The Venom films have had a rocky time. So has the entire Sony Spiderman universe.

But now Venom is synonymous with Tom Hardy. And whether you love or hate his portrayal of Eddie Brock and Venom – you have to admit he carries these films.

Venom: The Last Dance follows in the footsteps of its priors. An undercooked script with many-a-plot-hole. But it still has that Eddie-Venom banter to make you enjoy whatever is dished up.

Taking off after the events of the second film, Eddie is pinned as the killer of Detective Mulligan. But he’s not just on the run from the police. Oh yes, he has also caught the eye of a secret government operation and … more aliens.

The pure number of antagonistic forces set upon the two from the very beginning makes it clear they might not both survive this.

Reminiscent of a buddy road trip movie, Eddie and Venom have a lot of alone time. Tom Hardy does an immaculate job of bringing the two personalities to life. He injects their scenes with comical banter that could keep me entertained for hours.

There are a lot of new faces to take in with this film. It bit off more than it could chew – trying to introduce key new characters with not much time to fully delve into them.

Our new ‘big bad’ doesn’t get much screentime. Instead, he sends a hoard of his practically indestructible knulls after Eddie and Venom.

Dr. Teddy Payne (Juno Temple) – a symbiote researcher, is another character set up that feels half-assed. We get to see one tragic backstory flashback that becomes her reason for everything she does the entire film. I was more emotionally invested in Sadie, her loveable coworker.

In place of developing these evident ‘teeing up for the next film’ characters we’re simply given even more characters.

With the Michelle Williams hole to fill, the film had to find a new emotional centre. And this came in the way of the alien-loving couple and their kids. And they, of course, are conveniently placed to be the physical representation of the world Eddie and Venom are trying to save.

While the film lacks in overall cohesion and story, it does make up for it with its final battle. This film is definitely the most goriest instalment of the Venom films. The knulls have a wood chipper-esque function that turns anything they consume into a mist of blood. These creatures are a legitimate threat, which makes for an epic bloodbath.

But in the end, we know only one of our much-loved bonded duo can survive if they wish to save the universe. (It’s not spoilers if the movie is literally called ‘ The Last Dance’)

The tragedy is wrapped up in a some-what romantic montage to the backdrop of Maroon 5s memories. And I have to say, this was brilliant.

Was the whole movie brilliant? Hell no. Did I have a lot of fun? Hell yes.

The post Venom: The Last Dance (Sony Pictures – 2024) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

NOW CLOSED – Venom, from Marvel Studios sees the darker side take the reigns in an explosive and surprisingly humorous film.

One of Marvel’s most enigmatic, complex, and badass characters; Venom is a must own comic book blockbuster, which has grossed more than $822 million in theaters worldwide to date, and is directed by Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland) and features an all-star cast including Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises, Mad Max: Fury Road), Michelle Williams (The Greatest Showman), Riz Ahmed (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, TV’s “The Night Of”), Jenny Slate (Zootopia) and Woody Harrelson (Zombieland, The Hunger Games franchise).

Venom arrives filled with engaging bonus materials that will give fans even more of the action that they loved in theaters with over an hour of new content.

The special features include an exciting Venom Mode, where fans will be able to engage with informative pop-ups throughout the film to reveal hidden references to the comics, deleted and extended scenes, a mini documentary called From Symbiote to Screen that covers the history of Venom in comics and his journey to the big screen. Also a behind-the-scenes peek at some of the stunts, a look at Ruben Fleischer’s journey behind the lens, a featurette about what it took to create Venom on screen called Designing Venom.

Symbiote Secrets reveals Easter Eggs and hidden references in the film. Other bonus materials include multiple pre-visualizaton versions of some of your favorite scenes, Eminem’s incredible video for his hit song “Venom,” “Sunflower” from Post Malone and Swae-Lee (from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse), and an early sneak peek at Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

Now released on Bluray and 4K Ultra HD and thanks to our good mates at Sony Home Entertainment, STG has FIVE Venom Bluray’s to Giveaway!

To Enter our Venom Bluray Giveaway you will need to answer this Question correctly.

What is the profession of Eddie Brock in the 2018 film Venom?

A: Homicide Detective

B: Investigative Journalist

C: Sewing Machine Mechanic

You can give us your Answer by placing a Comment below, hitting us up on Facebook, Tweet to us, or Email Us.

* Winner(s) will be randomly selected from those that Comment below / Facebook Comment / Email in accordance to the above Question.Winner(s) will receive a Bluray copy of Venom. Venom has a M15+ (Mature) Age rating. You will need to be over the Age of 15 years to enter this promotion. STG may ask for proof of age. Competition ends on the  3rd of February 2019.

The post Enter to Win Venom on Bluray! appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Venom has been the coolest Spider-Man villain since the webslinger first encountered him.

In my eyes Venom is to Spider-Man as Joker is to Batman. This is an absolutely massive character to see on the big screen and as such should carry quite high expectations. We haven’t seen him since Spider-Man 3 and we all know how that movie went. You would hope Sony kept all of this in mind while planning a whole new universe for Venom.

I’ll start with the general premise of where the Venom (2018) takes the character. Making Venom into an anti-hero is actually an idea with merit and not even very out of the blue as he has been in that position in previous stories. The lack of Spider-Man himself was also rather surprising to me but I can see why it was done and I don’t think it’s a deal breaker. Once again we’ve also seen it before in previous stories. 

As an origin movie it’s pretty standard to have to wait a fair amount of time before getting into the fun part yet I feel like we have to wait just a little too long in Venom (2018). Other movie series generally make this wait more than bearable with interesting characters and stories like Bruce Wayne or even Peter Parker. However this time there is Eddie Brock and in this universe he’s just not all that fun to watch, he’s just a guy with a life that sucks.

Once the movie does start to kickoff it does get more fun and a lot of that is carried by the visuals. Venom (2018) has some great action scenes and chases but it’s best to just sit back and enjoy the ride during them as nothing absolutely spectacular happens. On the topic of visuals, the starring symbiote himself does look charmingly menacing and you can almost feel the impact of anything or anyone he strikes down.

While Venom might look great his dialogue is where I really started questioning the film. It’s almost as if the lines were just copy pasted from the Saturday morning cartoons I watched at 9 years old. Don’t get me wrong they worked great for the cartoons but it just felt so out of place in what was meant to feel like a more (but not 100%) serious film with plenty of violence and eating of heads. 

Overall it felt like Sony were trying to do too many different things that don’t mesh well together. There’s all the forced comedy that goes from start to finish combined with some fairly intense action scenes at times containing some pretty violent ideas. It felt a little too childish for an adult yet I wouldn’t really take young children to see it.

Venom (2018) is definitely one of those movies that’s fun to watch with some mates but don’t expect anything to stand out. I certainly cringed at a few moments and unfortunately it was just enough to put myself off. I’m interested in the path Sony is taking with the new Universe but if they fail to make Venom of all characters exciting then I’m not very confident I’ll enjoy any sequels.

The post Venom (Marvel Films – 2018) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

NOW CLOSED – The ultimate hybrid of evil in the Marvel Universe is about to get his own feature film.

Being one of the most complex characters, taking center stage as Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) becomes the host for the alien symbiote Venom.

As a journalist, Eddie has been trying to take down the notorious founder of the Life Foundation, genius Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed) – and that obsession ruined his career and his relationship with his girlfriend, Anne Weying (Michelle Williams). Upon investigating one of Drake’s experiments, the alien Venom merges with Eddie’s body, and he suddenly has incredible new superpowers, as well as the chance to do just about whatever he wants. Twisted, dark, unpredictable, and fueled by rage, Venom leaves Eddie wrestling to control dangerous abilities that he also finds empowering and intoxicating. As Eddie and Venom need each other to get what they’re looking for, they become more and more intertwined — where does Eddie end and Venom begin?

Excited for the film? So are we! Venom releases to cinemas in New Zealand on October the 4th, 2018 and you can score a mega sized Venom Prize Pack from us here at STG thanks to our good mates at Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures.

We have a total of TEN Prize Packs up for grabs each including Venom / Marvel licensed;

• Phone wallet
• Notebook
• Water bottle
• Double pass to the movie

To Enter our Marvel Studios Venom film Prize Pack Giveaway you will need to answer this Question correctly:

The concept of what is now Venom was first conceived at Marvel Comics not as a stand-alone character but as a?

A: New Costume for Spider-Man

B: New costume for Spider-Woman

C: Cosplay for The Hulk

You can give us your Answer by placing a Comment below, hitting us up on Facebook, Tweet to us, or Email Us.

* Winner(s) will be randomly selected from those that Comment below / Facebook Comment / Email in accordance to the above Question.Winner(s) will receive Marvel Studios Venom Prize Pack which includes licensed Notebook, Phone Wallet, Water Bottle and a Double Pass to the film. The Double Pass must be redeemed at participating theaters and conditions on the complimentary pass will need to be adhered to. Tickets are not transferable. Venom has an R (Restricted Age rating in New Zealand). Competition ends on the 4th of October 2018. New Zealand only entries will be accepted.

 MARVEL and all related character names: © & ™ 2018 MARVEL. Venom, the Movie ©2018 CPII. All Rights Reserved.

The post Enter to Win a Mega Venom Prize Pack! appeared first on Shane the Gamer.