Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) Columbia/Action-Sci-Fi-Thriller RT: 97 minutes Rated PG-13 (intense sequences of violence and action, some strong language, disturbing material, suggestive references) Director: Andy Serkis Screenplay: Kelly Marcel Music: Marco Beltrami Cinematography: Robert Richardson Release date: October 1, 2021 (US) Cast: Tom Hardy, Woody Harrelson, Michelle Williams, Naomie Harris, Reid Scott, Stephen Graham, Peggy Lu, Stephen Graham, Sian Webber. Box Office: $213.6M (US)/$506.9M (World)
Rating: ***
If there’s one thing to be learned from Venom: Let There Be Carnage, it’s that even symbiotic relationships can be complicated. In the sequel to the hit 2018 film, the strains of living together are starting to get to reporter Eddie Brock (Hardy, Mad Max: Fury Road) and Venom, the alien symbiote inhabiting his body. They’re both feeling trapped.
Venom’s biggest complaint is that Eddie doesn’t let him eat people. It’s his number one rule; it’s written in big letters on the back of a pizza box. He lives on a steady diet of chocolate and live chickens he can’t bring himself to kill. It’s not cutting it for him. Eddie, for his part, feels like Venom is keeping him from living his life. He’s still not over his ex Anne (Williams, Blue Valentine) who’s just informed him of her engagement to current beau Dr. Dan (Scott, Veep). Things reach a point where the two separate for a brief period of time before realizing they’re better together. In other words, Venom: Let There Be Carnage is your typical love story albeit one involving a black gooey monster with lots of sharp teeth.
HOWEVER, their problems don’t amount to hill of beans considering what they’re about to go up against. It seems there’s a new alien symbiote in town, a red chap calling himself Carnage. It all starts when Eddie’s reporting leads to serial killer Cletus Kasady (Harrelson, Natural Born Killers) being sent to Death Row for multiple murders. He attacks Eddie during a visit, biting his hand and ingesting a few drops of his infected blood. The new symbiote Carnage makes his debut during the execution attempt and helps his host escape into the night.
Their first stop is Ravencroft, the secret facility where his childhood sweetheart Frances (Harris, Skyfall) is being held because of her supersonic scream powers. Reunited after 25 years, he breaks her out with Carnage’s help. While this is going on, a newly liberated Venom is jumping from body to body while Eddie is questioned by police about Cletus’ escape. This is where Eddie realizes how much he needs Venom. If he’s to fight Cletus/Carnage, they’re going to have to do it together.
Directed by Andy Serkis, better known as Gollum from the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Venom: Let There Be Carnage is an enjoyable B-level superhero movie. Although it’s a Marvel movie, it’s not part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (not yet, at least). It’s a smaller-scale movie in terms of what’s NOT at stake, namely a world-ending scenario. Oddly enough, it’s a metaphor for man’s inner struggle with his own personal demons. In this case, the demons are literal, physical (CGI-rendered) beings, but you get the idea. Then again, I might be giving Venom: Let There Be Carnage too much credit. It is, after all, a silly superhero flick aimed at teens and fanboys of which I am neither. I still liked it though.
Let’s dispense with the most obvious of critiques. Venom: Let There Be Carnage is extremely CGI-heavy. What else would you expect from a movie about a parasitic alien that manifests itself as a black, gooey, sinewy being? In this case, we’re talking about two such beings. That’s not to mention all the action scenes involving said entities. To the film’s credit, you can see the action much clearer than you could in the original. That’s due in large part to the expertise of cinematographer Robert Richardson who’s worked alongside such Hollywood luminaries as Martin Scorsese (Casino), Oliver Stone (Platoon) and Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood). A lot of it still takes place in the dark, but the images are more vivid thanks to Richardson.
Hardy, who also provides Venom’s growling voice, is pretty good as Eddie, an insecure type with a knack for self-sabotage. It’s interesting to observe his relationship with Venom who, in turns, acts as something of a cheering section as Eddie tries to get his act together. Harrelson hams it up mightily as the misunderstood villain, a killer whose abusive childhood made him what he is today. That’s really all the insight we get into his character. If there’s one thing Venom: Let There Be Carnage lacks, it’s character development. Everybody you see has approximately the same dimensions as the illustrations on the pages of a comic book. Maybe it’s intentional, maybe it’s not. Either way, it doesn’t really matter. I don’t think the target audience cares very much.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage is yet another cinematic victim of the pandemic. It was originally supposed to come out last October. It jumped around a lot on the schedule. At one point, it was briefly delayed until next year before finally settling into an October 1 release. I’m wondering about something the studio hasn’t commented on. Venom: Let There Be Carnage runs a scant 97 minutes, much shorter than the average superhero movie. Although it allows for a faster, zippier ride; it makes me wonder what was left on the cutting room floor.
In any event, Venom: Let There Be Carnage is a decent flick. It has plenty of action and a fair amount of humor. There’s one great sequence at a Halloween rave where he becomes the hit of the party due to his amazing costume (or so the attendees think). Peggy Lu, reprising her role from the first movie as the convenience store owner, provides nice comic relief. There’s even a bit of heart at its gooey, icky center. It’s not a great movie by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s good enough to warrant a Saturday matinee viewing.
