his potential unethical methods; he then confronts Drake during a casual interview, ruins both his work and future marriage, and is told multiple times to “have a nice life.”

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Fast forward a bit, Brock is gained access to Drake’s compound with the assistance of a Drake colleague/whistle blower, and Brock becomes infected with the symbiote/parasite. Venom, thus, is born, and demonstrates his power while encountering armed soldiers in a) motorcycle chase from the Drake compound, b) in his apartment, and c) at the office of his former employer. Each of these fights demonstrates the immense, almost supernatural power of the alien symbiote. The symbiote can not only absorb bullets and grenade fragmentation, but it can also rip the head off of bad human beings.

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Eventually, Venom/Brock take on the film’s main antagonist, the hybrid Drake/symbiote Riot (this is the symbiote that escaped from the crashed ship initially), and (you guessed it), they win. I thought this fight scene was pretty cool; the two symbiotes are tearing at one another in slow-motion while Brock and Drake are consumed in the butchery. The film is then over, and there’s a Carnage foreshadow midway through the credits to keep Venom fans interested.

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It wasn’t the most exciting or provocative film I’ve seen this year; yet behind all of the overlong action sequences, poor writing, and multiple suspensions of disbelief, the movie thrives at demonstrating the ultimately sick, psychotic, bizarre relationship between two very unconfident sentient beings. Eddie Brock, the insecure human being and Venom, the “loser” from his species. The two of them, as independent entities, are weak and pathetic creatures. Brock cowers from a gunman taking protection money from his local convenience store prior to his introduction to the symbiote. Venom is (I think), the docile soldier expected to obey to the direction of Riot. Combined, however, they feed off of one another to generate confidence and strength that lets them become their own creation that can do anything they want; Venom. Together, there is a weird love / physical connection between the two living beings that is a) demented, b) scary, and c) extremely powerful.

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With all that said, I’d recommend the movie to those who enjoy the Eddie Brock / Venom character. I thought the movie was fun, and I really enjoyed the dynamic between Hardy’s character and the symbiote. I would be remiss to not mention the current ongoing Donny Cates Venom series, however; if you haven’t kept up with that, I’d highly recommend it! The manic, oddly loving relationship between Brock and Venom is on full display through the first seven issues of that series. Good stuff.

So if you have some free time this weekend and want to watch an entertaining comic book film, I'd highly suggest this one. It's not the Dark Knight, or even the Guardians of the Galaxy, but it is a fun movie.

If you did see it as well, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the movie as well.

PS : I'm very bullish on this group that @Clearbluecrypto set up on Steemvoter called Comic Book Curators. I'm happy to add a bit of value where I can to what I think could be a wonderful collaboration of comic book fans. Check it out on Steemvoter if interested.