Recap / The Nostalgia Critic S 12 E 38

The director of the Zombieland movies takes his shot at a serious movie... we think. Nostalgia Critic looks at the comic book hit Venom.

Release Date: October 23, 2019

Film: Venom (2018)

We remembered these tropes so you don't have to:

• A.I. Is a Crapshoot: The voice in the Critic's head turns out not to be a Symbiote like Venom, but an Artificial Intelligence like the one in Upgrade.
• Catch Phrase Interruptus:
  • First, at the beginning of the review:
    Critic: Hello, I'm the Nostalgia Critic. I remember it— (involuntarily shoves his face forcefully onto his desk)
  • Then, when it seems like the review would conclude with Miles Morales fighting Venom and She-Venom, the Critic says, "I'm the Nostalgia Critic, and—" But then the voice in his head interrupts and kills all three of them.
• Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: When the Critic gets upset with the "Symbiote" possessing him after it kills Venom, She-Venom, and Miles Morales for interrupting its declaration of what "the good Venom movie" is:
  Critic: Who cares about your stupid movie?! You went from friendly to psycho, just like in— (suddenly realizes) Oh my God, you're not a Symbiote, are you?
• Mood Whiplash: The review ends with Miles Morales about to kick Venom and She-Venom back into the Spider-Verse, before the voice in the Critic's head (upset at being interrupted before revealing the "good Venom movie") suddenly causes the Critic to blast the three of them, leaving nothing of them but bloody stains on the walls.
• Subverted Catchphrase: "I'm the Nostalgia Critic, and... See Upgrade."
• Take a Third Option: The voice in the Critic's head concludes that, while this isn't it, there is a good Venom movie. And it's Upgrade.
• Tempting Fate: When Miles Morales arrives to battle Venom and She-Venom, the Critic describes the situation as "the action-packed climax a review like this deserves". This gets promptly ruined by whatever's possessing the Critic activating a bomb via a remote control that kills all three guest characters.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: A Running Gag throughout the review is the comic book versions of Venom, She-Venom, and Carnage showing up to go into detail on their original backstories, which are far darker and nuanced than what the audience of the film is given (though Carnage, the third, is immediately told to shut up until the sequel due to his late appearance).

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(Eddie Brock mocks the idea of aliens)