VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE – Silly, Comedic, and Action-Packed
Staci Layne Wilson’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage review says that the violent buddy comedy is entertaining but instantly forgettable.
I can’t remember if I saw Venom in 2018. (Oh, wait a minute: yes I did, and here’s my review.) I have a feeling I’ll be saying the same thing about Venom: Let There Be Carnage in a few years. It’s cinematic fast food—tasty, but not at all nourishing.
The action takes place a year after the events of Venom, as investigative journalist Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) is still struggling to adjust to life as the host of the alien symbiote Venom. This uneasy roommate situation (they share the same apartment… and body) grants Eddie super-human abilities in order to channel the lethal vigilante Venom, but it leaves him without a job and without a fiancée.
After Eddie was let go from his newspaper gig, his girlfriend, D.A. Anne Weying (Michelle Williams) dumped him and started dating Dr. Dan Lewis (Reid Scott). While trying to be “just friends” with Anne, Brock focuses on his best bet to reignite his career. He thinks he can do this by scoring an exclusive death-row interview with serial killer Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson). It seems like a good idea until Cletus gets a symbiote of his own, Carnage, escapes from prison, and wreaks havoc all over town.
Directed by mocap superstar Andy Serkis (actor from the Lord of the Rings franchise and King Kong movies), the virtual performances are as excellent as expected. Venom: Let There Be Carnage is a truly dazzling, dizzying spectacle with many exciting action sequences—all of which lead up to the big showdown between Eddie and Cletus, and their toothy, bloodthirsty symbiotes.
A lot is going on, but none of it is hard to follow. The comedy is cute and dopey—imagine if one of TV’s “The Odd Couple” was a cantankerous alien lifeform—and the romance and bromance add some relief from the, well… carnage. This comic book flick is quite violent; I bet it just scraped by the censors to earn its box-office-friendly PG-13 rating.
Rated PG-13
1 Hour 30 Minutes
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Staci Layne Wilson’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage review says that the violent buddy comedy is entertaining but instantly forgettable.
