Venom: Let There Be Carnage – Comedy Saves The Film
Director: Andy Serkis
Writer: Kelly Marcel (Screenplay) Todd McFarlane, David Michelinie (Characters)
Starring: Tom Hardy, Woody Harrelson, Michelle Williams, Naomie Harris, Reid Scott, Stephen Graham
Plot: Eddie Brock attempts to reignite his career by interviewing serial killer Cletus Kasady, who becomes the host of the symbiote Carnage and escapes prison after a failed execution.
Runtime: 1 Hour 37 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Venom: Let There Be Carnage starts as Eddie Brock (Hardy) and Venom are still trying to figure out a way to live their lives together, with the interviews with Cletus Kasady (Harrelson) being a chance to put Eddie back in the spotlight, at a price though.
When Cletus bites Eddie, he gets some of Venom’s blood into his system, unleashing a new symbiote Carnage on the world, as this new pair looks to cause carnage, with Eddie and Venom needing to put their differences aside to stop their loved one getting killed.
Thoughts on Venom: Let There Be Carnage
Characters & Performances – Eddie is the still down on his luck reporter that is living with Venom in his head, constantly wanting food, he is getting tired of Venom getting in his way, but gets his stardom back after cracking the code of serial killer Cletus Kasady. Eddie must learn to live with Venom, or face a new threat in his life. Tom Hardy does well with the comedy side of this film, he will get more laughs than anyone else. Cleuts Kasady is the serial killer locked up, waiting for his life to be taken, when he learns Eddie has revealed the location of the bodies, he is put on death row, until he bites Eddie, getting infected with a new symbiote, one that will let him cause carnage, as he looks to rescue his lost love, as the Carnage side of him will kill anyone who gets in his way. Woody Harrelson does give us a twisted serial killer performance, it is everything we saw in Natural Born Killers though. Anne is the former fiancée to Eddie, she has moved on with her life, but is always there is Eddie needs him, which he does once again. Frances Barrison has the ability to unleashes a crippling scream, a weapon that has seen her locked up, until Cletus breaks her out, only her screaming will cause problems around the symbiotes. Michelle Williams and Naomie Harris are both wonderful actresses, they both look like they are having a lot of fun in this movie.
Story – The story here follows Eddie and Venom as they look to get on with their lives, but the differences between them stops that, with the pair needing to learn work together to take down the next threat in the city Carnage. This is a story that will make the end credits scene in the last film come off strange, because that implies Cletus is already carnage, which he isn’t until he is about to be executed. The twisted killers wanting to go on the run, is something fresh for a villainous side of characters in a comic book movie, which is nice to see. With the Eddie and Venom needing to learn how to get along being the side that gets the laughs. The story will tick all the boxes for what you would expect from the action side of the story, with very little coming off on the original side here.
Themes – Venom: Let There Be Carnage is the latest action comic book movie, with the action sequences looking as chaotic as you would imagine, not being the easiest thing to watch. When we look at the comedy though, this is where things shine, with the highlight being Venom ending up at day of the dead festival. When it comes to the special effects on show here, this is a flawless performance from that team, who make every single moment look like a natural occurrence.
Final Thoughts – Venom: Let There Be Carnage is a chaotic action movie, that turns to the comedy to make it enjoyable.
