Venom Review

By: H. Sampaio and H. Esteves

Venom, a movie inspired by Marvel Comics, is about an alien species, also known as symbiotes, that arrive on Earth due to a spacecraft crash. They are transported by a bio-engineering corporation called Life Foundation and are taken to a research facility. Its notorious leader is called Carlton Drake. These symbiotes 'infect' a host and often kill them. However, if the host is compatible, they won’t kill it but instead become part of it! Investigative reporter Eddie Brock is infected by a symbiote called Venom and “luckily” is a compatible host. Gradually, Eddie learns how to deal with his infection while the company attempts to capture the symbiote for further research.
 
The protagonist of the movie, Eddie Brock, is interpreted by award-winning actor Tom Hardy. The character is a tad bit irrational but at the same time very courageous. He is willing to find evidence to prove that Life Foundation is doing the wrong (that it performs illegal experiments on homeless people). Consequently, this gets Brock into trouble.
 
But how good is the film? 
 
Despite not being Marvel's biggest success, it is surprisingly great. The interactions between men and the symbiote throughout the movie are extremely interesting. Both start of by having hostile interactions with one another and eventually manage to get along since they need to work together to achieve the same goal! At times, these interactions are quite funny (for example when the symbiote says simple things like “EAT” spontaneously) and add a comedic flair to the movie.
 
Overall the film combines action, a good deal of comedy, some horror and mystery aspects as well and, is topped off with great special effects. All these factors prove that Venom is indeed an all-in-one movie.
 
We just want to make a mention to Stan Lee (whose original name is Stanley Marley Lieber) who passed away on the 12th of November 2018 at the age of 95. He made cameos in every single Marvel movie and, most importantly, Stan Lee was an American comic book writer who was commonly known for his work with Marvel. Some of his famous works are the Fantastic Four, Spider Man, The Avengers, X-Men and The Inhumans.