428. Venom; movie review

VENOM
Cert 15
112 mins

BBFC advice: Contains strong violence, horror, threat

Apologies, apologies - it has taken far too long for me to review Tom Hardy as part-journalist, part... well, you can see the poster.
But, by the evidence of the very healthy numbers who turned out to Nottingham Cineworld's screen seven, there is still a thirst for Venom.
And that may be because it is a comedy horror which even compares favourable with Guardians Of the Galaxy.
Even Mrs W, who is not into horror or Marvel films (I know - it's a Marvel/Sony collaboration), was so fully engaged that I heard a chortle or two.
Venom's premise is that an investigative reporter, Eddie Brock (Hardy) is given an assignment to carry out a 'friendly' interview the head of a space programme (Riz Ahmed).
However, Brock is a maverick and wants to uncover the truth which he believes will show his subject to be a villain.

He doesn't know the half of it. It transpires that Ahmed's character has collected alien life-forms which he is trying to meld together with humans.
Only when a man and slippery beast combine do we see the creation of the likes of Venom.
It all seems a bit serious, doesn't it? Well, it could have been but Hardy's combination of exaggerated alarm and laid-back humour and Ruben Fleischer's evenly paced direction actually make it very entertaining.
Set in San Francisco, Venom also offers thought-provoking social commentary - laying the high-tech wealth of its villain against the poverty of the homeless on whom he preys.
This resonated with Mrs W and me because we were shocked by the high levels of those living on the streets of the city when we visited in the summer.
There is also a dab of romance with Michelle Williams playing Brock's fiancee whom he continually lets down.
It is a vibrant mix of special effects, good acting and a storyline which is deeper than many films of its ilk
I had been avoiding it but was surprised at how much we enjoyed it.

Reasons to watch: Tom Hardy in good form
Reasons to avoid: It's yet another Marvel movie

Laughs: Three
Jumps: None
Vomit: Yes
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 8/10

Director quote - Ruben Fleischer: "We worked really hard to make sure that Venom felt like he just leaped off the pages of the comic books. And I think that in deciding to have a fully CG Venom, it freed us up to be able to make him accurate scale and size and mass, and also allowed those incredible transformations, where Eddie becomes Venom."

The big question - Are there any stars who haven't played superheroes?

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