13 Uncanny Similarities Between Venom And Catwoman

Because both films feature their protagonists getting their powers in strange ways that they don't fully understand, they both feature key sequences of action in which the protagonist isn't aware of how they're able to do things but they begin to notice changes in their abilities.

In Catwoman, it is the infamous basketball scene, in which Patience goes to play some basketball with her potential-boyfriend, Benjamin Bratt's Tom. Here, through some truly atrocious editing, Patience is shown to suddenly have insane skills on the court and is able to outplay everyone on the court. And it is to her own surprise, as she's able to do things she's never been able to before and is pleasantly surprised by herself.

But Venom's initial scene of Eddie running away from the Life Foundation isn't much better. Eddie is able to outrun several guards and golf carts (?) through the woods as his powers allow him to kick doors off their hinges, run through tree branches, and climb tree trunks in the blink-of-an-eye.

But all of this is staged with the careful precision of a toddler playing Operation and features a whole lot of nonsensical editing and close-ups of Tom Hardy's confused reaction.

As icing on top of the cake, both characters are then filled in on the extent of their powers by a female side-character who lives and dies based on the film's need of exposition. In Catwoman, it's Frances Conroy's Ophelia Powers. In Venom, it's Jenny Slate's Dora Skirth. Both of these characters exist solely to provide massive exposition dumps and then they disappear from the film entirely.