Venom (2018) reviews

The Fuzzy Mushroom take on Venom

By Fuzzy Mushroom · Updated 11 November 2026 · The Pros 39 · The Punters 63 · Spore Score 44 · How we write our takes

Why The Punters like it far more than The Pros

Venom is a superhero film that critics panned and audiences turned into a hit. The Pros give it 39. The Punters give it 63. The 24-point gap leaves a Spore Score of 44 and a fuzzy verdict. Critics saw a muddled, old-fashioned comic-book film. Audiences found a goofy buddy comedy with a monster in it, and had a good time.

What audiences love

Tom Hardy plays Eddie Brock, a San Francisco investigative reporter who loses his job and his fiancée, Anne (Michelle Williams), after confronting tech billionaire Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed). Drake's company has brought alien life forms back from space, and one of them, a symbiote called Venom, bonds with Eddie. It lives in his body, talks in his head and wants to eat people's heads.

The joy of the film is the double act. Hardy throws himself into the role with a twitchy, sweaty, oddly endearing performance, arguing with the voice inside him, climbing into a restaurant lobster tank and slowly coming to like his parasite. Many viewers enjoyed it as a comedy first and an action film second, and the relationship between Eddie and Venom became the centre of two sequels.

What critics object to

The story is generic: a villain in a lab, a rival symbiote, and a climactic fight between two computer-generated blobs that is hard to follow. The tone wobbles between violent horror and slapstick, and the film was cut to a PG-13 rating in the US, which takes the edge off a character known for being vicious. Williams and Ahmed are underused.

Who is right?

If you want a good superhero film, The Pros are right. If you want to watch Tom Hardy have the time of his life, The Punters have a point.

The Fuzzy Mushroom verdict

Not great, Spore Score 44. A messy film with one great, bonkers performance. Go in expecting a comedy and you will enjoy it more.