Venom: Let There Be Carnage
Year: 2021
Director: Andy Serkis
Starring: Tom Hardy & Woody Harrelson
Runtime: 97 mins
BBFC: 15
Published: 19/10/21
Director: Andy Serkis
Starring: Tom Hardy & Woody Harrelson
Runtime: 97 mins
BBFC: 15
Published: 19/10/21
Venom is one of the most iconic and beloved Spider-Man villains of all time, so when 2018’s Venom released to a mixed critical reception there was some understandably mild reactions from fans. Crucially, Venom was a fun film, but it lacked the depth audiences have grown accustomed to from modern superhero films and felt like something that had been pulled out of the early 2000’s. But the one unanimously agreeable part of Venom was that the post-credits sequence introducing Woody Harrelson’s Cletus Kasady was an excellent way to set up the sequel. Now that time has arrived, but does Venom: Let There Be Carnage make the same mistakes as its predecessor?
Following his interview with convicted serial killer Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson), reporter Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) builds a rapport and brokers an understanding with the man that he will publish phrases Kasady gives him and in return Brock will be given exclusive information pertaining to Kasady’s upbringing and the murders that put him away which nobody has ever heard before.
But when Brock’s stories lead to Kasady’s death sentence being reinstated, Kasady attacks Brock and ingests some symbiote infected blood, transforming the dangerous killer into Carnage.
Meanwhile Brock and Venom continue to have relationship issues and difficulties in sharing a body. But the two will need to learn to work together in order to take down Carnage.
Following his interview with convicted serial killer Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson), reporter Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) builds a rapport and brokers an understanding with the man that he will publish phrases Kasady gives him and in return Brock will be given exclusive information pertaining to Kasady’s upbringing and the murders that put him away which nobody has ever heard before.
But when Brock’s stories lead to Kasady’s death sentence being reinstated, Kasady attacks Brock and ingests some symbiote infected blood, transforming the dangerous killer into Carnage.
Meanwhile Brock and Venom continue to have relationship issues and difficulties in sharing a body. But the two will need to learn to work together in order to take down Carnage.
There’s a very easy way to work out how you’ll feel about Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Just ask yourself, ‘Did I like the original Venom film?’, if the answer is yes then Let There Be Carnage is right up your alley. For better or for worse, Let There Be Carnage doesn’t change up the formula or offer anything new. In fact, for a lot of the films brief ninety-seven-minute runtime I felt like a lot of what was happening could easily have been from the first film.
The best part of Let There Be Carnage is Cletus Kasady and Harrelson’s performance of the character. He’s having a great time in the performance and any scene he is in is by far the best in the film. But it then makes me wonder whether the film would have actually been better off and more interesting had it been a Carnage film instead of a Venom film? Having Kasady as the main character and giving us some actual background info on the man and some character development would have been way more interesting than what we actually get.
The film also disappoints on an action level because despite setting itself up as a big battle between Venom & Carnage, it’s extremely generic in its setup with the two only actually battling once at the end of the film. Plus, the 15 BBFC rating is kind of wasted as whilst the tone of the film is generally more sinister than most superhero films, the violence was not. In fact, it seems weird that it has a 15 rating when there have been such clear and obvious cuts made to the film to make the violence less graphic.
I was not interested in Eddie and Venom having teething issues for another whole film, and unfortunately because of a lack of action scenes that’s what I got.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage is the kind of film I could enjoy with some friends and a few beers. But it’s not a film I have any desire to watch again. Like the first film I’m generally indifferent with my feelings on it. I don’t hate it, but I wouldn’t exactly say I like it either. I feel like there were hundreds of ways this film could have been more interesting than it was, but every attempt to make it a safe sequel was taken and as a result the film feels stale and kind of pointless.
In an age where superhero films are redefining the genre in any way they possibly can, Venom: Let There Be Carnage is content just being a dumb action movie in the style of an early 00’s superhero flick. For some that’s enough, but for many it wont be.
The best part of Let There Be Carnage is Cletus Kasady and Harrelson’s performance of the character. He’s having a great time in the performance and any scene he is in is by far the best in the film. But it then makes me wonder whether the film would have actually been better off and more interesting had it been a Carnage film instead of a Venom film? Having Kasady as the main character and giving us some actual background info on the man and some character development would have been way more interesting than what we actually get.
The film also disappoints on an action level because despite setting itself up as a big battle between Venom & Carnage, it’s extremely generic in its setup with the two only actually battling once at the end of the film. Plus, the 15 BBFC rating is kind of wasted as whilst the tone of the film is generally more sinister than most superhero films, the violence was not. In fact, it seems weird that it has a 15 rating when there have been such clear and obvious cuts made to the film to make the violence less graphic.
I was not interested in Eddie and Venom having teething issues for another whole film, and unfortunately because of a lack of action scenes that’s what I got.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage is the kind of film I could enjoy with some friends and a few beers. But it’s not a film I have any desire to watch again. Like the first film I’m generally indifferent with my feelings on it. I don’t hate it, but I wouldn’t exactly say I like it either. I feel like there were hundreds of ways this film could have been more interesting than it was, but every attempt to make it a safe sequel was taken and as a result the film feels stale and kind of pointless.
In an age where superhero films are redefining the genre in any way they possibly can, Venom: Let There Be Carnage is content just being a dumb action movie in the style of an early 00’s superhero flick. For some that’s enough, but for many it wont be.