Venom Director Was "Really Bummed" By Bad Reviews

Last year's Venom was the first of Sony's Spider-Man spin-offs, and it was a big commercial hit, making a total of $856 million at the worldwide box office. But while audiences turned up for the movie, it wasn't exactly a critical hit. Venom has a Rotten Tomatoes score of just 29%, and GameSpot's review stated it lacked "charm, clarity, and ambition." Now director Ruben Fleischer has commented on the bad reviews.

In an interview with Fandom to promote his new movie Zombieland: Double Tap, Fleischer was asked if there was anything he would change about Venom. There was--the reviews. "If anything, I would have changed the critics' reaction to it," he said. "I was really bummed that people didn't like it because it's a crowdpleasing movie and I'm not sure if there was just blowback against Sony or people just worship Marvel.

"But I was really surprised that the critics [were gunning for it] because audiences really enjoyed the movie. And so many people who've seen it just appreciated that it was a fun superhero movie. So I was a little surprised. I don't know what they were expecting."

But while Venom might not have found favor with critics, its box office success has ensured that a sequel is on the way. This week it was reported that the movie will feature two villains--Carnage, played by Woody Harrelson, and his love interest Shriek. Venom 2 will star Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock once more, with Andy Serkis directing. It releases on October 2, 2020.

As for Zombieland: Double Tap, check out GameSpot's review here, and find what out the movie's writer thinks about zombie movies.