Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021)

Directed by: Andy Serkis | 97 minutes | action, adventure | Actors: Tom Hardy, Woody Harrelson, Michelle Williams, Naomie Harris, Reid Scott, Stephen Graham, Peggy Lu, Sian Webber, Michelle Greenidge, Rob Bowen, Laurence Spellman, Little Simz, Jack Bandeira, Olumide Olorunfemi, Scroobius Pip, Amrou Al- Kadhi, Beau Sargent, Brian Copeland

After the events of ‘Venom’, Eddie Brock tries to pick up his life as a journalist again. That is no mean feat, however. The symbiote that lives in his body has other desires: he mainly wants to hunt bad guys and satisfy his almost insatiable hunger for fresh brains. As part of his journalistic work, Eddy visits the serial killer Cletus Kasady on death row. However, something goes horribly wrong, causing Cletus to also take matter from the symbiote and turn it into a murderous entity with superhuman powers. Eddie and his alter ego Venom seem to be the only ones who can stop the derailed killing machine.

‘Venom’ received mostly positive reception in 2018, despite the film being separate from Venom’s main comic book nemesis Spider-Man. A sequel was therefore justified, also because super villain Carnage was still missing in the first part. ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ is a film that kicks into top gear quite early on and never downshifts. With a running time of just over an hour and a half, countless action scenes and a barrage of jokes and frolics, it’s a crazy roller coaster ride.

The story, which is at times as chaotic as the domestic life of Eddie and his alien companion, mainly focuses on the internal struggles between the wayward journalist and the creature that alternates in and around his body. The two sometimes seem like a married couple and argue about anything and everything. Eddie’s biggest challenge? Prevent his mate from giving in to the hunger for fresh human brains and a long-held desire to brutally clear the streets of San Francisco from villains. Mountains of chocolate (a treat that apparently contains a substance also found in brains) and meat should keep the symbiote happy, but that doesn’t always work.

‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ is a freak mishmash of movie types. Sometimes the film seems like a come-to-life comic minus speech bubbles, while at other times the viewer feels like he’s watching an action comedy. At the same time, director Andy Serkis (the uncrowned king of the polka dot suit and interpreter of iconic film characters such as King Kong, Gollum and the super-intelligent chimpanzee Caesar), aided by Tom Hardy’s enthusiastic play, also creates a bizarre yet purebred ‘bromance’. As much as Eddie and his occasionally unsavory comrade bicker with each other, their bond grows closer over the course of the film. As the story progresses, both halves of the antihero Venom realize more and more that they can barely live without each other. The second major storyline, which focuses on the relationship between Cletus Kasady/Carnage (nice role by Woody Harrelson) and his beloved Frances Barrison/Shriek, is a classic crime romance of the ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ or ‘Natural Born Killers’ type: a love soaked in blood that leaves a trail of destruction and an imposing pile of corpses.

The jokes that Serkis and his writing team fire at the viewer are of varying quality: sometimes corny and bland, but regularly interspersed with a humorous precision missile that skilfully hits its target. In terms of tone, ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ is close to ‘Deadpool’, albeit that the humor and action in the latter film have a sharper edge. Because ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ has a rating of PG-13, it’s a pretty good movie. That’s a shame, since Venom and Carnage are about the most bloodthirsty characters in the Marvel Universe. The film could have had a slightly rougher edge. The CGI is, as you would expect from a film of this type, excellent. Venom remains a figure with massive on-screen presence, but is arguably surpassed by Carnage. The red symbiote is a beautiful creation and the centerpiece of some spectacular action scenes.

‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ certainly does not meet all the criteria for pompous film art. The messy and crazy story sometimes shoots in all directions, mainly to pave the way for the final showdown between Venom and Carnage, the titanic battle that most fans crave. What is it? A nice uncomplicated, action-packed and visually appealing comic book adaptation with a good heart. The fun post-credits scene suggests that we’re not quite done with Venom and that the franchise may well take an interesting new direction in the future.