Venom: Let There Be Carnage Review

2018’s Venom was a film that defied exception because it made $856 million even though it received poor reviews. Sony wanted to cash in on that success and on their Spider-Man property so have released the second film in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe.

Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) has become a successful journalist for the Daily Bulge and has been interviewing the infamous serial killer Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson). Eddie’s interviews with the serial killer leads to Venom discovering where Kasady has buried his victims. Eddie gets the credit which puts a strain on his relationship with his symbiote. Even worst, Kasady gets bonded with a symbiote called Carnage.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage was a film that wanted to please the fans of the original. From a business standpoint this was logical: why change something that worked well the first time. The sequel kept the manic energy of the first film and the brisk run time and ramped up the comedy.

Eddie and Venom in the film were like a dysfunctional relationship. They were constantly arguing throughout the film because Eddie had to prevent Venom from eating human brains and Venom felt that Eddie was holding him back. Their storyline was like it was from a rom-com or a sitcom since they fought and bickered constantly. They even turned into Richie and Eddie from Bottom because their bickering turned into violence and property destruction.

Throughout the first act of the film Eddie was arguing with the voice in his head. It made him seem like Homer Simpson or Saoirse Ronan in The Host. It made Eddie look like a crazy person as he argued with himself and whilst witnesses were nearby.

During the second act Eddie and Venom split up like a couple. Venom spends this portion of the film hopping from body to body and going on a partying binge. Venom goes to a party where he gets adored by all the partygoers and he goes on stage to rant about Eddie. It felt like the party scene in Iron Man 2 when Tony Stark got wasted on his birthday.

Due to the film’s structure, Eddie/Venom and Kasady/Carnage don’t interact during the second act. When Eddie and Venom were separated, Kasady/Carnage went on a mission to rescue his old girlfriend, Frances (Naomie Harris) from Ravencroft. It was disappointing that there were no skirmishes between Venom and Carnage before the final act confrontation. Other action and comic-book movies can show their heroes some sort of heroics.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage wanted to show Venom being the only one that’s capable. Eddie and the police were terrible at their jobs because they missed some obvious clues. Surely people who knew the case and knew about Kasady’s past could figure out what the drawings on his cell walls meant.

An area where Venom: Let There Be Carnage does improve upon the original was its villain. There was more of an attempt to characterise Kasady and Frances and make them sympathetic due to their backstory. They grew up in a rough children’s homes and were separated because Frances’ powers were uncontrollable. Woody Harrelson gave Kasady a personality and more of a presence than Riz Ahmed did in the first film.

Naomie Harris did ham it up for the film. She seemed like she was performing in a pantomime. Harris’ did not look like an Academy-nominated actress in this film. It was an embarrassing performance but at least she was memorable. Michelle Williams and Stephen Graham were wasted in their roles.

The aspect of Venom (2018) that audiences liked the most was the comedy and Venom: Let There Be Carnage leaned towards that. This helped make Venom: Let There Be Carnage a slight improvement over its predecessor, but this only made the sequel a vacuous experience.