Directed by Andy Serkis, Venom: Let There Be Carnage is the sequel that takes place a year after the events of the first film and follows Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) as he struggles to adjust to life as the host of the alien symbiote Venom (Tom Hardy), who gives him super-human abilities to act as a lethal protector on the streets of San Francisco. Brock attempts to reignite his career as an investigative journalist by interviewing a psychotic serial killer named Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson) who becomes the host of a new symbiote and escapes prison after a botched execution. Now called Carnage, he unleashes death and destruction upon everything he touches, forcing Brock and Venom to face their greatest threat yet.
While the first Venom film got a rather poor reception from critics it was mostly well-received by audiences and was a massive hit at the box office. I’m among the few brave ones to say that I actually loved the first film and I have no shame admitting that. While there were some things I felt could have been done better in the first film I loved how fun it was, thanks to Tom Hardy’s perfect performance as the character, the dysfunctional dynamic between Eddie and Venom, the campy crazy tone, and the thrilling action with the symbiotes. With new director Andy Serkis at the helm and the inclusion of Carnage as the main antagonist, one of my favorite Marvel villains ever, I was eager to see what this film had to offer and if it could improve upon the first film.
I am happy to say I got what I wished. And straight out of the gate I want to say I really don’t care what the critics/reviewers that hate this film have to say because I had an absolutely fun time with it.
Having a more focused tone thanks to the direction of Andy Serkis, the Venom sequel is a truly bonkers film that embraces the elements that worked well in the first film, as well as elements of insane comic books, and just goes all out with them. It can be weird, goofy, and mostly mindless, but damn is it just so damn fun, and it was clear that everyone involved was just having a good time. It isn’t perfect and it doesn’t break any new ground but it’s still a great time and it does have significant improvements over the first one.
Once again Tom Hardy delivers a brilliant performance as both Eddie Brock and Venom, sharing the hilarious chemistry they had in the first film that gets fleshed out here. They’re figuring out how to be with each other and Eddie is really struggling to cope with Venom’s violent persona. He’s trying to live a normal life and trying to get on with work. Having another being in a small space hinders this, along with the fact that he is trying to avoid killing innocent people.
And Venom of course feels trapped, because he can’t leave Eddie’s body unless he has his permission and can’t get caught in public. He has to follow rules but yearns to be free of such things, which is similar to how the symbiote acted in certain comics with various hosts. They are trying to find a middle ground and must do so quickly in order to defeat their new foe.
They both provide the most humor and entertainment throughout the film similar to the first, but I feel most of it was done better in this film. And just as before Venom looks absolutely fantastic, being in top shape and kicking serious ass when he gets to.
Opposite of him we have Woody Harrelson as Cletus Kasady / Carnage who, like Tom Hardy, understood the assignment. Harrelson delightfully plays the character in the best possible way, nailing down a lot of accurate elements of the character while also taking on new additions inspired by various comics, including his relationship with Shriek, played by Naomi Harris, who also delivers a great performance and steals several scenes.
Now this is not the R-rated Carnage fans are attached to in the more disturbing comics, but more of the PG-13 version of the character from earlier comics. There are some choices made that die-hard fans could be mixed on. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t the twisted and sadistic killer that most people know, because they absolutely nail that part, especially when he is the beastly Carnage.
Holy fucking shit does he look amazing, bringing a terrifyingly deadly presence. Andy Serkis went wild with Carnage, utilizing many abilities he is capable of, bringing about absolute destruction and violent death wherever he goes. In the sequence where he has his first transformation and breaks out of prison, it was such a perfect sequence that brought the character from comics to life in such a beautiful way, I was so happy to be alive to witness it. And it goes without saying that Cletus/Carnage is a significantly better villain than Drake/Riot from the first film.
We have supporting roles from returning faces like Michelle Williams and Reid Scott who both have good roles in the film, and we also have new faces, like the previously mentioned Naomi Harris as Shriek and Stephen Graham as Patrick Mulligan. Now comic book fans might be very familiar with Patrick Mulligan, and this film definitely opens the doors for what he becomes, perhaps in a future sequel or something else. It’s kind of nice to have a smaller main cast compared to the insane ensembles we get nowadays in most comic book films, because it gives every character a moment to shine without having to jump around too much.
The story is more coherent in terms of tone and is very straightforward, getting right into the fun and crazy stuff. This may be due to the rather short runtime, which I saw as both a benefit and a curse. The benefit is that the film never drags like the first film, and it keeps you entertained all the way through.\
The curse is that you are left wishing for more because of all the insane stuff that this film delivers. I feel like there should have been a bit more meat added on and maybe there were some additional things we could have had with this film. But I do believe there is enough here for people to latch on to, including any big fans of the first film.
As for significant improvements over the first film I can definitely say the dialogue was better in this film than the previous one, along with better delivery of said dialogue.
And as I mentioned before the tone is more consistent in this film, embracing and enhancing the wacky elements of the first film, combined with pure comic book tropes galore. It is self-aware and just goes all out with what it has, similar to The Suicide Squad and even earlier films like Blade, which I couldn’t help but enjoy.
The action is awesome and is also significantly better, thanks to way better CGI, cinematography, and most importantly editing. The editing, which I found annoying in the first film, thankfully is hugely improved so I could actually see everything that was going on. Many fantastic camera shots made the action scenes feel bigger than the set pieces in the first film, and they took way more advantage of the symbiote’s abilities, especially with Carnage. On a visual level I was able to absorb a lot more in this film than I could with the previous one. Easily the best action sequences in the film were Carnage’s prison break and Venom vs Carnage.
Again though, similar to the first film, I feel this film could have benefited from an R-rating, because while they certainly push the PG-13 rating with certain scenes it still feels held back in places it shouldn’t have. Ludwig Göransson did not return to score the film, instead we have composer Marco Beltrami who isn’t a bad choice having done some great music for notable films like Logan, A Quiet Place, and Ford v Ferrari to name a few. And he delivers a satisfying score here as well, with the best track being “Carnage Unleashed”. You could tell that even Marco Beltrami was having fun with this film along with everyone else.
Now many of you have probably heard about this film’s post-credit scene that has been hugely hyped up. And let me tell you that it truly is worth the hype and worth the price of admission for what it sets in motion. Something really big is going to happen and I don’t think anyone will be ready for it.
Overall, Venom: Let There Be Carnage is a fun sequel that knows what it is and delivers some crazy stuff that people may or may not like. There are certainly things I would have improved but there are also things I felt were very handled perfectly under the direction of Andy Serkis, who along with the rest of the cast definitely had fun making this film. And there seems to be an interesting future for the character that could have multiple possibilities. I’m going to give Venom: Let There Be Carnage a B+.
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