Venom Trailer 2 Reactions: 2 Ups & 7 Downs

5. The Writing Seems...Not Good

It's not exactly a sterling endorsement of this movie's writing that the first line out of the protagonist's mouth is, "The man you work for is an evil person", as Eddie Brock admonishes his girlfriend Ann Weying (Michelle Williams) for working with the villainous Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed). The line sounds like a child wrote it, and Hardy's wonky delivery definitely doesn't help.

Elsewhere there are other indicators this is going to follow a pretty basic superhero movie formula: the typical evil businessman villain, the alien substance that imbues the hero with special powers (including a "show of strength" scene where he first discovers his abilities), a sidekick subplot (Jenny Slate's unnamed reporter character) and so on.

Now, this is being co-written by the minds behind Kangaroo Jack, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, The Dark Tower and Fifty Shades of Grey, so it shouldn't be terribly surprising that it's not exactly the pinnacle of innovative, imaginative screenwriting. Even so, it feels like it's just ticking off everything on the superhero origin story checklist.

If there's one thing this movie shouldn't be, it's safe.