“Those Two Need Some Serious Couples Counseling.”
When I enjoyed Venom more than I thought I would, I decided to give the sequel a try. Sadly, Venom: Let There be Carnage didn’t really have any of the fun of the first one, but it had all of the things that bothered me.
Life has not improved for Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) since we last checked in with him. In fact, he’s still trying to get back to being a reporter, so he’ll take any story that comes his way. Which is why he agrees to an interview with convicted serial killer Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson).
The interview is…interesting. Eddie thinks it is a waste of time until Venom, the symbiotic alien living inside him, pieces together some clues that help find more of Cletus’s victims. But Cletus’s execution goes wrong. With Eddie and Venom on the outs, can anything stop Cletus now?
I’ll admit, the first movie was a mixed bag for me. Yes, I enjoyed much of the humor, but the violence was so extreme, and I found Eddie and Venom’s fighting irritating and a little too stressful to be entertaining. Unfortunately, this movie is all of the things I didn’t like with little of the things I did. While Venom is a little better behaved than he was in the first movie, he’s still out of control much of the time. We don’t really get any of the humor that made the first one tolerable for me. And the violence? I’m truly perplexed that this movie got away with a PG-13 rating. I guess because so much of the violence is CGI generated? It seems extreme to me.
Not to mention that the movie takes so long with its set up that, by the time things were set up, it was time for the climax.
On the other hand, I did appreciate the character growth we got for Eddie and Venom. It wasn’t that original, but it felt natural based on what else is going on. I also liked what was going on with returning characters Anne (Michelle Williams) and Dan (Reid Scott).
This is an effects heavy movie, even for a superhero film. They mostly worked here, although they were extremely excessive. Seriously, the climax is pretty much two CGI monsters fighting each other. Again, makes it a little hard to care about the outcome.
The actors all do a good job bringing their characters to life and reacting to the CGI.
If you enjoyed the first movie, you’ll want to check out Venom: Let There be Carnage. If, however, you found it average, you’ll be glad you skipped this one.
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