Venom: Let There Be Carnage

For the first time in over a year, I went to the theaters today with a friend and checked out “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” which came out yesterday. How is this compared to the first one? Let’s find out:

The difficulty of the pairing is done. Now that the strange friendship between disgraced journalist Eddie Brock, reprised by Tom Hardy, and disgraced alien Venom have put everything behind them, sharing appears to be more difficult than either one thought. Throw in a strange creation of a symbiote, and “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” ends up being a violent, messy, but entertaining fight through couples therapy for the duo.

Eddie’s career is slowly being fixed thanks to his super-strong symbiote, which helps him solve a decades-old case involving serial killer Cletus Kasady, played by Woody Harrelson. Meagan Navarro said in her review, “But Eddie cramps Venom’s style and the two have commitment issues that breed constant bickering, eventually building to domestic violence. It leaves both vulnerable when Kasady escapes death row after transforming into Carnage.” Kasady first goes to free his lost love Shriek, played by Naomie Harris, from her secluded cell before going to his search for revenge.

Navarro noted, “Written by Kelly Marcel (Cruella, Fifty Shades of Grey) from a story by Hardy, Let There Be Carnage leans in hard to the odd couple schtick from the previous entry. Nearly everything else falls to the background or wayside; this is a rom-com in disguise. Eddie and Brock quarrel, break up and must learn to overcome their differences once the child they’ve unwittingly birthed turns out to be a homicidal maniac with daddy issues.” Eddie always had difficulty with relationships, but for the right symbiote and help from his ex-fiancé Anne (Michelle Williams) and her fiancé (Reid Scott), Eddie finds personal growth in the madness.

Director Andy Serkis takes the ball, runs with it, and doesn’t stop for the fast 90-minute runtime. It’s the right runtime for this comic book adaptation, but it does get messy. Navarro noted, “Let There Be Carnage winds up feeling more like an abridged version of Carnage and Venom’s long-awaited cinematic confrontation, with chunks of story excised to get to the action.” Shriek really gets the shaft. Harris tries to insert wild, crazy energy into the character, but there’s nothing in the script for her to hold on to. Shriek ends up downgraded to plot device meant to showcase how three’s a crowd in her failed love. She does have a grudge against the officer, played by Stephen Graham, that put her in the secluded cell, but that also gets looked over. Shriek’s inclusion ends up not being utilized at all.

The PG-13 rating does lighten the action a little. Carnage ends up with most of the kills, Venom to a much smaller point, but it’s never as satisfying as we expect. Navarro noted, “Serkis attempts to circumvent the limitations with many explosions or quick cuts, but it’s difficult not to miss the lost potential. A mid-credit scene serves as a requisite tease but also possibly explains the reduced rating.” My thinking is that there will be something in the new Spider-Man movie that will be coming out close to the holidays.

Comic book fans wanting this to be a fight that they have been expecting for news will most likely be unsatisfied. It’s a fast and violent fight that ends neatly. Navarro noted, “For those connected with the quirky bond between Eddie and Venom, the sequel dedicates its entire identity to that aspect. It’s a sloppy entry in superhero fare, but it’s hard not to be charmed by Venom attempting to cheer up his host with a lavish breakfast and pep talks. Or a dose of self-love and acceptance in the form of a confessional mic drop at a costume party.” If you’re looking for some comedy entertainment, this sequel really brings that. However, for a long-awaited fight between the two famous symbiotes, it leaves empty.

I probably will think that this movie is not as good as the first one, but I still liked it. If you enjoyed the first movie and are looking for the sequel to continue what the first one succeeded at, the sequel might have succeeded at that. Still, it’s not a good comic book adaptation, but a decent, fun one. Check it out in the theaters if you want to, but stay safe if you go.

Thank you for joining in on tonight’s review. Next Friday, I will be looking at the first sequel in “Addams Family Month.”