The “Venom” movies shouldn’t work at all. The only reason they even exist is because of the complexities of the licensing deal between Marvel and Sony, which allows Sony to make live-action movies featuring characters that are connected to Spider-Man — but without Spider-Man himself.
That has led to notorious failures like “Morbius” and “Madame Web,” and the best I can say for the “Venom” movies is that they aren’t as bad as those infamous flops. If they succeed at all, it’s through the sheer willpower of star and producer Tom Hardy, who is fully dedicated to his oddball performance as the title character.
