These days you can split the Marvel super-hero flicks into two camps: the films made by Disney (who own Marvel Comics), and the films made by Sony. Sony has made a nice little niche for itself by snapping up franchises for the movies that are much less family friendly: the likes of our old friend Deadpool, and now, Venom.
The film follows Eddie Brock, ably played by the infinitely versatile (if you don’t mind the mumbling) Tom Hardy. Brock is a down-on-his-luck and somewhat self-centred journalist who, by way of crashed spaceships, mad scientists and poor security at airports, finds himself bonded to an alien parasite/symbiote that grants him superhuman powers. Now, the alien itself seems to get tetchy when you tell it it’s a parasite, but since it starts feeding on its host’s organs if not regular supplied with live prey, then I’m sure it’s a lot closer to a parasite than a symbiote – though should I ever encounter one I’ll probably keep my opinions to myself.