Tom Hardy’s Venom released over the past weekend to loads of money at the box office and some mixed reviews. The movie currently sits at 31% on Rotten Tomatoes with an 89% audience score.
Some people have said that this film is worse than Halle Berry’s Catwoman and some have praised the movie for its early 2000s style, aligning it with the Sam Raimi Spider-Man franchise. It seems like this is another classic case of the general audience passionately disagreeing with critics.
Regardless of where you stand on Venom’s quality, it is getting a sequel. The movie shattered opening weekend records for October and took in $80 million (for those wondering, Venom had a $100 million budget). Personally, I want Venom to succeed as a franchise. There was enough good in the movie to deserve a sequel. However, there is also a very good reason why it’s getting poor reviews. Here are three ways Venom 2 can vastly improve from the first:
(Major Spoilers Ahead)
A Better Script with a More Interesting Supporting Cast
Again, I have to reiterate, I thought Venom had some great moments and was a decent action movie. That being said, this movie’s script was unbelievably bad.
For example, there is a scene in Venom where Eddie’s former girlfriend, Anne, is with her new surgeon boyfriend at the hospital. Eddie and the symbiote have just been separated and Eddie attempts to run away from Venom, thinking that the symbiote was killing him. The doctor then asks Anne what is going on (clearly talking about the alien on the wall). Anne, for some reason, replies that nothing is going on between her and Eddie. What? Who wrote this?
Writing in this movie is just so erratic and forced. Characters only interact with each other in order to further the simple plot and other than Tom Hardy’s Eddie/Venom, no other character is all that interesting to invest in.
A sequel has to fix this problem. Deadpool and Iron Man have the same generic plots to follow but they work because their supporting cast is actually interesting. Everyone in Venom seems like they only exist to either help or antagonize Eddie.
Keep the Focus on the Venom/Eddie Dynamic
Whether you loved or hated the movie, you have to admit the best aspect of Venom is the bond between Eddie Brock and the symbiote. I was actually more invested in their relationship than the romance between Eddie and Anne.
Surprisingly, Venom is the heart of this movie. He’s the comedic relief and has the most compelling personality. The banter between him and Eddie was some of the best comedy I’ve seen from a comic book film in a while (especially with the elevator scene).
Here’s a strange problem with Venom. Although it was an almost two-hour movie, I don’t think we had enough time with Eddie and the symbiote. There are parts I would gladly cut in favor of more time with these two. A sequel could greatly improve on this, as we can now move past the origin of the symbiote and Eddie’s fall from grace.
Venom 2 has to be Rated-R
The movie’s post-credits scene featured Eddie Brock getting the interview of a lifetime with serial killer Cletus Kasady (played by Woody Harrelson). Kasady tells Eddie that he will get out of prison one day and when he does, there will be carnage (another example of bad dialogue by the way).
Although I’m a huge Spidey fan, I don’t know much about Carnage. I do know this, you cannot feature Kasady as the main villain without an R-rating. Honestly, I’m not sure why Venom wasn’t Rated-R. Based off of Eddie’s reaction to aliens being real, I don’t think Sony wants to put the Lethal Protector in the MCU anytime soon. Deadpool and Logan have both proved that these types of movies can thrive in the box office as well.
Let’s get dark with this. I want to see Venom rip a guys head off and you can’t do Carnage justice with a PG-13 movie.
Overall, Venom was a movie with tremendous potential and has a great foundation for a solid franchise. Does it have its flaws? Yes. It has some serious problems that keep it from being anything better than average in my opinion. However, its sequel can rectify those issues by surrounding the Lethal Protector with a more intriguing cast, focusing on the Venom/Eddie dynamic, and going for an R-Rating to tell a great Carnage story.
What were your thoughts on the movie? Do you think a sequel would work? Let us know in the comments and be sure to follow us here at The Nerd Stash for all of your nerdy news and needs!
