Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) Review

It's been a busy week but I have finally found the time to watch Venom: Let There Be Carnage and now here is my review for it. The premise of the film sees Eddie Brock and Venom have to figure out their relationship while going against a serial killer and his own symbiote. 

Main Character

Tom Hardy plays Eddie Brock and voices Venom and he does a pretty good job. I just find his performance as Brock entertaining and clearly somebody who is enjoying himself. He doesn't get much character development but I think there is just about enough here to give Hardy props for his role in the film. Venom is actually given more development and it is executed pretty well, I actually felt feeling towards the symbiote. He is also pretty funny and for me the dynamic between Venom and Eddie Brock is probably the highlight of the film. 

Supporting Characters

The first Venom film suffered from not creating interesting supporting characters and it is a shame that this film is the same. Woody Harrelson reprises his role of Cletus Kassidy/Carnage from the post credit scene of the first film and I just never got invested in his character. He just came across as a weirdo and a guy with no character. Harrelson is clearly enjoying himself but the character of Carnage is not given the justification that he deserves here. Naomi Harris plays Shriek and unfortunately, she is even worse. She just has these terrible one liners and her over the top bizarre performance is just too much for me and does nothing for me. The great Stephen Graham plays a police officer and it's not even that he is bad, he is actually alright but his character is dull and there is literally no reason to care and it is a shame that such a talent is wasted here. Michelle Williams is back as Anne from the first film and she is just as boring here, I just don't like the character and I have felt like Williams phones it in and signed a contract that she had to be here as she does very little here. 

Story 

The relationship between Eddie and Venom is represented quite well here and I like how we saw more things from Venom's point of view this time around. But it is flawed, the dynamic between Carnage and Venom fails and the dynamic between Brock and Cassidy doesn't work either. The characters don't get enough time to develop and you won't care about anybody apart from Venom and maybe Eddie. 

Script

The script is okay, the humour was something I was worried about in the trailer but I can't deny that it worked for me. I chuckled quite a few times with Venom having some funny one liners. But the drama falls really flat and is so rushed that when it comes to the big showdown I kind of didn't care. 

Style

Both Venom and Carnage both look great and the clash between them is way easier to follow then the action in the first film. But the pacing is all over the place, it starts off at 100 miles an hour and then slows down and ties to focus on way too much. It needed a longer runtime to make the audience care about the characters. 

Overall

Overall, Venom; Let There Be Carnage is an average film that doesn't rise above its predecessor. It is okay and I don't think will bring any new fans but there is a huge post credit scene and that is all that people will be talking about coming out of this film. 

Rating - 5/10