Venom
A disgraced San Francisco reporter becomes host to a volatile alien symbiote and discovers that an unlikely partnership may be humanity’s best defense.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Moderate
- irreverent
- witty
- kinetic
- action movie night
- comic book marathon
What critics said
Critics generally found the comic-book spectacle and Tom Hardy’s performance entertaining but judged the film uneven, muddled, and poorly written.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Eddie Brock and the Venom symbiote function as competing yet interdependent personalities within the same body.
The Life Foundation conducts invasive experiments while Carlton Drake pursues symbiote-based human transformation.
Venom begins as a predatory alien presence but develops an antiheroic moral stance alongside Eddie.
San Francisco becomes the setting for symbiote research, pursuit, invasion, and large-scale confrontation.
Films like Venom, and why
Spider-Man 3
Shared superhero action, alien invasion stakes, and a morally conflicted antihero with a heightened comic-book tone.
The Host
Shared symbiotic alien premise, body transformation, blockbuster action, and science-fiction thriller elements.
Deadpool
Shared monstrous antihero, dark humor, kinetic action, and comic-book spectacle centered on an unstable protagonist.
Movie Details
- Director
- Ruben Fleischer
- Release Date
- 2018-09-28
- Runtime
- 112 min
- Rating
- 6.8 / 10 (17639)
Cast
- Tom Hardy
- Michelle Williams
- Riz Ahmed
- Scott Haze
- Reid Scott
- Jenny Slate
- Melora Walters
- Woody Harrelson
- Peggy Lu
- Malcolm C. Murray
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Disney Plus, fuboTV, YouTube TV
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Plex
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Venom about?
- A disgraced San Francisco reporter becomes host to a volatile alien symbiote and discovers that an unlikely partnership may be humanity’s best defense.
- What is Venom like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Venom as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Venom violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Venom as moderate.
- What did critics think of Venom?
- Critics generally found the comic-book spectacle and Tom Hardy’s performance entertaining but judged the film uneven, muddled, and poorly written.
- Which films are like Venom?
- Films with a similar feel include Spider-Man 3, The Host, and Deadpool.
- How long is Venom?
- Venom runs 112 minutes.
- Where can I watch Venom?
- In United States, Venom streams on Disney Plus, fuboTV, YouTube TV.
