I don’t just mean that it’s chinese box office figures are great. They are, but the audience is also emotionally thirsty for venom. He’s the new number one dream boyfriend. All the chinese articles I’ve read keep talking about his 男友力, his boyfriend power level(ie how good a SO is) and how its off the charts. How even people who aren’t into superheroes and are just along for the ride will be charmed at this romantic dreamboat. How adorable and lovable and cute and charming he is. How he’s become a 国民男友, a National Boyfriend, ie, someone the whole country wants to date because they’re such a Ideal BF. That Women Love Venom is accepted fact. The top three things articles in Chinese keep mentioning about the film are a)the box office success, b)how popular venom is With The Ladies in the audience and how he’s an Ideal Boyfriend, and how Venom and Eddie have Incredible Chemistry and c)blah blah cast plot trailer reactions blah. I’m so proud of the goo, y’all, he’s such a good boyfriend to Eddie that he’s made himself a Publically Recognised Dreamboat.
And this reaction wasn’t exactly unanticipated. Official promo images included art of Venom being a great BF in this vein:
Yes. That’s been on the official Weibo (chinese Twitter) account.
The little stamp says Venom: Caring Protector (the film is released in China as Venom: lethal protector so its a play on that). The term 暖男 is a particular archetype of caring and emotionally available man. A sweet softboy, if you will.
Highlights from articles include:
V keeps being called a 忠犬, a “loyal dog” love interest archetype who is loyal and self sacrificing and values his SO above all else. Kind of like the Service in Service Top.
he gets called 蠢萌 and 贱萌, which respectivekey are cute because he’s a dumbass and cute because he’s a dick
One article talks about how you expect a monster but you get a beautiful creature with beautiful perfect teeth. Ok???? Horny much????
Insisting he’s lovable because he’s Sensitive and Emotionally Intelligent, and know What Women Want, as shown by the scene where he coaches Eddie through his convo with Anne in the car
These aren’t from fanblogs by they way they’re from movie and entertainment sites and are Articles.
there’s this one user’s review on the biggest chinese movie review site that talks about how Venom is so sexy it makes them tremble. I’ve seen it quoted like four times.
Admittedly I’m biased but I just finished reading a Chinese think piece on Why Venom Is The Sexiest Villain so excuse me if I’m too enthusiastic. FYI reasons include:
he’s played by Tom hardy who is Sexy. (Hardy’s Chinese fan nickname is 汤老湿, which sounds like tom+sensei, but written as Tom+always wet…Chinese people are horny for Tom hardy.)
Because he’s got that contrast of sharp and lethal on the outside and soft and tender on the inside
And my favourite: because he is Socially Responsible and Does The Right Thing and is a Good Boy for Saving The Earth And Mrs Chen The Shopkeeper. This writer is so horny for V???? I’m screaming.
Venom’s talk about being considered a loser on his planet, his quick fondness for Eddie, his pleasant surprise when Eddie first called them “we,” and his sudden switching of sides all lead me to conclude that like in the comics, movie!Venom is a big romantic sap that wanted a fairytale symbiosis with a perfect host and all the other reind- Klyntar can’t even deal with his nonsense.
No wonder Riot was so keen on finding him and getting him back on Plan Let’s Get Ready to Invade These Assholes. It’d been six months since he’d seen Venom, and he just knows that without supervision that fucking jackass has gone and fallen in love with the first son of a bitch that didn’t die on him and talked to him halfway decently and now he’s not gonna want to conquer the planet.
And sure enough, he’s not even surprised when Venom turns up all traitorous and married. He gives him one, fleeting chance to get in the fucking rocket, you lunatic, and then he’s just gonna fucking eat him. He’s tired of this, Venom. Absolutely done with this shit.
Riot: GODDAMMIT, VENOM, YOU ALWAYS DO THIS. LOOK AT HIM. YOUR TASTE IS GETTING WORSE.
Venom: HE GAVE ME TATER TOTS AND CALLED US “WE” AND “BUDDY.” WE KISSED IN THE FOREST UNDER THE MOONLIGHT. WE WILL HAVE SEVEN CHILDREN.
Riot: VENOM, DROP THAT THING RIGHT NOW, I WON’T TELL YOU AGAIN. HE SMELLS LIKE SWEAT AND FAILURE.
the critics saying Tom Hardy is “over-acting” in Venom are just used to superhero movie protagonists being stoic and silent and don’t know what to do with an actor who actually makes his characters express emotions in healthy ways lmao
(mild spoilers ahead) When Eddie’s sad he looks miserable and teary and openly expresses why. He shrieks when he’s startled. He panics when he’s confused and worried. He silently screams when he’s angry and can’t do anything about it. He reacts to the events of the movie in a way that someone might actually respond.
Critics are just so used to machismo in their superhero movies that they don’t know what to do in the absence of it.
point being: Venom was fucking good and the critics are wrong
REVIEWS FOR VENOM JUST CAME IN AND IT’S A 28% ON ROTTEN TOMATOES!!!!!! THIS MOVIES GONNA BE SO FUCKIN FUNNY IM SO EXCITED. GOD I LOVE TERRIBLE SPIDERMAN MOVIES
“If you replaced Tom Hardy for Steve Martin in “All of Me,” and switched out Lily Tomlin for a wad of chewed-up black licorice, you’d have “Venom.”“
“When a major fight scene resembles a pair of black pants caught in a white wash, it’s fair to say you haven’t taken the audience with you.”
“It’s a train wreck of a movie, mixing and matching wildly dissonant tones, bizarre plot contrivances, and a truly unique lead performance.”
“Tom Hardy seems to be trying to be the first actor to win an Oscar and a Razzie for the same performance.”
“A film that feels like what you’d expect from a below average superhero flick circa 2004, like Ghost Rider or Fantastic Four.”
^ some of my fave critic review excerpts. i have never been more excited
some more
“The movie is so ridiculous that many viewers will at least be entertained in a dumbfounded way.”
“Think Affleck Daredevil. Think Ang Lee Hulk. Think Halle Berry Catwoman. That’s… I mean, that’s really all there is to be said, I think.”
“This is a movie that somehow slipped through a wormhole from 2004. That’s my biggest take. It’s a movie that spilled from the pre-MCU era through a crack in time and space… The humor, the story beats, everything right down to the Eminem theme song feels like it emerged Kimmy Schmidt style from a sealed off early ‘00s bunker.”
“Sorry to say that Venom is pretty much a complete failure — a tonal mess that feels 15 years old, ignoring the storytelling strides that the superhero genre has made in recent years.”
“Not sure I had the intended reactions to some scenes, but fun is fun — even when it’s totally ridiculous, right? It’s too bad they didn’t go for the R rating, though.”
“The cast seems to all know they’re in a darker superhero movie, except Tom Hardy who is basically remaking Jim Carrey’s Liar Liar.”
“At one point Tom Hardy and Venom make out.”
gonna go see it just for the make out honestly
I was completely fine and then “At one point Tom Hardy and venom make out”
Sounds like a masterpiece to me
Have you ever heard of a such a fine film.. the only problem I can foretell with this movie is Venom doesn’t come out of the screen to slap my ass himself, what a coward
i'll apple your turnover 