REVIEW: Venom: Let There Be Carnage Is An Absurdly Strange Sequel
Tom Hardy is back as Eddie Brock/Venom for round two in Venom: Let There Be Carnage. With the ramifications from the events at the Life Foundation still fresh in the minds of the FBI, Eddie is trying his best to lay low. Venom, getting tired of living off a diet of chicken and chocolate, is thirsting for freedom and the taste of human brains. When prisoned serial killer Kasady (Woody Harrelson) calls on Brock to write his story, things become even more complicated for Venom and Brock. When Venom loses his control with Kasady and transfers a bit of himself onto the serial killer it causes the creation of Carnage. Chaos and destruction abound as Carnage and Venom break loose and Brock finds himself at his wits end trying to manage the disorder.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage is ninety minutes of straight story. There are no pit stops or side trips on this wildly weird journey, only the trip from point A to point B. It does feel as if this is an episode of Spider-Man: The Animated instead of a feature length film with the tight pacing and short runtime. The creators had a set amount of time to tell every important piece of the story and they did not waste any of it on fluff or even backstory. This choice from director Andy Serkis makes for fast story-telling but doesn’t leave nearly enough room for development or buildup to satisfy even the novice comic book viewer, especially when it comes to the addition of Cletus Kasady/Carnage.
The introduction of Kasady/Carnage at the end of Venom left many excited to see the match-up with Brock/Venom. This connection ends up lost in translation due to the too quick storyline. What could have been an interesting dive into Brock and Kasady’s pasts, instead becomes a one sided obsession from Kasady. Viewers never truly discover why Kasady was hell-bent on destroying Brock’s life or why he even sought out Brock in the first place. The film essentially chalks it up to Kasady being insane, doing no justice to either character and resulting in one of the biggest disappointments of the film.
On the flip side, the heart of the story lies with the relationship between Brock and Venom. There is an underlying buddy romance between the two that is humorous to watch. At this point in their journey, one cannot live without the other, but like any partnership, there must be some form of compromise to make it work and neither Brock nor Venom is willing to do that to achieve peace. It’s this theme that carries the film and makes it such an entertaining ride.
Hardy once again looks to be having the time of his life stepping into the roles of Brock and Venom. Michelle Williams (Anne Weying), Naomie Harris (Shriek), and Stephen Graham (Detective Mulligan) all reprise their roles from the previous film. Out of the three of them, Harris is given the most work to do and does a wonderful job handling the extra responsibility. Harrelson steps in as the film’s antagonist, Cleatus Kasady/Carnage, and while his performance can be a tad bit over the top in places, he does well to sell the story of the serial killer menace.
When the post credit scene airs at the end of the film, viewers will understand the reasoning for why the film was short and why it was rushed to be released. There is a bigger picture at play and Venom cannot be part of it until the remaining strings from the first Venom film are tied into a nice, neat bow. Until then, Venom: Let There Be Carnage may not satisfy everyone’s appetite, but at least it will tide them over until the entrees appear.
Grade: C+