Venom: Let There Be Carnage

Image credit: SpringCinema.com 

Continuing on with the ‘popcorn movies to keep us in bed over the long weekend’ that was going on last weekend, partner and I decided that the Spiderman universe was where we wanted to live, so after the credits rolled on Morbius, we flicked over to the sequel to Venom, Venom: Let There Be Carnage.

Journalist Eddie Brock has come to learn how to live with the symbiote Venom sharing his body. And while the perks of having an alien granting superhuman abilities is very cool, the harmonising out of combat is not so much. Eddie and Venom’s relationship becomes so strained that Venom leaves and the timing could not be worse. In an attempt to resurrect his career, Eddie interviews death-row serial killer Cletus Kasady, who then becomes the host of another symbiote, escapes from prison, and decides that Eddie is his next victim.

What I liked about the first Venom movie was the dark, buddy comedy route it took. Eddie and Venom forced to become unlikely friends is a real fresh twist on the buddy movie and it ties in with the humour that flavours some of the other Marvel movies. Let There Be Carnage plays on that humour further, extending the relationship and becoming more like a twisted version of Wedding Crashers or Romy and Michelle, where the solid friendship is already established, but suffers strain and falls apart. Where the first movie was about Eddie and Venom becoming friends, this one explores what happens when friendships (especially ones that feature a live-in aspect) start to crack. This sweeter side of the story is highlighted by the unbelievable drama of having a serial killer with an even stronger alien tenant out to get you and while the film is shot in a very serious way; lack of colour, grimy and grainy filter, etc, the humour that comes from the sheer ridiculousness of Eddie and Venom’s relationship really shines through and makes is a dark and funny popcorn flick.

Image credit: Polygon

The performances are all good and the combat sequences are pretty epic, but ultimately it’s the weird, odd-couple style central relationship that really drives this movie. If you enjoyed the first Venom, then you’ll like this one too.

Director: Andy Serkis, 2021

Cast: Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Naomie Harris, Reid Scott, Stephen Graham, Peggy Lu & Woody Harrelson