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Acting
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Directing
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Starring: Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Naomie Harris
Director: Andy Serkis
Running Time: 97 mins
Venom: Let There Be Carnage is an American film and the sequel to Venom. After a period of living in harmony, Eddie Brock and Venom go their separate ways, but are soon forced to reunite when the serial killer Cletus Kasady goes on the rampage with a symbiote of his own.
Venom didn’t exactly set the world of superhero movies alight three years ago, even if it was an entertaining bit of comic book fun. Second time round, Venom: Let There Be Carnage largely copies what we saw in the last film, making for an admittedly repetitive but familiar and easy-going watch.
In the lead role, Tom Hardy is just as much fun as he was in the first film, portraying the same kind of relatable down-and-out loser that makes his character a nice break from the classic superheroes we’re use to nowadays. His off-and-on-again relationship with his symbiote Venom also gets a lot more attention in this sequel, with the film leaving a lot of room for some enjoyably silly couples’ comedy throughout.
The strange thing about Venom: Let There Be Carnage, however, is that there’s almost more focus on the film’s main villains than its heroes. While I can’t say exactly how much runtime villains Woody Harrelson and Naomi Harris get, they’re a far more central presence to the movie than the vast majority of the cast.
Like the previous film, Michelle Williams is unfortunately left as a bit of an afterthought, and the film doesn’t do much to really develop her relationship with Tom Hardy, or in fact bring any more emotional depth or intrigue to the table.
That being said, the action and special effects here are more than good enough to impress on the big screen, and along with a light-hearted atmosphere that’s probably quite a bit jokier than the first film, this is a very easy-going film that lets you simply sit back and relax.
In the long run, I’ll probably struggle to distinguish this movie from its predecessor, and there’s very little about Venom: Let There Be Carnage which further develops the characters or main story arc at hand. It’s a fun watch, but ultimately not the most memorable. So, that’s why I’m giving it a 7.2 overall.
