Venom [IMAX]

This was a fun-enough film that had two things going for it: Tom Hardy and a run time under 2 hours. Any time Hardy (or Venom as it may so be) was on screen, the film was infinitely better. Hardy had charm and charisma, he was funny, slightly irreverent and definitely was not taking the film too seriously. Eddie Brock's bromance with Venom was a clear highlight of the film. On the other hand, when he is not on screen, fellow cast members, Michelle Williams and Riz Ahmed, did the best they could, but their clunky lines and superficially written characters did the film, and themselves, no favour. And at just 112 minutes long, the film zipped along after the dull and plodding first act. At least director, Ruben Fleischer, had two good action showcases - the racing scene was exciting enough and would have been better had he relied less on close-ups, and the final showdown was riveting enough to excite.

This film was clearly not by Marvel, and the title card said so as much - "In association with" - as it lacked the finesse in storytelling that Marvel seemed to excel in. The first act, the origin story, was clunky as hell. Even the prologue itself lacked urgency and tension. The film really only kicked into gear when Hardy discovered Venom within himself. And boy, did the bromance between these two characters take over the film. Actually, it would have been lots better if it really did.

And perhaps if Venom had gone the route of Deadpool and Logan, it might have scored better. In its totality, the film's action did feel like it lacked bite and Venom itself tended to sometimes feel a bit neutered/watered-down.

Hardy is the star of this film, and I really hope that the film does well enough to launch a franchise because his Eddie Brock was such a hoot (sorry, Topher Grace). But really, perhaps, the powers to be should considering letting Brock/Venom/Hardy loose and go for a R-rating. And the mid-credits scene definitely make Part II an enticing project to look forward to.

Williams did the best she could, and at least she kicked some ass and looked good doing it.

Ahmed's character epitomised every cliched trope a supervillian should be, and Ahmed just sleepwalked through it, effecting none of the depth or virtuosity last seen in his career-making performance on HBO's The Night Of.

Reid Scott remained unintentionally hilarious, a by-product from his time on Veep and Jenny Slate was underused.

Ludwig Goransson scored the film, as he did too in Black Panther, and there were some great music cues peppered throughout.

IMAX was not necessary for this film. A nice, big screen would have surely sufficed. And I doubt 3D would have made much difference.

Stay till the end for a post-credits scene. Not related to Venom or the MCU, but still a bit of fun.