"We all have our own ... demons."

Trailer Review 062 & Movie Preview 012

Venom

SONY Pictures

[June 07th, 2018]

Trailer(s) Effectiveness =
70% for a decent tease with establishing shots without any revealing of storyine.

No one could ever imagine before a Marvel Cinematic Universe with a legit Spider-Man alongside the Avengers but after the successful reeintegration in Civil War (and of course a new version) with arguably the most perfect teenage casting yet, Homecoming cemented his place in the Universe and breathe a new life into the lethargic franchise. Resulted from a wonderful collaboration with Sony, the one renting the properties is now being motivated to use what is at their disposal to the fullest degree, going down a certain direction that the fans are perplexed by, especially considering where it would go without a certain web slinger being (apparently) directly involved with how their broad storyline is being told. The arch nemesis, Venom, is a symbiote that is synonymous with Peter Parker and now the prospect of being adapted again after the abomination of Spider-Man 3 (it wasn't that bad personally, definitely had its moments) without that reliable anchor to bounce off of would force the studio to adapt the arc that is solely on Eddie Brock and his relationship with Venom, and it appeared to be based roughly on Agent Venom, more of an antihero than a villain. That premise is promising and with the solid cast supporting it and a capable director to steer the boat, nothing could go wrong, right?

Chance of Success =
70% with the established association with Spider-Man and well-known cast.

a case for the reboot & reintroduction of the friendly neighbourhood superhero:

+ Highlights +

Perfect casting with the most accurate adaptation yet with accurate teenager's angst, wonderfully directed by Jon Watts with an excellent, relatable villain in Michael Keaton's Vulture, arguably the best villain since Loki.

? Main contention ?

The already well-known origin story does not need to be told again and it was the correct decision ... now with the Vulture acts as a throughline antagonist, would Green Goblin be the next villain for Tom Holland's Spider-Man?

- Lowlights -

Having to be naturally integrated into the already established MCU, there is always the need to give and take between staying true to the comic canon while taking into consideration of Iron Man and his massive influence over all, fusing his need to get used to his powers with the high-tech suit for example.

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a case for a separate Spider-verse tangentially related with(out) Tom Holland:

+ Highlights +

The supporting stables under the Spider-Man umbrella are interesting and well-rounded enough to be adapted into their own solo films, but ...

? Main contention ?

 ... without him himself at the center of it, they would not have a tangible solid protagonist to bounce themselves from, cutting the legs from under the premises by handicapping them from the start and forcing the filmmakers to build the characters from the ground up in their own particular sculpt without being molded with their interaction with Peter Parker ...

- Lowlights -

... which could make these solo characters not living up to their fullest potential when they are playing directly alongside him. He is the main throughline in this planned Spider-Verse but without him, what could be tying them all together in a cohesive universe?

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a case for a perfectly decent teaser that fell short of the rabid fan's expectation:

+ Highlights +

A slow burn of an introduction of the main protagonist (sans the title namesake) and his character progression to showcase his human values before being under the influence of a certain symbiote ... although this is all speculation since the teaser is full with establishing shots without any known storyline behind them.

? Main contention ?

You can see Venom itself in its natural symbiote form during the 1:00 mark, moving ever so fluidly in the tank. Did you notice another similar tank just beside him? That place could be reserved for the rumoured Carnage.

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How does this particular Venom's power works? Shouldn't it be the tentacles that would come out of his hands, not (apparently) a telekinetic power at 1:12 mark.

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It's a decent teaser of an upcoming film but with Venom coming off of a universally celebrated Homecoming, they could have done better to garner excitement for this honestly surprising spinoff for the casual fans, even moreso to overset the trepidation diehard fans have for the premise ... it is certainly a misstep that would not do them any favour.

- Lowlights -

In hindsight, they should have seen this coming ... the vocal few's uproar over the lack of the titled antihero, the fully CGI-ed Venom in the first teaser of the film for a film that would come out nine months later ... I understand the argument that if they didn't have the finished visual effects yet, why not wait until they do, but just two weeks after finishing the principal photography, it is commendable to ride the trailer waves off the Super Bowl and get an early conversation and buzz going, no matter if it was positive or negative. It's a tease, it's teasing the symbiote overcoming him at 1.17 mark! I'm sure they would not repeat the same 'mistake' for the full trailer in the coming months.

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"You used to be one thing ... now, you're something else."

- Synopsis -
...

Cast

Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock, Michelle Williams as Anne Weying, Woody Harrelson, Tom Holland as Peter Parker (rumoured), Jenny Slate, Riz Ahmed as Dr. Carlton Drake, Scott Haze (rumoured) ...

(Ruben Fleischer [30 Minutes or Less, Zombieland], Genre - Action, Horror, Sci-Fi, Sony's Spider-Man Universe)

- IMDb - wiki -

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