Not many people seemed to have a lot of faith in what Sony could bring to the table for a Venom film without using Spider-Man. Additionally, many thought it would be impossible to make a serviceable film without pulling an R rating — creating a film that managed to capture the character’s much darker aspects.
A lot of fans really seemed to be of the opinion that you could only capture the villain with a truly dark take — one that would almost be completely at odds with the more kid-friendly Spider-Man films. Of course, we ended up with a PG-13 movie that was also decidedly funny. I had a chance to speak with the film’s director Ruben Fleischer and ask him if he ever felt pressured to go all-in on the dark adaptation that many fans were asking for, and here’s what he had to say:
“No, because I always saw the comics as being darkly comedic. That’s part of what I was drawn to about the character and the opportunity with the film. I’ve had a history of making comedy movies, so for me to, I wanted to make sure that we infused it with comedy. If you wanna do really true to the comic’s version, it would be inauthentic to do a humorless version. I think it’s essential to the character.”
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Of course, the film has come out, and it has gone on to exceed everyone’s expectations in terms of box office performance. And while it may not be the best-reviewed film of the year (many flat-out hated it), there does seem to be a consensus that the film was still entertaining on some level, and moviegoers have seemingly voted with their wallets.
What do you think of Fleischer’s comments? Do you think he captured the essence of what makes Venom Venom, or was there something crucial lost by not going completely dark and hard-R? Let us know your thoughts down below!
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SOURCE: LRM Online
