Venom: Let There Be Carnage was a pleasant surprise. I didn’t hate the first Venom film but found it mediocre and thought it belonged in the early 2000s. I had no expectations and wasn’t hype at all for this one. But man did it not disappoint. I had a great time with this film. It is superior in every single way to part one.
After finding a host body in investigative reporter Eddie Brock, Venom, an alien symbiote, must face a new enemy, Carnage, the alter ego of serial killer Cletus Kasady. The best thing about this film was the interactions between Eddie and Venom. I laughed so much during it. I wasn’t expecting that level of humor, but it worked so well in the film. Their banter gave the film a buddy cop feel, with these two individuals who couldn’t stand each other but eventually learned to co-exist for the greater good. I loved the development of Venom in this film, making him feel like a fleshed-out and well-developed character outside of Eddie with a great personality.
Speaking of Eddie, Tom Hardy was excellent again, and I loved how he is genuinely making the role his own. I was very impressed by how good he is at physical comedy. That awkwardness he brings to Eddie is so welcoming as it works well opposite the more aggressive Venom.
Woody Harrelson was fantastic as Cletus Kasady, aka Carnage. He was unhinged and better than expected, especially after Little Orphan Annie’s debut in the first film. Harrelson lived up to the hype and made Carnage everything I wanted. He came off very menacing, and he played the deranged and damaged angle very well.
Just as I expected, Andy Serkis did a great job directing the film. Being the master of motion capture, he delivered terrific visuals. Serkis perfectly captured the chaotic nature of both characters. He gave everything I could have wanted out of a Maximum Carnage film. He also paced the film as the 90 minute run time passed by like a breeze, and I wasn’t left wanting more.
Michelle Williams is once again wasted. She came to importance in the third act, but it was a clear paycheck role. The case of Naomi Harris as Carnage’s love interest Shriek was exciting, but I wasn’t a fan of her performance at all. I never felt that romantic connection between her and Woody, and I wasn’t a fan of the voice she chose for the role. She felt so forced into the story and taken away from the more exciting aspect of the final battle between Venom and Carnage. She felt like a MacGuffin.
The script once again was a weak point. The story is an essential point A to B story, played the way it needed to be in every possible way to get to the Venom and Carnage showdown. Unfortunately, while I enjoyed the comedy and banter, the script also played into the campiness a bit too much, and not every joke landed the way it was intended.
Lastly, that mid-credit scene LIVED UP TO THE HYPE. I enjoyed seeing it in theaters because the crowd reaction was bananas, and experiencing it in a group is excellent. In my opinion, it’s a complete game-changer and one of the most significant crowd-pleasing moments I’ve experienced in theaters. Venom: Let There Be Carnage is an entertaining film that I recommend to comic book fans.
