I’ve been avoiding the Spider-Man movies in theaters–very since the Andrew Garfield run–because Spider-Man belongs with Marvel Studios. If they’re not producing, I’m not interested.

So a day or two ago I rented Venom mainly because I recall reviews saying how fun the movie was.

And sure, I would watch Venom over receiving a root canal, but I would approach both with an equal amount of trepidation because Venom isn’t a very good movie, though it’s not bad either.

In fact it’s very, very meh; which in a way is worse.

There are no ‘characters’–by which I mean people with actual motivations, drives and feelings–instead you just have outlines of people–which is really frustrating to watch.

When characters do things because movie, no explanations are given–or needed–and no groundwork is laid so no one has layers and their behavior becomes inscrutable.

As a result nothing has any depth or stakes, and Venom is a bit boring with occasional moments of inspiration. It’s not the worse movie you’re likely to see, just the most meh.