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The first Venom reactions are in and there are many that are far from complimentary. Some early reviews go so far as to call Venom a “complete failure.” This can’t be great news for Sony Pictures, which sunk $100 million in the film and hired big-name actors including Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Woody Harrelson, and Riz Ahmed.
On Monday, Venom debuted at the Regency Village Theater in Los Angeles. While complete reviews of the anti-hero movie won’t publish until Tuesday night at 7 p.m. PT, there have been reactions to the initial screening on Twitter and some are absolutely brutal. One reviewer compares the Tom Hardy flick to one of the worst-rated comic book movies of all-time. “Catwoman-level bad,” the review states referencing the 2004 Halle Berry superhero film that received 9 percent on the Tomatometer and 27 percent on Metacritic.
Other reviews claim that the movie about the notorious alien symbiote feels old, in a negative way. Reviews say the film is less developed, less nuanced than the recent crop of superhero films that have done well at the box office and with critics. Some reviewers even warn moviegoers to cancel their plans to see Venom.
Sorry to say that #Venom is pretty much a complete failure – a tonal mess that feels 15 years old, ignoring the storytelling strides that the superhero genre has made in recent years.
A few fun Venom-centric moments aside, it has nearly nothing to offer. Don't get your hopes up.
— Tom Jorgensen (@Tom_Jorgensen) October 2, 2018
#Venom is Catwoman level bad, with Tom Hardy's worst performance since This Means War.
DON'T SEE THE MOVIE!— Daniel Richtman (@DanielRPK) October 2, 2018
https://twitter.com/rustypolished/status/1046988864513032203
Significant chunks of #Venom don’t work *at all* but there is some serious charm to the Eddie/Venom relationship. Not sure I had the intended reactions to some scenes but fun is fun – even when it’s totally ridiculous, right? It’s too bad they didn’t go for the R rating though.
— Perri Nemiroff (@PNemiroff) October 2, 2018
Not sure if Tom Hardy's weirdness sabotaged #Venom or saved it, but it has a self-aware cartoonishness, especially in its latter half. It's not "good," but it's better than expected. Doesn't feel like an R-rated film, am guessing the deleted 40min is just Hardy clowning around.
— Scott Mendelson (@ScottMendelson) October 2, 2018
https://twitter.com/TheYoDude/status/1046997926516535297
I’m *fascinated* with VENOM. The cast seems to all know they’re in a darker superhero movie, except Tom Hardy who is basically remaking Jim Carrey’s Liar Liar. I kinda loved watching this movie, in a Rocky Horror type of way. At one point Tom Hardy and Venom make out.
— Mike Ryan (@mikeryan) October 2, 2018
Action-sequences and Eddie and Venom's odd relationship are the highlights of #Venom but if Sony wants to move forward with a universe, it needs to just keep the few parts that work and scrap the large portion which does t.
— BD (@BrandonDavisBD) October 2, 2018
Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock and #Venom has some really entertaining moments. A clunky script without nuance bogs the #Venom down, preventing it from choosing between being gritty, funny, or something unique.
— BD (@BrandonDavisBD) October 2, 2018
https://twitter.com/treadtalks/status/1046987367142383616
Not all of the first reviews are bad. Many reviewers had nice things to say about Hardy’s performance as Eddie Brock.
#Venom wasn’t as bad as everyone was saying it was going to be. Tom Hardy is and always will be a great actor, and I laughed a lot — but I’m not sure whether that was intentional or not. Post-credit scene is 🔥
— Beatrice Verhoeven (@bverhoev) October 2, 2018
https://twitter.com/sylvioso/status/1046989597438353415
#Venom really is a period piece from the early days of Super Hero films, and it’s clear they were aiming for this. I feel bad for anyone that uses this as a negative point because they’re too used to the same flavor of hero movies we have form the MCU and DCEU now.
— Bizarnage (@Bizarnage) October 2, 2018
#Venom was surprisingly funny! I had a freaking great time watching it. Despite some problems, it did right by its main character, Eddie Brock/Venom. People forget that he's always had a weird sense of humor in the comics, and that humor is fully on display in the movie! pic.twitter.com/20ufNrbGU4
— Hector Navarro (@Hectorisfunny) October 2, 2018
But it didn’t help that Hardy said the best parts of the movie were cut out. In an interview with ComicsExplained, Hardy was asked, “What was your favorite scene to film?” Hardy replied, “They’re scenes that aren’t in this movie. There are like 30 to 40 minutes worth of scenes that aren’t in this movie… all of them. Mad puppeteering scenes, dark comedy scenes. You know what I mean? They just never made it in.”
On the bright side, fans are excited to see Venom. Of Rotten Tomatoes users, 96 percent want to see Venom.
Hardy is signed on to two more Venom movies so this is just the first chapter of the trilogy and there is always room for improvement on any trilogy. Venom opens in theaters on Friday.
Here are clips and the trailers from Venom so you can decide for yourself if you want to check it out.