By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)
Spoiler Alert
Ever since Venom hit the pages of Amazing Spider-Man #300, his fame meter can hardly outshine another star-studded film debuting the same weekend. The movie’s action is essentially Terminator 2 on steroids and given a The Streets of San Francisco vibe. The title character does not feel the same as the one represented in comics. Without an arch-nemesis, this anti-hero lacks punch. I wanted to see the white Spider-Man logo across his chest. Without it, the interest in this film was minimal, other than to see how well the CGI works this time around.
The version in Spider-Man 3 had Sam Raimi’s trademark touch on it. The effect looked cheap. With digital effects far superior now, the goo looks wonderfully slick, and to see the story from Eddie Brock’s (Tom Hardy) perspective is the right choice. He’s a television reporter who cracks down on local cases Geraldo Rivera style, and when he asks the wrong questions to Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed), the CEO of Life Foundation, he is out of a job. He also loses his girlfriend and has taken to drinking.
Continue reading “That’s No Venom in Sony’s Rehash of Marvel Comics’ Favourite Antihero”