Venom (2018)

July 24, 2019

4,740 4 minutes read

Film and Plot Synopsis

Sony’s exploration of the Marvel universe continues with Venom. Eddie Brock is a broken man after he loses everything including his job and fiancée. Just when his life is at its lowest, he becomes host to an alien symbiote which results in extraordinary superpowers – transforming him into Venom. Will these powers be enough for this new lethal protector to defeat great evil forces, especially against the far stronger and more weaponized symbiote rival, Riot?

‘Venom’ Movie Summary

The summary below contains spoilers.

In Venom, the bio-engineering company Life Foundation is exploring space with the goal of finding new habitable worlds. Their probe discovers a comet that is covered in symbiotic lifeforms and explores it. The probe returns to Earth with four samples. However, one of the samples escapes before the probe reaches Earth and causes the ship to crash in Malaysia. The Life Foundation recovers the three contained samples and takes them to their research lab in San Francisco. At the lab, the scientists learn that the symbiotes cannot survive without an oxygen-breathing host. Additionally, the symbiotes cannot bond with just any person. Meanwhile, the missing symbiote bonds with random humans and slowly travels from Malaysia to the United States over the next six months.

In San Francisco, investigative journalist Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) learns about alleged experimental human trials conducted by Life Foundation from a classified document in the files of his fiancée Anne Weying (Michelle Williams). Anne is an attorney who is representing the Life Foundation in their defense against the allegations. Eddie is granted an interview with Life Foundation CEO Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed) for a public relations piece and brings up the information in the classified document. As a result, both Eddie and Anne are fired from their jobs, and Anne ends her relationship with Eddie.

Six months later, Eddie is barely getting by after struggling to find work. He is approached by one of Drake’s scientists who is working with the symbiotes, Dora Skirth (Jenny Slate). Dora disagrees with Drake’s methods and wants to blow the whistle on him. Drake’s experiments have almost succeeded, but one of the symbiotes and several test subjects have died in the process. Dora helps Eddie break into the lab to search for evidence. Eddie finds a homeless woman that he knows, Maria (Melora Walters) locked in a cell at the lab. Eddie attempts to rescue her, but the symbiote inside her transfers to Eddie’s body without him knowing. Maria dies as part of the process.

The alarm is raised, but Eddie escapes the lab. However, he begins to experience strange occurrences because of the bonding, including hearing a voice in his head. Eddie goes to Anne for help and discovers that she has a new boyfriend who is a doctor, Dr. Dan Lewis (Reid Scott). When Lewis examines Eddie, he discovers the existence of the symbiote. Meanwhile, Drake learns of Dora’s betrayal and places her in a lab with the last remaining symbiote. The symbiote bonds with Dora, but it is not a successful bonding and both Dora and the symbiote perish. Drake learns that Eddie bonded with the escape symbiote and that the bonding appears to have been successful. Drake orders his men to retrieve Eddie since he possesses that last known surviving symbiote.

Drake’s mercenaries go to Eddie’s apartment and attempt to abduct him. The symbiote forms around his body and protects Eddie while also giving him enhanced strength and speed, as well as an accelerated healing ability. The symbiote calls itself Venom and explains that the comet where the symbiotes were discovered was searching for planets where the symbiote species can possess and devour the inhabitants. Venom promises to spare Eddie if he will assist them in accomplishing their goal.

Eddie breaks into the office of his former employer in an attempt to turn in evidence against Drake. However, a SWAT team arrives to take him into custody. Eddie transforms into Venom and takes out the entire SWAT team. Anne witnesses the transformation and convinces Eddie to return with her to Lewis’ office. Lewis examines Eddie further and informs him that the symbiote is slowly rotting Eddie’s internal organs and will end up killing him, although Venom claims that the organ damage can be prevented. Eddie notes that from his experience that Venom only has two weaknesses, fire and loud noises. Anne places Eddie into an MRI machine, which the noise from causes Venom to separate from Eddie. Drake’s men arrive and capture Eddie, while Venom remains hidden.

Meanwhile, the fourth symbiote finally arrives at the Life Foundation after traveling the globe. Known as Riot, it bonds with Drake. Drake and Riot agree that Drake will take Riot in a Life Foundation space probe to the comet to retrieve the remaining symbiotes and bring them back to Earth.

Nearby, Eddie is freed from Life Foundation custody by Venom, who has temporarily bonded with Anne. Eddie and Venom bond again, and Venom states that he will help protect the Earth from his kind. Venom states that his interactions with Eddie have changed his perspective. Venom heads off to stop the launch of the Life Foundation probe. Venom and Riot fight. Venom damages the probe as it takes off which causes it to explode and kill both Drake and Riot. Venom also appears to be a casualty of the fight, although Eddie survives. Anne believes the symbiote is gone, but Venom is secretly still bonded with Eddie. The pair agree to protect the city of San Francisco by killing criminals.

In a mid-credits scene, Eddie is once again a journalist and has been given an assignment to interview the infamous serial killer Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson). Kasady has only agreed to do the interview with Eddie himself. Kasady promises “carnage” when he escapes, implying that he will become Venom’s greatest foe in the future, Carnage.

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