Venom

[rogueslayer452]

I saw Venom yesterday and it was so good.

I'll be honest, this movie wasn't even on my radar until I saw people raving about it. Basically, the critics were hating on it and giving it low scores, which made people want to watch it, and everyone came back and said it was the best superhero/comic book movie romcom they've seen. At first I thought people were exaggerating, that it's just wishful thinking, it's lighthearted joking just to see Tom Hardy have fun and be ridiculous on screen. But then I saw it, and I finally understood.

Venom truly is a superhero/comic book movie romcom, in the best possible unintentional way.

Not only that, but since I wasn't familiar with the comics, I learned that Eddie/Venom are actually canon in the comics, just with how their relationship is presented with Eddie calling Venom "love" and "darling", holding hands at the movie theater, giving Venom Valentine's day chocolate in a heart-shaped box, and all of that good stuff. We didn't get that far in the movie with those kinds of endearments just yet (they literally just met/melded together, so y'know, it'll take some time, but I'm hoping in the sequel we'll get more of that), but just seeing people posting evidence of what was featured in the comics just solidifies the presence featured on the screen for me (I also couldn't help but make comparisons to Deadpool in that way, especially with Wade's pansexuality). Like, certain moments and beats in the movie were completely designed from certain romcom tropes. There's the awkward first meeting, the bantering, there's a bonding, a slight confrontation of feelings of betrayal, then the getting back together with a renewed sense to their relationship and both Eddie and Venom saving each other, and Venom literally deciding to stay and save Earth because of Eddie. Like, he actually says that in the movie. If that isn't romantic coding, I don't know what is. They even fucking made out, like are you kidding me right now. You can't tell me this wasn't a gay as fuck movie, even if they didn't intend for it to be, that's how it reads and that's how everyone is viewing it, especially for those who read the comics and knows the chemistry and history and relationship Eddie and Venom have.

Plus, Eddie Brock is such a likable and endearing protagonist. He's not this dark, brooding, stoic anti-hero type that we're so used to seeing in these kinds of roles for male characters. Instead he's an emotional sweetheart, he's a investigative journalist who reports on social issues and advocates against evil corporations and people who take advantage of innocents, and he's quite relatable in many ways, and he's also a dumbass who fucks up, and spends most of the movie as a sad, depressed, disaster kind of man who ends up thoroughly confused and freaked out but still somewhat adaptable to the situation he finds himself in. It doesn't hurt that he's played by Tom Hardy, who is just an endearing guy altogether. His entire performance is what makes his character enjoyable, in my opinion. The supporting cast is just as great, as well.

Just, the film itself was incredibly fun. Like, I had such a good time, it had the right combination of comedy and action and ridiculousness to keep you entertained from start to finish. I wasn't bored when I was watching it, and I laughed so many times. It's such a delightful movie. And yes, I went into this film with wanting to see not just Tom Hardy, but Tom Hardy flirting with and making out with his Symboite alien, and I was not disappointed. I got that and then some.


All of this can be summed up to say that, critics don't like to have fun. Not everything has to live up to be this grand Oscar-worthy masterpiece of cinema. Sometimes, a movie can simply be this fun and ridiculous piece of entertainment and that's enough. Never mind that movies are made for the audience, not critics. This is a good example of not really paying that much attention to the Rotten Tomatoes scores in the first place, at least when it comes to the critics. We've all done it, judged a movie based on how "fresh" or "rotten" it is from that site, or just from what the vast majority has reported from, even if we sometimes don't want to admit it. But no critic should dictate what you view as enjoyable. Hell, most of the things I enjoy probably have been panned by both critics and audiences alike, but I don't care because I love them anyway. Like what you like.

(Plus, I've been having a rough week for different reasons, and I just wanted to see something fun. Venom really helped a lot with making me laugh, I smiled so much and had a great time, and that's what matters. I loved it and I want to see it again and again and again.)

Comments

[awakenyourfaith.livejournal.com]

Oh, Venom does look like fun. I agree re: critics; I love meta and criticism as much as the next debt-riddled grad school student, but there is a limit. Not every piece of fiction has a grand gesture/message about humanity, and that's okay.

[silverusagi]

I've seen Tumblr flipping its shit over this movie, and now I do really want to see it!

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

It's so good, and I'll admit I was a bit worried that it wasn't going to live up to the hype that fandom were painting it to be. But it absolutely lived up to it, and more. It's just a fun movie that doesn't take itself seriously, it knows the kind of content it is (i.e. pure entertainment) and it has Tom Hardy just having fun with this role. And it's an absolute delight. If you've been intrigued based on the things you've read, then I guarantee you'll enjoy it. :D

[noybusiness.livejournal.com]

Wow, I didn't expect to see such a positive review of this movie. Like, ever. Everyone I had read up to this point was saying it was not only bad but boring, with any fun parts seemingly being improvised by Tom Hardy against the clunky script. Definitely more interested in watching now.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

The majority of audiences actually enjoyed the movie, from what I've seen/read. There's a lot of articles examining the divide of critics versus audiences in regards to Venom, but overall the general consensus is that many people loved and enjoyed it.

[sictransits.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you hear you enjoyed it!! I had heard mixed things, but you're now the second person I've heard loved it. I'm hoping to see it sometime before it leaves theaters.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

It's just a really fun and entertaining movie that doesn't take itself too seriously. I definitely say it's worth checking out, if you're interested. :)

[omgpeyton.livejournal.com]

I agree with pretty much everything you said! I don't understand why people went into the theater expecting this very serious masterpiece of a hero movie..? I went to have fun and I definitely did!

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

I honestly don't know, either. My only guess is that, aside from pretentious film critics, there is a certain expectation nowadays for movies to be either this grand spectacle or bust, and if something doesn't fit into those little boxes then they're automatically deemed "bad". And it's like, not realistic? Not every movie has to be this artsy piece of deep cinema or even something that needs to please everyone, sometimes they can just be pure fun and ridiculous entertainment, and there's nothing wrong with that. It might have been certain people's cup of tea, but that doesn't mean it's "bad" by any means.

I was expecting fun from Venom, and that's what I got and I loved every second of it. I'm happy that it has made serious bank at the box office, because I want this to be its own fun franchise. Basically, more Eddie/Venom content, and more Anne and Dan because they were fun, too. :D

[haebin.livejournal.com]

Every single person I know who saw this movie, liked it. Every single person. :D
I think, I will watch it as well when I have the chance. Tom Hardy is a great actor and like you said, sometimes it is just great to enjoy a movie. ^-^

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

Same. Even online, I see regular people (not critics) loving the shit out of the movie. It's what got me to eventually check it out because people were coming back with saying how much they enjoyed it, even people who were skeptical about it came back with "holy shit it actually is awesome". Besides, I just wanted something fun to watch and that's what I got. :D

Definitely do whenever you get the chance. :)

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

I think everyone is just so tired of superhero movies, they have fatigue for the genre so no matter how good it is, if you were forced to see all of them in the theater as soon as they came out, you probably wouldn't be in the mood for yet another one. I know that is how I feel and I don't even watch them anymore! So I feel for the critics!

But after your write up, maybe I will give Venom a try when it comes to DVD!

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

That is true about the superhero fatigue, plus the trailers for Venom were misleading in terms of how the tone of the movie actually is. The trailers made it seem like some dark, edgy film, whereas the final product is anything but. It's kind of why I didn't bother with it until people starting recommending it, and I was pleasantly surprised with how much joy I got from it.

So I kinda sorta feel for critics in terms of being forced to see certain movies that you really don't want to be bothered with because, even if you're getting paid, sometimes you're not in the mood to watch and critique something that you have no interest in, esp if you're fatigued enough with a particular genre. However, I still say that the way most people on the Internet operate with judging things before even seeing them (i.e. RT critic scores) is unfair. It's bullshit that a lot of people rely entirely on critic reviews to dictate whether something is worth seeing. We need to judge something for ourselves without blindly accepting the overall critic opinions as fact.

Anyway, Venom is an awesome movie. It's an absolute fun entertaining ride, so I hope you get the chance to watch it. :)

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

Well, if movies were less expensive, then I might be willing to gamble but I'm just too cheap anymore to pay $10-$15 on a movie that might or might not be good. I tend to look for reviewers and friends that have similar tastes in movies and go by them because not everyone likes everything. But yes, that is the problem with sites like RT and Metacritic is that one set of bad reviews can skew the whole score. I've seen reviews on RT that are exactly the same but someone how one is "fresh" and the other is "rotten" so I think part of the problem is they only get to pick Good or Bad, there is no "fun" option.

It's like all the BS with the Oscars this year, where they finally wanted to make a category for FUN popcorn movies so they could give Black Panther something and the Academy nixed it and it is like WHY?? Those are the movies that pay the bills for all the little indie pictures. Might as well give them a thank you!

[sixphanel.livejournal.com]

Huh! Now I want to watch it! :D
Thanks for making me realize I might have been missing something!

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

Oh, you must! It is absolute fun and thoroughly enjoyable. :D

[batmarg.livejournal.com]

I'm on the fence. I think I agree with the critical responses as far as the writing was concerned (full of plotholes for one). That said, I had a really good time & it's a very fun film. I did love that they avoided the awful new boyfriend trope, which was like a breath of fresh air.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

I mean, sure there were plotholes and issues, but I don't care because I had such a good time watching it anyway.

I loved that they avoided that trope, too. Eddie wasn't written to be this jealous ex-boyfriend and Dan wasn't written to be the clingy, possessive new boyfriend. He actually was nice and genuinely concerned about Eddie's well-being and wanted to help him, not because he wanted to look good in Anne's eyes but because he's a good guy. That's not something you often see in media, so that in itself was refreshing. Furthermore, I liked that Eddie and Anne didn't get back together in the end. I liked that even after everything that happened and are on better terms now with each other, it didn't fix what Eddie fucked up with their relationship. Eddie respects that Anne is in a new relationship and doesn't pursue it further. That's also refreshing.