Somehow Sony managed to craft another studio-spliced Amazing Spider-Man movie without the titular character. An incredible premise suffered from the violent studio interference that plagued the two Amazing Spider-Man films that this movie somehow shares the same “multiverse” with.
Multiple comic book movies released in recent years have suffered from what I would call “studio-splice syndrome” (most notably last year’s Justice League). The gist is that studio-mandated re-shoots, scene cuts, and script edits have led to what feels like an unfinished film.
At Venom’s core is a strong narrative driven by a fascinating Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde dichotomy. What we got instead was a movie that constantly left me questioning whether I zoned out for too long during the staggeringly bland action sequences, or that the plot just had too many holes (thanks to careless studio meddling) for me to fully grasp it.
Venom the film is very similar to Venom the character in this sense; a good man trying to do the right thing is infected with a parasitic entity that prevents him from achieving his goals.
I’d say this film is only worth seeing for the five-minute post-credits Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse sneak peak, a movie which, despite being part of the Sony multiverse, I have very high hopes for.
