Celebrated filmmaker Martin Scorsese had a blunt criticism of one of today’s dominant movie studios: Marvel. He said, “That’s not cinema.”
Scorsese’s point was clear: He looks for the beautiful artistry of moviemaking in films — the magic of storytelling and wonderfully depicted emotions on the big screen. Marvel, on the other hand, aims to make money by attracting huge audiences to its films.
On a recent Monday night, I rushed to my seat in the theater, imagining the new characters and twists the recently released “Venom 3” might bring. As I fixed my attention to the towering screen, a menacing villain, new characters and action-packed scenes caught my attention. The final movie of the trilogy was off to a fast start.
I anticipated the film would compare within reason to the first and second movies in the trilogy, but I was thoroughly disappointed.
The premise is set with the same protagonists as the previous two movies — Eddie Brock and Venom. Eddie, played by Tom Hardy, is an ordinary man who gains extraordinary abilities when he morphs into the alien entity Venom, whom he has symbiotically bonded with. However, with the superhuman strength, agility and resilience he has, Eddie and Venom take a path deviating from traditional superhero norms.
Unlike conventional superheroes who uphold strict moral codes and seek justice altruistically, Venom and Eddie operate with a complex mix of selfish and selfless motivations. Eddie, a journalist with a moral compass, and Venom, a powerful symbiote, often find themselves acting for personal survival or gain; yet, they still take on villains that pose larger threats to society, embodying complex antiheroes who blur the line between heroism and self-interest.
With this idea already setting the Venom series apart from the rest of the superhero genre, the third installment of the Venom series had a great shot at proving Scorcese’s point wrong. Unfortunately, the movie fails to reach such expectations and instead has a plethora of failed aspects.
To start, while the villain, Knull, looks menacing at the very beginning of the movie, his screen time is replaced by personality-free, nearly-invulnerable minions that hunt Venom. Not only does this restrict the plot entirely to a chase-and-run without antagonist development, but it also underutilizes a villain with such potential, giving the story an anti-climactic final fight.
While Knull’s role in the movie is highly underwhelming, the military is introduced as another antagonistic force when Eddie and Venom are mistakenly declared fugitives for the death of a policeman named Patrick Mulligan. With the two enemies constantly in pursuit of the protagonists, the stakes of the movie feel significant. Despite this intensity, “Venom 3” manages to still be filled with random and unreasonable events, diverting the already-generic storyline away from the relationship between Eddie and Venom.
For example, after learning that they’d become fugitives, Eddie decides that going to New York City to start a new life is a good idea. Although this goes against common sense, it ends up being what drives the plot of the story — sending Eddie on a journey to escape the military. It also causes the middle portion of the film to focus on a random family Eddie and Venom meet as they travel to Area 51 on a road trip.
Abruptly, the movie then cuts to the final fight between Eddie with other symbiotic allies, and Knull’s minions. One by one the newly introduced symbiote characters are killed off without much of an introduction, and barely a showcase of their abilities. Finally, Venom also sacrifices himself, reaching an emotional culmination and climax of action.
In a movie that hinges on heroes fighting and eventually sacrificing themselves against an enemy, having the plot occupied by the road trip is a baffling decision. The film fails to build up emotionally to what such an ending means for the two protagonists, leaving the scene and conclusion to feel unearned.
Perhaps the most emotionally devoid aspect of the movie lies in the montage after Venom’s sacrifice. Because the events in the montage display recent moments rather than memories of deeper growth and Venom and Eddie’s bond, it becomes hard for the audience to take the emotional stakes seriously.
But what makes this movie different from the first two? The cinematography displays dull scenes, the plot and conflict couldn’t be more generic and even the humor — known for shining in the Venom series — falls flat.
With Matthew Libatique directing photography in the first movie, and Robert Richardson directing the second, these two movies featured high-contrast and creative ways to move the camera, invigorating awe in the audience. From the quick and engaging angle shifts in a cooking scene in “Venom 2” to the apartment fight scene in the first movie, these two movies show the masterful incorporation of a blend of humor and creativity.
In the original film, Eddie’s initial struggle to adapt to life with Venom vividly showcases the theme of hardship and growth through a dual lens of identity and partnership. With the alien symbiote initially presenting himself as a destructive and insensitive force, Eddie is forced to learn how to coexist with Venom, as he navigates the cold-hearted feelings of his partner to search for and bring out compassion. With this central struggle, the movie can depict a journey full of comedy and action, while also exploring deeper themes of how embracing differences can foster unity and strength.
Similarly, “Venom 2” deepens the theme of love and forgiveness through Eddie’s complicated relationship with his ex-fiancé Anne, and Venom’s unlikely empathy for Eddie’s struggles. Venom’s jealousy over Eddie’s affection for Anne, combined with their dramatic breakup, mirrors a heightened, fantastical real-world relationship. Their reconciliation underscores the importance of communication and compromise, even when personalities clash. In the end, Eddie and Venom’s partnership triumphs, showcasing their growth and shared commitment to protecting one another.
With these two releases developing and nearly completing the bond between Eddie and Venom, the journey begins to feel empty in the third movie. The ridiculous and humorous combination of Eddie and Venom slows to nothing much more than boring and generic interactions. While the dueling personalities of the two conjoined characters are more vibrant in the first movie, the final chapter abandons this dynamic, preventing the audience from achieving closure.
It’s only natural, however, that the final movie would have this dullness. With Eddie and Venom’s chemistry and bond maturing into harmony, many of the opportunities and choices with the main characters’ development are restricted — which probably resulted in Sony’s decision to use subplots as a last resort for establishing some sort of replacement for the protagonists’ inner, wacky struggle. The lack of energy and enthusiasm on screen given by Hardy, playing as Eddie, is not necessarily his fault. The unenthusiastic script writing and lack of options plague the film’s vitality, spirit and even the amazing actors in the movie.
Still, with all this being said, a movie isn’t all about its strict performance qualities in the eyes of the critics. There’s one thing to consider in this film and the entire Venom series as a whole — it’s a lot of just plain dumb fun.
Scenes in the movie are painted with a lighthearted mood created by the unique use of playful jokes in serious circumstances. Eddie and Venom play along with the nonsensical plot and can depict an entertaining story with intense action.
Though the plot was confusing at times, some moments were intense despite Eddie and Venom being chased by cliché villains. The vision for the movie was not fully developed but was still executed well, as it manages to keep the viewers’ attention.
This is best exemplified when Eddie meets Mrs. Chen, a friend of Eddie Brock and the owner of a convenience store in the Chinatown District of San Francisco (the setting of the first movie) in a random casino. The two head to her penthouse suite after the unexpected meetup, and Venom begs Eddie to transform so he can dance with Mrs. Chen. Even though Venom taking his physical form allows Knull’s minions to track Eddie faster, the movie decides to have Eddie transform, forcibly interjecting this offbeat and bizarre scene into the intense plot. From “coincidentally” arranging old characters to meet up, to disrupting the overall flow of the movie, this eccentrically carefree scene embodies the Venom series’ quirky thrill.
When it comes to quick entertainment, “Venom 3” delivers in providing fast-paced, popcorn-worthy entertainment; when it comes to creating a great or even good movie that matches the sharp expectations from the critics, “Venom 3” completely flops and fails to leave a lasting impression as a meaningful or critically acclaimed work on the fans. So if you’re looking for a movie to watch that prioritizes mindless fun over depth and substance, “Venom 3” might do the job — but don’t expect it to linger in your thoughts once the credits roll.
