The Marvel spin-off titled “Venom,” directed by Ruben Fleischer, tells the origin story of the infamous comic book supervillain, Venom, created by David Michelinie and Todd McFarlane. “Venom” centers around Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy), a photojournalist whose life is put on hold when an alien parasite invades his body. “Venom” is spun off from the Spider-Man franchise, and is written by Scott Rosenberg, Jeff Pinkner, and Kelly Marcel. The movie has been in the making since the late 1990s.

Throughout the movie Brock struggles to decide whether to fight or to give in to his evil persona. Though the movie is rated PG-13, it is darker and grittier than other films associated with Marvel. The action sequences immediately catch the audience’s attention with the impressive special effects. The visual effect of Venom is well executed, portraying it as menacing but still fluid in movement.

Tom Hardy brings Eddie Brock to life in a charismatic way from the pages of the comics, but his performance only barely redeems the movie. The talent each actor brought to the film seemed like wasted potential in such an average movie. I often found myself laughing at certain parts of the movie, left wondering if “Venom” missed out on its true potential as a comedy.

Certain parts throughout the movie did not flow smoothly. They felt choppy and drew attention away from the plot line. The script felt sloppy and awkward, some lines completely inappropriate for their designated scenes.

I also found that some of the stylistic decisions made by the writers did not transfer over well to audiences. For example, why does Venom, an alien parasite, speak to its host, Brock, like a teenage boy, dropping immature expletives throughout the film? Just wondering.

Ultimately, superhero fans who have been awaiting this release will be let down by the lack of care and finesse that went into this production.

“Venom” will keep audiences mostly entertained throughout its runtime, but will not be winning any awards. In the end, “Venom” definitely isn’t a hit, but is not an outright failure.