I don't get why people see an action super hero movie and then complain that the story line was poor and it was an action super hero movie... Venom was fine. It introduced the characters well, the story did what it needed to for an action flick, and the combat scenes and chase sequences where fun.
If you want a thinking movie that you need a box of tissues to go and see, then this is not the move you are after. If your looking for a stand alone movie that introduces a fresh look on a character, a movie you can sit and enjoy have a laugh, and see some fun action then this movie does a good job.
I found the humor worked, the violence was enough to make a point without the current trend of having to show every detail, which I found refreshing. Lets face it the current MCU sets a super high bar when it comes to the super hero flicks, but this one held my attention fine, and made me want to watch another if they make one. the critics complaining.... I mean have you seen some of the DC stuff... a couple of the DC flicks where good but there are a couple I still haven't been able to watch from start to end without falling asleep... honest.... It is what it is, and I think it was fine... I don't do reviews, but I wanted to balance out those who felt the need to possibly stop what could be a fun character to see again by posting seething reviews.
Go see it and make up your own mind, it seems the public feels the movie was fine by their ratings, just the critics needed to post a negative review from time to time and this movie became the target for it.