Starring: Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed, Jenny Slate, Woody Harrelson, Scott Haze, Marcella Bragio, Reid Scott
OUR RATING: ★★★☆☆
Story:
Superhero movie based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, directed by Ruben Fleischer. Venom centers on Eddie Brock/Venom (Tom Hardy), who is the host of an alien symbiote that gives him incredible powers.
Our Favorite Quote:
'Eyes. Lungs. Pancreas. So many snacks, so little time.' - Venom (Venom) Share on X
Best Quotes
Anne Weying: Are you going to behave yourself tomorrow?
Eddie Brock: No. No, I’m going to do my job. That’s what I’m going to do. I can’t, you know, not do my job. The guy you work for is a complete…
Anne Weying: I don’t work for Drake. I work for my firm, and my firm works for him. And I’m sure that they defend many people that you don’t deem worthy, but we don’t want a repeat.
Eddie Brock: A repeat?
Anne Weying: Of the Daily Globe incident.
Eddie Brock: Ow! Really? Incident?
Anne Weying: Mm-hmm.
Eddie Brock: That’s not an incident.
Anne Weying: Baby, you were run out of New York.
Eddie Brock: I was not. I did not.
Anne Weying: I don’t want you ran out of San Francisco.
Eddie Brock: No, I still have currency in New York. I was going places. I wasn’t running. I was going places. In fact, I moved to San Francisco for you.
Anne Weying: Me?
Eddie Brock: You are my home.
Anne Weying: You’re not so bad yourself, champ.
[they kiss]
Anne Weying: Less talking, more kissing.
Eddie Brock: Alright. Let’s just get the check.
Eddie Brock: [interviewing Drake] How does it, how does it, I don’t know, how does it go about, say, testing pharmaceuticals?
Eddie’s TV Producer: Eddie, we’re talking about the rocket here.
Eddie Brock: No, I’m not. I’m not. I’m talking about the allegations.
Carlton Drake: I’m sorry. I don’t…
Eddie Brock: It says that your entire empire has been built on dead bodies.
Eddie’s TV Producer: Eddie.
Eddie Brock: It’s true, right? It says that you recruit the most vulnerable of us to volunteer for tests, that more often than not end up killing people.
Carlton Drake: Yeah, I’m aware of these rumors online. There’s a lot of fake news out there these days.
Eddie Brock: Right. What about the legal cases?
Carlton Drake: Sorry?
Eddie Brock: The actual legal cases, like Sarah Chambers, Phil Barclay, Rob MacDonald.
Drake Interview Guard: That’s it. Time to go.
Carlton Drake: Thank you so much for coming to talk to me, Mr. Brock.
Eddie Brock: And they’re just some of the people who walked through these doors.
Carlton Drake: Have a nice day.
Drake Interview Guard: Cut the camera off, please.
Carlton Drake: Thank you very much.
Drake Interview Guard: Time is up. Go.
Eddie Brock: They’re dead. The Dead…
Carlton Drake: Could you show him out, please?
Eddie Brock: The Dead Found…
Eddie Brock: [to the guard] Don’t touch me. The Dead Foundation thing.
Drake Interview Guard: Get out of here, Brock.
Eddie Brock: We’re not finished!
Carlton Drake: Yes, you are, Mr. Brock.
Eddie Brock: Is that a threat?
Carlton Drake: Have a nice life.
Carlton Drake: [to his team of scientists] Thank you all for bringing us to this moment. Our names will be spoken long after we are dust. History starts now. This is day one. This is first contact. Let’s get to work.
Eddie Brock: You know, I used to be a reporter. I was, I was pretty successful, as well, you know? My job, it required you to, you know, to follow people that did not want to be followed and hide in plain sight. I mean you have to know how to disappear. I was pretty good, but, you, whoever you are, you suck.
Dr. Dora Skirth: Okay. My name is Dora Skirth.
Eddie Brock: Mmm.
Dr. Dora Skirth: I need your help. I work at the Life Foundation.
Eddie Brock: You do?
Dr. Dora Skirth: Yes.
Eddie Brock: Wow. Good for you. We’re done.
Dr. Dora Skirth: Mr. Brock, please, please listen to me. Everything that you accused him of, you were right. It’s all true.
Eddie Brock: I don’t care anymore.
Dr. Dora Skirth: Really? Because he’s got a lab filled with poor people, and they’re all signing waivers that they don’t understand, and he’s using them like guinea pigs, and they are dying. They are all dying.
Eddie Brock: You’ve seen that?
Dr. Dora Skirth: Yes.
Eddie Brock: Come here. Why would I believe you?
Dr. Dora Skirth: Because it’s true. I believed in him, and I, I told myself that it was worth it because we were curing cancer, but now this is different, something else.
Eddie Brock: Go to the cops.
Dr. Dora Skirth: I can’t do that. I’m afraid of what will happen to my family. He’s a very dangerous man, and he’s a very powerful man.
Eddie Brock: I know, I know how dangerous he is, because the very first time I interviewed him, just once, I lose my job the very next day. I lost my career, I lost my relationship, I lost my apartment, I lost everything I ever cared about. You know why? Carlton Drake ruined me. Finished. Now, if you are who you say you are, genuinely, and you have proof, then you should be very, very, very afraid.
Dr. Dora Skirth: I am.
Eddie Brock: You need to find yourself another white knight, Miss. Skirth, because I am done. I am done with all of this s**t.
Dr. Dora Skirth: What s**t?
Eddie Brock: All of this “saving my fellow man” s**t. Alright? Good night.
Dr. Dora Skirth: We are literally a generation away from an uninhabitable Earth.
Eddie Brock: Yeah.
Dr. Dora Skirth: Drake is using his personal rockets to scout real estate.
Eddie Brock: You know, it’s a really interesting story, but we need to just get to the part where he’s killing people.
Dr. Dora Skirth: Drake sent a ship on a recon mission. On the way back, they found a comet.
Eddie Brock: A comet?
Dr. Dora Skirth: Onboard computers indicated the presence of life, of millions of organisms.
Eddie Brock: Wait, wait, wait. When you say “millions of organisms”, what do you mean?
Dr. Dora Skirth: We brought back some specimens.
Eddie Brock: You’re talking about aliens? Like, aliens? ET phone home aliens?
Dr. Dora Skirth: Yes. But we don’t call them that. We call them Symbiotes.
Eddie Brock: Symbiotes?
Dr. Dora Skirth: And they cannot survive in our environment without help. Drake believes that the union between human and Symbiote is the key to our survival, but not here on Earth.
Eddie Brock: Drake is trying to put human beings and aliens together, so they can live in space?
Dr. Dora Skirth: We call them hosts.
Eddie Brock: That’s nuts, isn’t it? That’s completely insane.
Dr. Dora Skirth: Yes. There’s no protocol for this thing. He’s just feeding them in. If the match isn’t exact…
[they hear a guard’s radio comm as he passes by]
Anne Weying: [over phone] Eddie, hi. How you feeling?
Eddie Brock: Oh, feeling, I’m sick.
Anne Weying: Well, Eddie, you have a parasite. They’re not exactly sure how you got it, but it would explain the fever.
Eddie Brock: That would make sense. Also, I’m hearing a, I’ hearing a voice.
Dr. Dan Lewis: Auditory hallucinations are actually very common.
Eddie Brock: Oh, hey, Dan. How you doing? I didn’t realize that you were on the call, too.
Dr. Dan Lewis: Yeah, I’m here.
Eddie Brock: Mm. Hey, Dan, would this parasite, would it, like, be able to make me, I don’t know, like climb a really, really, really tall tree, but super, super fast?
Venom: Yes. We just did.
Dr. Dan Lewis: Well, Eddie, it sounds like it might be causing some metabolic abnormalities that are making it hard for your body to maintain homeostasis.
Eddie Brock: You said “causing” and “body”, and I lost you.
Dr. Dan Lewis: Listen, Eddie, we are going to get you on some meds, and we are going to clear that out.
Eddie Brock: Yes.
Venom: Never going to happen.
Eddie Brock: Will you stop doing that now! Not now!
Anne Weying: Eddie, we’re just trying to help you.
Eddie Brock: I know. I know. I’m just, I’m not actually talking to you, Annie.
Anne Weying: Who are you talking to?
Eddie Brock: I’m just going to call you back, alright? Thank you. Thank you, Dan. Thank you. Thank you, both.
Noisy Neighbor Ziggy: [after Eddie knocks on his neighbors door] Yeah?
Eddie Brock: Hey, can you turn your music down, please, because I’m having a really hard time?
Noisy Neighbor Ziggy: Whatever.
[Eddie’s face semi mutates into Venom and growls at him]
Noisy Neighbor Ziggy: Yeah, sure, man. Yeah. I’ll just turn it right down. Sorry.
Eddie Brock: Thank you. Thank you.
Roland Treece: Hey, Eddie.
Venom: Who the hell is this guy?
Roland Treece: I’m going to need Mr. Drake’s property back.
Eddie Brock: Woh.
Venom: What are you doing?
Eddie Brock: [puts his hands up] I’m putting my hands up.
Venom: [forces Eddie’s hands down] You are making us look bad.
Eddie Brock: [forces his hands back up again] No, I am not!
Venom: [forces Eddie’s hands up again] Yes, you are!
Eddie Brock: [puts his hands back up] No, I’m not.
Venom: [forces his down again]Yes, you are!
Eddie Brock: [puts his hands up] No, I’m not.
Venom: Why would you do that?
Eddie Brock: Because it is a very sensible thing to do.
Roland Treece: Eddie?
Venom: I will take care of this myself.
Eddie Brock: What?
Roland Treece: Eddie, where’s the bug? Take him down.
Venom: [as they taser Eddie, he takes them all down] I’m so sorry about your friends.
Venom: [after they beat up Drake’s men] Outstanding. Now let’s bite off all their heads off and pile them up in the corner.
Eddie Brock: Why would we do that?
Venom: Pile of bodies, pile of heads.
Venom: Eddie.
Eddie Brock: [sees Venom in the car window reflection] You’re not even here, are you? I’m just seeing things. It’s not real. You’re in my head, because you’re just a parasite.
Venom: Parasite?!
Eddie Brock: [Venom shoves him to the building wall and holds him up] You have a brain tumor, Eddie.
Eddie Brock: [to Venom] I am sorry that I called you a parasite. We can discuss this like two men.
Eddie Brock: I am going to die!
Venom: You are not going to die!
Roland Treece: You have been a serious pain in the a** for me, Eddie.
Eddie Brock: Well, you know, I aim to please.
[suddenly Eddie transform into Venom and holds Treece up by his throat]
Venom: Eyes. Lungs. Pancreas. So many snacks, so little time.
Eddie Brock: What the hell are you?
Venom: I am Venom. And you are mine.
Eddie Brock: You bit somebody’s head off.
Venom: Fuel in the tank. Listen carefully, Eddie. You did not find us. We found you. Think of yourself as my ride.
Eddie Brock: Where are you going?
Venom: We need Carlton Drake’s rocket. You remember him.
Eddie Brock: How do you even know about that?
Venom: I know everything, Eddie.
Eddie Brock: You do?
Venom: Everything about you.
Eddie Brock: How?
Venom: I am inside your head. You are a loser, Eddie.
Eddie Brock: Are you going to eat anybody else?
Venom: Most likely.
Eddie Brock: Oh, God.
Venom: That is why we are here. Cooperate, and you might just survive. That is the deal.
Venom: It is peaceful up here.
Eddie Brock: I’m not very good with heights.
Venom: Your world is not so ugly after all. I’m almost sorry to see it end.
Eddie Brock: What does that mean?
Eddie Brock: You’re going to get me killed.
Venom: You die, I die.
Eddie Brock: Yeah, well, you can always just shed my carcass and exchange it for another one whenever you need.
Venom: Why would I do that? You are far too good of a match to throw away so soon. Plus, I’m starting to like you. You and I are not so different.
Eddie Brock: Thank you.
Venom: [referring to the high-rise window of the building] Jump.
Venom: [as Eddie take the elevator] Pussy.
Eddie Brock: [to the SWAT team surrounding him] Guys, you do not want to do this, trust me.
SWAT Soldier #1: Mask!
SWAT Soldier #2: Copy!
Eddie Brock: Alright, have it your own way. Mask!
Venom: Copy.
Eddie Brock: [to Venom] No! We do not eat policemen!
[Annie screams and turns to leave]
Eddie Brock: Annie! Annie, wait! Wait, please.
Anne Weying: Oh, what the hell is that?
Eddie Brock: That’s not me. I’ve been infected.
Anne Weying: Eddie, what’s happening?
Eddie Brock: He’s inside me.
Anne Weying: He?
Eddie Brock: Yes. I know it sounds crazy, but…
Anne Weying: You’re sick. Eddie, you’re really sick.
Eddie Brock: No, I am scared! And I need help.
Anne Weying: Hospital. Right now.
Eddie Brock: I’m out of control.
Anne Weying: Dan just needs to do another MRI.
Venom: No MRI.
Eddie Brock: No. No. No MRI.
Anne Weying: What? Why?
Venom: Sound at four to six thousand hertz is lethal.
Eddie Brock: Sound frequency in the MRI is really harmful for him.
Anne Weying: What, so, sound is like his kryptonite?
Eddie Brock: Not all sounds.
Venom: And fire.
Eddie Brock: Fire. And fire.
Venom: He’s talking to you?
Eddie Brock: Always.
Anne Weying: Are you in pain?
Eddie Brock: No. No, I don’t feel anything, actually, apart from I’m hungry all the time.
Venom: And you feel sad, do you not, Eddie, when you are with her?
Eddie Brock: Just get out of my head, man.
Venom: You never apologized. You might not live to get another chance.
Eddie Brock: [pauses for a moment] Annie, I just want to say that whatever happens, that I am truly sorry for whatever and everything I have ever done to you. I am truly, truly sorry, and that I love you.
Anne Weying: Oh, Eddie, now’s really not the time. Let’s just keep you alive, okay?
Venom: Oh, that’s nice.
Carlton Drake: [referring to Venom] Where is he?
Eddie Brock: I don’t know. And you know what? Even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you anyway. I don’t trust you, and you’re insane.
Carlton Drake: That hurts.
Eddie Brock: Sorry.
Carlton Drake: Long journal entry about that tonight.
Carlton Drake: You’re being dumb, Brock. I’m not insane. What’s insane is the way humans choose to live today. Think about it. All we do is take, take, take. It can’t go on. We’ve brought the planet to the brink of extinction. We’re parasites. You’re a good example. Think about it. All you do is take. You took my Symbiote. You take potshots at a great man trying to get something done.
Eddie Brock: Who?
Carlton Drake: Didn’t you take from the person you loved the most, who trusted you the most? That’s insane. What I’ve initiated is a whole new world, a new species. Man and Symbiote combined.
Eddie Brock: Let me tell you something, buddy. Alright? Just man-to-man. Because I have spent a significant amount of time, alright, with one of these creatures up my a**. It’s not a lot of fun. And then I find out, all along, that they’re killing you.
Carlton Drake: This is the last time I’m asking you. Where is my Symbiote?
Eddie Brock: I have no idea.
Riot: [Drake changes into Riot] Where is he?
Eddie Brock: Oh, my God!
Riot: Where’s Venom?
Eddie Brock: That is the ugliest looking thing I have ever seen.
Eddie Brock: I guess it pays to be a specialist, huh? You know, it doesn’t matter if you kill me anyway, because there’s something way bigger afoot in this world than you and me. Much bigger than me. And it’s much, much bigger than you.
[She-Venom appears behind Treece]
Eddie Brock: Karma’s a b**ch.
Roland Treece: I don’t believe in karma.
[She-Venom grabs Treece and bites his head off]
Eddie Brock: Oh! Ooh!
She-Venom: Hi, Eddie.
[she grabs him and starts kissing Eddie, and slowly changes into Anne]
Anne Weying: Oh, no. I just bit that guy’s head off.
Eddie Brock: I know, I know. It’s, I’ve been there, too. It’s not fun.
Venom: The one with Drake is Riot.
Eddie Brock: Who’s Riot?
Venom: Riot is what you would call a team leader. He has an arsenal of weapons.
Eddie Brock: Drake’s got his own Symbiote.
Venom: He is unstoppable.
Anne Weying: Oh, great.
Venom: We have got to go!
Eddie Brock: Go where? Where we going?
Anne Weying: Well, I’m coming with you.
Venom: No! It’s going to get ugly.
Eddie Brock: Well, she can fight ugly. Trust me.
Anne Weying: Yeah, I can fight ugly.
Venom: Not today.
Anne Weying: Oh, that’s bulls**t!
Eddie Brock: [referring to Riot] Oh, Jesus! You can take this guy, right?
Venom: He has got s**t you have never seen.
Eddie Brock: What does that mean? What are our chances?
Venom: Hm. Pretty much zero.
Eddie Brock: Oh, f*** it. Well, let’s go save the planet.
Riot: Venom. Get in the rocket.
Venom: No. We won’t let you destroy this world.
Riot: Then die.
Riot: Traitor!
Venom: Have a nice life.
[Venom destroys the spaceship, it explodes, killing Riot]
Venom: [referring to Anne] Look at her. She has no idea we are going to get her back.
Dapper Dog Walker: [we see Stan Lee as a dog walker, referring to Anne] Hey. Don’t give up on her. Either of you.
Eddie Brock: We won’t.
Venom: Who is that guy?
Dapper Dog Walker: Okay.
Venom: [as Eddie bends down to pet the little dog] Wait. This thing looks delicious.
Eddie Brock: I have absolutely no problem with you sticking around, but if you do, we’re going to have to have some ground rules, alright? You cannot just go around eating anybody that you want to.
Venom: I cannot?
Eddie Brock: No, you cannot. Alright, we need to reiterate this. There are good people in this world, a lot of them, and then there are bad people. You have to tell the difference. The deal is, you will only ever be allowed to touch, harm, hurt, possibly, very possibly, eat very, very bad people, but never, ever, ever good people. Alright?
Venom: Fine.
Eddie Brock: Good.
Venom: But how does one tell the difference?
Eddie Brock: Well, it’s super simple. I mean, you just have to like, you can intuit it, you can sense it. Sometimes you can even feel it.
Venom: Whatever you say. But can we get something to eat now? Otherwise, your liver, it’s starting to look really, really good and juicy.
Eddie Brock: Yeah. Definitely. I know a place down here.
Mrs. Chen: How you doing, Eddie?
Eddie Brock: Ain’t nothing changed but the weather. You know?
Mrs. Chen: No.
Eddie Brock: So, what culinary delights will tickle the pickle tonight?
Venom: Tater tots and chocolate.
Eddie Brock: Right. Okay, no problem.
Venom: [referring to the thug pointing a gun at Mrs. Chen] Bad guy, right?
Eddie Brock: Yep.
Venom: [grabs hold of the thug’s arm] You come in here again, in fact, you go anywhere in this city, preying on innocent people, and we will find you and eat both your arms and then both of your legs.
Shakedown Thug: No, no.
Venom: And then we will eat your face right off your head. Do you understand?
Shakedown Thug: Please.
Venom: Yes. So, you will be this armless, legless, faceless thing, won’t you, rolling down the street, like a turd in the wind? Do you feel me?
Shakedown Thug: What the hell are you?
Venom/Eddie: [we see Venom reveal half of Eddie’s face] We are Venom. On second thought.
Shakedown Thug: Please.
Mrs. Chen: [as Venom eats the thug] Eddie? What was that?
Eddie Brock: Oh. I have a parasite. Yeah. Night, Mrs. Chen.
Venom: [as they walk out of Mrs. Chen’s store] Parasite?
Eddie Brock: Yeah. It’s a term of endearment, that’s all.
Venom: Apologize!
Eddie Brock: No.
Venom: Apologize!
Eddie Brock: Alright, fine. I’m sorry. So, what do you want to do now?
Venom: The way I see it, we can do whatever we want.
[mid-credits lines, Eddie goes to interview the serial murderer Cletus Kasady in prison]
Cletus Kasady: Hi, Eddie.
Eddie Brock: Hey.
Cletus Kasady: Do you mind if we forego the whole creepy serial killer thing here?
Eddie Brock: Sure, it’s good with me.
Cletus Kasady: I mean, I can turn it on if you want. I can talk about the Dadaist patterns of arterial spray.
Eddie Brock: I bet you can.
Cletus Kasady: Tough to see you in this light, Eddie. Come on over.
Eddie Brock: [gets closer] Alright. I’m here.
Cletus Kasady: When I get out of here, and I will, there’s going to be carnage.
Trailer: