Venom: A Nonsense Movie Review

Venom is a wonderful story about a famous man who accelerates the career of an up-and-coming symbiote, falling in love in the process.

(WARNING: Spoilers for Venom and probably other movies.)

Out of all the movies this year, Venom is arguably the most divisive. According to Rotten Tomatoes, only 30% of critics liked it while a whopping 88% of people with real jobs loved it. So where is the disconnect? How can a group of professional movie watchers disagree with amateur movie watchers so strongly?

Apart from critics being paid under the table by Disney, the main difference is the heartless critics failing to see Venom for what it is: a love story.

The movie revolves around Eddie Brock, a ruggedly charming lead dealing with personal demons, played by Jai Courtney from Suicide Squad. Eddie gained notoriety from his top-notch reporting in Jackson, Maine, yet he soon falls from the spot light for digging too deeply into a corrupt company. I know what you're thinking--"Did they steal that concept from Dan Schneider's Good Burger?!" The answer is maybe.

Supporting Courtney is Venom, a struggling symbiotic alien just trying to make it. Voiced by Lady Gaga, this alien is wickedly talented, yet self-conscious about her It-looking teeth and small nose. Despite not being the main character, director Rueben Fleischer decided to name the movie after her "to make it sound more edgy." Apparently, naming a movie "Brock" made it sound as if it were about a bully in an early 2000s TV show.

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"A retelling of the classic tale, Venom charms audiences with a pure depiction of fame, loss, addiction, and of course, true love between a man and his symbiote." (Cox, 1)

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Venom's adoptive father, Dr. Carlton Drake, pressures her throughout the first half of the movie to find someone with whom she is compatible. After taking on many love interests, all of which end badly, Venom is soon discovered by Brock, who proves himself compatible by falling in love with her deep, alien voice. Eddie soon brings new life into Venom by supporting her hopes, dreams, and circulatory system.

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Eddie: Hey!

Venom: What?

Eddie: I just wanted to take another look at you.

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Courtney and Gaga have unreal chemistry on screen, which makes it much more difficult for the viewers to watch as Venom begins to struggle with the addiction of eating people. Brock and Venom soon realize their wants and goals are different, leading to a visceral fight scene in which Brock even goes as far as insulting both her talent and physical appearance.

Over time, the couple separates; however, they find themselves incapable of moving on apart. This leads to the film's climax, an intimate kiss scene between man and alien, leaving the audience thinking "well, alright then."

Sadly, this bliss is short lived. Eddie decides that for the two to be together, he has to sacrifice his own life as he knows it. Ya know, because Venom is pretty much a parasite. This shocking moment is guaranteed to leave audience members in tears while simultaneously making boyfriends question why they spent $30 just to have their masculinity stripped from them.

Of course, Venom is fiction. But the realism with which Fleischer portrays both alien and human struggles is what sets Venom apart as one of the great films of our generation. It opens an important discussion about what truly makes us "human," making critics sneer in the process.

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