First reactions to Venom tease a fun yet flawed comic book flick

October 2nd 2018, 8:56am

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

VENOM is merely four days away, and the review embargo for the movie lifts later today. Before we get to read the full reviews for the movie the first reactions from critics and journalists who have seen the movie have hit social media. What did they have to say about the movie? Well, the people who got to see this movie before most everyone else seem to have walked out with mixed feelings on the movie. On the hand, people seemed to have found it entertaining, with bits between Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) and the symbiote being very entertaining, and Hardy giving an infectious, gonzo performance. But then, on the other hand, many are saying there are numerous elements that don’t work, and would be best for the filmmaker to avoid if they do get to make a sequel.

Ultimately, some of these reactions are saying if you shut off your brain and go in looking for a fun, weird comic book movie you're likely to have a good time. Oh, and apparently the end credits scene is just tops, so be sure to stick around until the end.

Check out some of the reactions below!

@JimmytotheO had a good time with @VenomMovie. While it has its flaws, he calls it “fast paced, funny and sometimes thrilling…” Plus “Tom Hardy is pretty phenomenal.” Full review soon! pic.twitter.com/CKYdLPRyAL

— JoBlo.com (@joblocom) October 2, 2018

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

#Venom is like a buddy comedy in which one of the buddies has to prevent the other from biting people’s heads off, which is another way of saying I liked it.

— Michael Nordine (@slowbeard) 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.

— Brandon Davis (@BrandonDavisBD) October 2, 2018

Comic fans will like #Venom, as it pulls directly from the comics in many places. Tater tot fans will also like Venom. It’s certainly clunky & not as fluid as some recent Marvel movies, but it’s funny, intentional or not. Don’t take it too seriously, and stay through the credits pic.twitter.com/Llzvtv0fLL

— Erik Davis (@ErikDavis) October 2, 2018

Tom Hardy's performance in #Venom is either Johnny Depp in the first PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN or Chris Klein in STREET FIGHTER: THE LEGEND OF CHUN-LI. Either way, it's not boring.

— Scott Mendelson (@ScottMendelson) 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

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

#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

#Venom is a one-man buddy film bonded with an antihero origin story. And Tom Hardy pulls it off like only he can pic.twitter.com/d2AblUvWjF

— Chris Sylvia (@sylvioso) October 2, 2018

Social embargo for #Venom is up. I talk about this a lot in my review but this is a movie that somehow slipped through a wormhole from 2004. That's my biggest take. It's a movie that spilled from the pre-MCU era through a crack in time and space.

— The Mothmeg ???? NYCC (@rustypolished) October 2, 2018

Anyway, your mileage is really, really going to vary on this one. There are genuinely some echos of clever ideas but…man. If there's one superhero franchise that's having a killer couple years, it's Spider-Man. No matter how you slice it, Venom is a major non sequitur.

— The Mothmeg ???? NYCC (@rustypolished) October 2, 2018

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 Horrorgensen (@Tom_Jorgensen) October 2, 2018

It's no Winter Soldier or Thor Ragnarok,but the idea is there and I liked it way better than most of the DC stuff (exception Wonder Woman).

— ??? ashley ??? (@AshleyEsqueda) October 2, 2018

As always, we here at JoBlo endorse the Go See it For Yourself mode of thinking, meaning you should always check out the movie and make up your own mind. Reviews and reactions are fun to read in the same way it's fun to hear your friends' take on a movie but at the end of the day you always need to make up your own mind, and the only way to do that is to get your butt to the theater.

VENOM hits theaters October 5.

Source: Twitter