So after I got so engrossed in Red Lights (2012) the other night causing me to put this one on the back burner, last night I finally watched it.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021)
If you haven’t seen it, it’s a comic book action/sci-fi/adventure and the sequel to Venom (2018).
It stars Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises), Woody Harrelson (Natural Born Killers), Michelle Williams (Brokeback Mountain) and Naomie Harris (No Time to Die) among others.
This is what it’s about according to the internet:
Eddie Brock is still struggling to coexist with the shape-shifting extraterrestrial Venom. When deranged serial killer Cletus Kasady also becomes host to an alien symbiote, Brock and Venom must put aside their differences to stop his reign of terror.
If you weren’t aware, Venom is one of Marvel’s most popular villains and is probably best known for being one of Spider-Man’s most well known foes.
Having not read a lot of Spidey comics I had a read up about the character of Venom earlier since in these films he’s more of an anti-hero than a villain.
As it turns out (according to what I read), in the comics he became just that, and would occasionally call a truce with Spidey “killing those who would threaten innocents”.
Now we’ve cleared that up, I’ll give you my thoughts on the film…
I enjoyed it. 👍
I love the character of Venom and I really like Tom Hardy so I kind of figured I’d like this movie.
I love the comedy of these films, specifically the relationship between Eddie Brock (Hardy) and Venom himself.
Much like the first one, the scenes where we’re seeing Eddie Brock but hearing Venom’s voice (usually giving his unwanted opinion on something or telling Eddie how much he wants to eat someone) are hilarious! In this movie though their relationship is much more established and it’s fun to see them bickering like a couple of kids.
The visual effects are absolutely brilliant and a joy to watch, the story however and some of the casting unfortunately leaves a little to be desired.
I’ve said a couple of times on here that I’m a big fan of Woody Harrelson. He can pretty much pull off any roll from comedy to drama and everything in between, but sadly I think he was miscast in his role as Cletus Cassidy.
I don’t know if it’s the wig or the fact that he seems a little too old for the part, but as much as I love him as an actor he didn’t really do it for me in this. ☹️
Likewise, as good (and unrecognisable) as Naomie Harris is as “Shriek” I didn’t feel any real chemistry between her and Harrelson which is sad considering their characters are supposed to be in love.
The story (co-written by Tom Hardy) isn’t bad, but it’s also not great. For the most part though, the visuals, the action and the comedy do a good job of making up for it but there are still a few plot holes and undeveloped characters.
All in all this is an entertaining watch with some great CGI and funny moments that does what it says on the tin. In my opinion though it’s not as good as the first one. But hey, when are they ever? 🤷♂️
P.S. If you decide to watch it be sure to stick around for the post credit scene. 👌
Seen it? Let me know what you think. Also, if you’ve read the comics I’d be interested to know how you feel about the films and how they compare to the original stories. 👍