At first glance, it’s difficult to put your finger on exactly what’s wrong with the Venom teaser trailer.
It’s definitely not Tom Hardy, whose Eddie Brock undergoes a series of grueling experiments and spends half the time housed up in an MRI machine, presumably under the watchful eye of the Life Foundation. Nor is it the movie’s supporting players (see: Riz Ahmed, Michelle Williams) who headline a terrific ensemble cast.
Instead, this Venom preview was lacking in bite, which is to say that Sony’s long-anticipated teaser didn’t include a single shot of the CG-powered symbiote. No jump-scare. No creepy over-the-shoulder shot. Nada. All we got was a brief look at some black residue locked up in a futuristic container.
The result? A somewhat disappointing and generic showcase for what is undoubtedly one of the most-anticipated comic book movies of the year. Hell, strip away the inky black title card and Venom‘s first-look teaser could be mistaken for a bland, generic action movie featuring Tom Hardy.
Rob Liefeld certainly thinks so, too. The Deadpool creator and all-around industry expert took to Twitter to voice his own opinion of the Venom teaser. And let’s just say Liefeld is never one to mince his words.
Sony, stop calling bloggers and expressing your dissatisfaction that they are reflecting the truth. You ran that teaser that wasn’t ready for prime time! Look in the mirror.
— robliefeld (@robertliefeld) February 8, 2018
BS. Sucked.
— robliefeld (@robertliefeld) February 8, 2018
To their credit, the Sony Pictures team are likely hard at work finishing the movie’s visual effects, and the fact that Tom Hardy’s raging symbiote will be brought to life through CGI will only increase an already taxing workload.
But it’s fair to say that in light of this morning’s much-hyped reveal, fans are a little underwhelmed by Venom as a whole. That’s not to say that the end product will be necessarily bad, simply that Sony may be guilty of dropping the ball. After all, there’s a difference between exercising restraint in trailers and failing to generate excitement for your movie.
