Venom - 4K + Blu-ray + Digital

This is an MCU adjacent movie. It exists in the world of Spiderman, but the decision was to use it as a stand alone movie without using the black suit version of Spiderman to introduce Venom (as was done in Spderman 3), Therefore, the symbiots were brought to Earth from a space mission, killing all but one of the astronauts. They were discovered by the head of the company that funded the mission called Life Sciences, who then begins experimenting bonding the symbiots with homeless and drug addicted humans. Tom Hardy plays Eddie Brock, a former reporter who was fired and now doing freelance work. Of course, one of the symbiots joins with him to form Venom. The movie is a great blend of action and very dark humor. Because they did not use Spiderman, Venom is introduced in the anti-hero version of the character, doing bad things (mainly eating) bad guys. There is a great supporting cast including Jenny Slate, Scott Haze, Riz Ahmed, and Michelle Williams, who plays the ex-wife of Eddie Brock. She does a really great job playing off Tom Hardy, and brings a lot of the comedy to the movie, which is outside her usual acting roles. The best part of the movie is the discussions/arguments/bickering that goes on between Brock and Venom, mostly in Brock's mind which makes it look to everyone else like he is talking to himself. It also requires Hardy to do a lot of physical comedy, which he turns out to be great at. For those who get the 4K blu-ray, the movie looks and sounds great. On the UHD disc there is only the movie and the into the spiderverse preview. All the other extras are on the regular blu ray. Those include several deleted scenes, including an extended version of the end credits scene which teases where the next movie will go assuming it gets made, then about an hour's worth of making of and behind the scenes material mixed with some featurettes on the history of the Venom character. Definiitely a lot there, and very good. I cannot say everyone will like the movie, and it definitely pushes the PG-13 rating to the limit, mostly because of the language. There is a lot of swearing and some sexually suggestive jokes. It is closer to Deadpool than it is to say Avengers. But it puts a different twist on the MCU movies, and sets up a good possible franchise to exist in that universe. It worth checking out.

Perfect Sony/Marvel depiction of Venom. Wish it would have tied into the MCU as the symbiote on the beach in the end of the second movie was waiting to shine in the Tom Holland version of Spider-Man

Family and I really enjoyed this movie. From start to finish we had laughs and excitement. Watched over and over again over the last few months. So we had to leave a review. 2 Thumbs Up!

I'm not a comics guy, and didn't love this character in the 1st-gen Spider-Man movie with Topher Grace. But I like Tom Hardy's work, and the trailers looked good, so I took a chance. I was pleasantly surprised. I'm not going to dive too far into the plot, which is fine -- good even -- but with this genre to me it's more about how well the superhero-type premise works. Venom is decidedly different from the patented Marvel films. The characters are not as black and white (save for the villain, a capitalist entrepreneur type who is actually pretty evil) and the "super" conceit is not as slick. Venom is darker and dirtier, with a protagonist who isn't a painful jerk like Eddie Brock in the Spider-Man film, but isn't necessarily a glossy Marvel hero-type either. Tom Hardy's performance carries the film. The premise here is different from the outset -- Venom is a space-born alien parasite, not a lab accident or a magic ring. He's not nice. Not evil, necessarily, but definitely not a magical force for good. Hardy's Eddie Brock would like to be a force for good, but he's a bit of a mess as a struggling reporter who gets fired for being too aggressive with a self-aggrandizing scientist in an interview and manages to lose his girlfriend in the process. The fun of the movie is seeing what happens when Venom and Brock get together. Hardy acts the Venom voice he hears in his head as well, and it's that terrific, gonzo performance that propels the movie. It would not have worked with anything less. The effects and production values here are fine -- for the most part as high as people have come to expect. The biggest Marvel Movies have more whiz-bang in the CGI department, but lack the interesting off-center characterizations here. IS Venom evil? Is Eddie good? If neither of these things are clear, can the combination of the two of them nevertheless be worthwhile? Don't get me wrong -- this film isn't a deep, probing Oscar-bait drama. It simply isn't the genre for that. But it's fascinating to watch Hardy navigate his dual role and make something happen here. The sensibilities in play are more textured than the usual comic-book-based morality play, and it manages to feel both spookier and more grounded than the shiny superhero sky-battle stuff (okay there might be one sky battle). Four stars for a different, and arguably better take on the superhero movie. I'm looking forward to the sequel and hope it holds on to the quirky, gritty flavor that make Venom a lot more fun than many reviews would have you believe. Check it out.

I am a fan of VENOM. That being said, I REEEAAAALLLLLLYYYYY wanted to like the 3rd movie from back in the day. I liked that Eddie's attitude. The problem was that he just wasn't buff enough. BUT THIS FILM? hahahahahah I LOVED IT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's not enough to point out all of the like 3,500 little tiny details that they put into the film about the symbiotes in the film. Little details like which ones look more fleshy & veiny (VENOM) versus Armored bio liquid (RIOT) Even the fact that VENOM refers to itself as a loser, kind of makes sense when you realize that it's not as gifted when it comes to "Fluid Fu" as Riot is. I find it that that particular fact, raises interesting questions about the symbiote world, and whether they're all given a "Fluid FU" test when they get old enough. Or maybe it's a multi~generational thing. Like symbiotes with good genetics are more "Fluid" in everything from movement to fighting? All interesting facts if you ask me. This isn't the most perfect movie I've ever seen. Not by a long shot. BUT, it is one of the best movies to introduce another potential series. I really hope they make a sequel. Now with the base facts down, they could just UNLEASH in the sequel.

I'll come out and say this right away: Venom is my favorite super-hero Villain, so my review might be a little biased. But I don't think that matters, because this movie was made for people like me. People who LOVE Venom. Love his powers, love his wit, love his dark sense of humor. And this movie nails it! Spider-man is the franchise I grew up with as a kid, and Venom has always been his most memorable villain, at least for me. Growing up in the PS1 era, my grandmother had the PS1 Spider-man game, of which Venom is one of the central characters. Although scary, I quickly grew to love Venom due to his cocky, witty attitude, a perfect foil for Spider-man. For me, his is, and always will be, Spider-man's ultimate Nemesis, not because he's someone that has to be brought down, or even can be, but because he's someone who has a grudge against spidey but still understands the greater good. the only reason he is counted as a Villain in the comics and most media is because he's a foil to Spider-man. And this movie removes Spidey from the equation, yet still nails Venom's character, allowing him to become, strangely enough, this movie's hero (Anti-hero label or otherwise). As a Venom fan, and knowing how many different iterations of Venom there are, this was a breath of fresh air, for sure, but it also hit me right in the PS1-era nostalgic roots. Not because the graphics were garbage, like a PS1 (Venom in this movie is one of the most incredible CG effects I've ever seen!) but because Tom Hardy's Eddie Brock / Venom duo reminded me so much of the character I love without making him fight my favorite super hero, and that's amazing. Giving Eddie a more powerful foe to fight (and removing the setting from NY) gives Venom just enough breathing room to become it's own amazing movie, with enough tie in material to allow it to become part of a bigger web of movies in the future. If you're a Venom fan, this movie is made for you. Hands down. Such a worthy purchase.

Good movie. Great price.

Great movie