Marvel Comics, the glorious House of Ideas of a troubled age, is one hell of a phenomenon. It has not only been at the top films at the global box office each year or nearly utterly ruled the superhero genre for ten years now, but also its characters and stories have stuck voraciously in the pop-culture of an entire century. Stronger than ever and about to wrap the most important phase of its timeline up, the subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company has ventured deeper into the industry by ordering new TV shows, a wide range of merchandising, books and comics; an expected movement if you know who's behind all this, of course, Disney is and as a proof just look at the reborn "Star Wars" saga. Invading unexplored places, it made the decision to expand one of its most acclaimed multi-universes: Spider-Man's. Tom Holland caught everyone off guard by putting the spider suit on in "Captain America: Civil War" two years ago contracted not only by Marvel Studios, but also Sony Pictures. Co-producing Spidey's solo outings because of a fruitful agreement finally signed between both studios last year, Marvel is generous, but not trusting, therefore, still has most of the creative control over the projects. The companies' deal for Spider-Man's rights doesn't include movies as part of the gargantuan MCU, instead, Sony is up to conditionally weave standalone films - such as the "X-Men" franchise, "Deadpool" and "Fantastic Four" by 20th Century Fox, - and all the box office bank still goes directly to them. Sooner than later, Sony Pictures revealed the list of upcoming productions, among which was one of the Marvel's most ambitious ideas that got stuck in the infamous development hell for almost ten years: Venom.

In a world with too many superheroes, an anti-hero might be the most befitting antidote to fresh up the heroism-and-rightness-populated scene; as far as cinema is concerned, DC goes ahead of it, with "Suicide Squad" and "Watchmen" on opposite corners of the same ring. Marvel has followed much the same pattern, going through fire and water to conceive a new gem as piercing as original after bringing the Merc with a Mouth to the big screen; alas, has made the same mistake of its top contender.

At the last minute, "Venom," which was supposed to keep going R-rated comic book adaptations, took a left turn, an utterly financial one, losing its primal R rating to drown in PG-13 waters. The film stumbles quick-fire, toning down material that must be naturally and strictly violent, extreme and frightening; the artistic vision opted to fall off from the original source in tone, becoming a mainly comedy amalgam lacking in visual appeal that if wasn't for the central figure's commitment, would easily have been on the darker side of the Marvel universe. After a hellish pre-production process, it's strange why Ruben Fleischer was the one to sit in the director's chair, a filmmaker renowned mainly for wisecracking "Zombieland." Marvel looking for new, fitting voices to take over its emblematic worlds is entirely understandable, however, it seems self-defeating to pick up a cinéaste who doesn't deeply know the company's storytelling-filmmaking dynamics. It's no surprise that Fleischer does a great job erecting a messy occasionally-watered-down buddy-comedy that shines by the symbiote-host duality employed incredibly halfway the running. The idea is hilarious off and on, aligning storytelling and performance organically, however, after Eddie comes to terms with the "parasite," this funny underpinning spreads out abruptly along the ham-fisted third act.



On the contrary, superhero-action-wise, the filmmaker gets unmistakably lost in a disaster of plots, skipping from a breakup with Anne Weying to a "The Terminator"-esque body-hopping around the globe that reminds Disney Channel's "Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior." Poorly original and harshly introduced, such narrative threads run down the golden reputation the anti-hero has achieved in the comics pages along the years. By far it was clear this director wasn't a healthy choice for the character and yet Sony and Marvel refused to change its plans; we have now a Venom movie, a shonky superhero movie, and a good comedy at once, which, according to predictions, has put the worldwide box office on fire.

In a feature film that takes nearly forty minutes to land, the tone and pace are atrocious, yet there doesn't lie its greatest sin. "Venom" is on a knife-edge because of visual raucousness. With a hilariously bad CGI, the pictures, ironically composed by the very same cinematographer responsible for the dreamy urban landscapes from Bradley Cooper's Oscar-hungry "A Star Is Born," suffer from a serious on-screen incomprehensibility reinforced by an oversaturation of black at key moments. Matthew Libatique won't ever be a bad cinematographer, he's flat-out an artist, hence it's far-fetched to see these opaque, ghastly set-pieces, visually unappealing, scrambles of semi-liquid creatures fighting on the screen untidily. Visually and narratively, this is oddly an outdated flick, coming likely from the 2000s, long before DC-Marvel's monopoly was a reality; nowadays, the movie feels out of place, an aesthetically huge misfire.

The core cast is made up by four actors. Michelle Williams is larger-than-life love interest/ex-fiancé Anne Weying in the style of Jane Foster or Lois Lane; however, Williams' character is far from reaching the same plot importance of the previous two women; notwithstanding, the four-time Academy-award nominee embraces her role, understands it and does her best to attempt at shaping a fine audience-actor link.

Jenny Slate as Dr. Dora Skirth doesn't mean a special addition, a disposable character that helps to move the plot forward; her performance, reserved and shy, is goodish, free of edges, one more prey of a wretched screenplay.



Riz Ahmed, who is used to delivering good performances, as Carlton Drake/Riot is a half-baked villain, I.E., his motives do not convince, his actions fueled by stereotyped gears do not infuse fear or dislike, his bad boy is nothing more than the heartless monster of a corporate experiment who will destroy the world in favor of evolution; Ahmed should never have signed up for this.



But who really does the "heavy-lifting" is the fantastic Tom Hardy. Praised by his taciturn, top-notch performances in masterpieces directed by Christopher Nolan and George Miller, Hardy grinds away at his physical performance portraying both the Symbiote and Eddie Brock, two roles close to his career. The "Locke" actor endows the exact dose of charisma and intensity, leaning heavier on gags and one-liners than awardable dramatic explorations, still the firm pulse and commitment the actor adds the role makes the offering stronger.

Don't be deceived, Sony is sliding us into a post-factual, misleading ground, it's crystal-clear Daniel Espinosa's "Life" is related to all this.

"Venom" by Ruben Fleischer is neither a rotten film nor the most outstanding comic book adaptation coming from Spider-Man Sony-Marvel deal; at heart, a messy buddy-film of great inner comedy scope that rarely dabs at the source material in tone and pace; in appearance, a long-drawn-out fandango of obscure frames and unintelligible action sequences that provides neither the theatrical drama nor the visual spectacle the most renowned Spider-Man villain deserves. With an unexpected, enticing post-credits cameo, a mightily effective soundtrack by Ludwig Göransson - going viral at the expense of Eminem, - brilliantly comical fitfully and celestially saved by Tom Hardy's talent, "Venom" will please stop-and-go cinemagoers and the most loyal but uncommitted aficionados. It is certainly far from being the comic book adaptation must-watch was meant to be; Sony and Marvel didn't fight the parasite off, we do.