Like the universe itself, the “Marvel Universe” keeps expanding. The latest super-character to receive a movie of his own is an alien called Venom, an organism that has chosen investigative reporter Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) as his host. Just don’t call Venom a parasite—he finds that offensive.
Venom the movie is at times a visual and narrative mess, but it’s anchored by a pair of interesting human characters brought to life by fine actors. The hard-charging, shouting truth-to-power Brock loses his job, his status and his fiancé after confronting the powerful man who becomes his foe. For Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed), think a sinister Elon Musk—an inspiring foreign-born genius whose self-made empire underwrites his private space program. But he’s got secrets!
As for those slimy, sharp-toothed aliens, Venom and his fellow travelers arrive on Earth when Drake’s space probe picks them up as specimens. Drake is one of those world-changing visionaries for whom humankind is only the raw material for his private utopia. He lures the homeless of San Francisco into his research center and exposes them to the aliens (“symbiotes” he calls them) who slither into their bodies. “Such poor design—human beings,” Drake says after another homeless man dies, his organs consumed by the alien parasite. Ahmed’s low-key performance endows Drake’s monomania with the power of emotional manipulation and rationality. He’s not a mad scientist but a bad man.
Brock is the protagonist and sometimes reluctant good guy. He becomes sympathetic once he’s down on his luck, thanks to the endearing vulnerability Hardy brings to the role. Reduced to living in a slum apartment, Brock can do nothing right—even his plant dies—until he’s drawn into a plan to thwart Drake’s scheme to fuse the symbiotes with humans to engineer a superior race.
Without setting off too many spoiler alarms, suffice it to say that the symbiote called Venom enters Brock’s body. “Think of yourself as my ride,” Venom tells him with Darth Vader sternness. Where the alien learned English is anyone’s guess, but he speaks it better than many natives. After a while, man and alien bond—in friendship. Venom even gives Brock tips on winning back his ex-fiancé, Anne (Michelle Williams).
And here’s another spoiler: Despite its grossness and seen-it-a-million-times-already effects, and all that mouse-click mayhem on the San Francisco streets, Venom is eventually elevated by humor. The banter between host and parasite is funny. Refusing to take itself entirely seriously, Venom becomes a buddy picture with a bad guy (and some bad aliens). As the Marvel Universe continues to expand, I suspect we’ll be seeing the odd couple of Brock and Venom again.
