“Venom” is upon us. Last weekend, the Spider-Man spin-off flick surprised many by easily breaking the October box office record and has shown no signs of slowing down as it approaches its second weekend. However, as many, many, many critics have pointed out, it’s just not a great film. And one of the primary reasons for the criticism has little to do with the main character or the actor portraying him. No, in fact, the main issues come from a plot that is so (unnecessarily) convoluted and mind-boggling.
So, in a new interview with “Venom” director Ruben Fleischer, Gamespot hit him with a hard question. Namely, the outlet wanted him to explain one of the biggest plot holes (or logic gaps) in the film’s story — Riot’s journey.
LISTEN: Unpacking ‘Venom’: Secret Success, Or A Turd In The Wind? [Podcast]
**Spoilers for “Venom” starting now**
Before we let Fleischer attempt to explain, let’s talk about the issue at hand. Riot, the evil symbiote that crash lands on Earth with 3 others, begins its journey by bonding with an astronaut. Then, the alien moves bodies to an EMT. After realizing it needs to go to San Francisco (as it landed in Malaysia), Riot moves bodies another time to an old lady. And that’s where the issue begins because the film time-jumps ahead six months. When we are re-introduced to Riot’s journey, the alien is still in the old lady and still in Malaysia, but then transfers into a little girl and makes its way to the States.
So, while we know what happened to Eddie Brock and the other characters in the missing six months, what the hell happened to Riot? Why did he stall out in Malaysia? And after switching bodies after only a few hours each, why would the alien stay bonded to a decrepit old lady with a cane for six months? The director’s answer — Eh, who knows?
“Our idea was that Riot was using up the life force of whoever he took, and then he jumped ship when he’d consumed them and then find a new host to carry him further on his journey,” Fleischer explains when confronted with this logic gap.
Asked what the hell Riot was up to for six months in Malaysia, the director said, “Yeah, that’s a good question. That’s one of our few — hopefully few — logic bumps. But we had to have a passage of time in order to show Eddie’s downfall, and that was the one thing that doesn’t entirely track.”
Whether or not you agree that it’s one of the “few” logic bumps in the film’s plot is up for debate. But back to the point to the issue at hand…
“But I like to think that old lady was going around murdering all throughout Malaysia, and she was just having a good old time just shooting shards through different people in Malaysia,” he continued.
Gamespot attempts to bail out Fleischer by suggesting that maybe Riot was hibernating or experiencing a “dormant” period, which could easily be explained by the whole alien thing.
“Yeah, I mean, who’s to know?” Fleischer said.
Well, some might say that the director should know, right?
“Venom” is in theaters now, and plot holes aside, is worth the watch for just the Tom Hardy-ness alone.