Venom: Let There Be Carnage

I had a good time with this movie. It's fun and pretty funny with some entertaining action.

It's also very messy with regards to the story, action and dialogue. The action isn't as good as the first and neither is the music. The story brings no value. And there are some stupid moments.

I also can't stand that it's not rated R. I could say that about the first, but it did a great job of pushing the limits while also not having too many moments where it was obvious it would have been better with blood. This movie has SOOO many moments where it could have been amazing if they went all out. It felt so censored.

I try to always have no expectations going into a movie. And I knew going in that even though I loved the first one, that doesn't make this one bulletproof. But looking back on it, a movie about carnage could have been so much more. It was underwhelming. Also I wish I got more development from Cletus and Carnage.

One more thing, Tom Hardy and Andy Serkis are awesome. But writing and directing are talents that very few have. I think it shows here and I would have preferred veterans at those crucial positions.

I'll caveat this review by saying I couldn't understand a lot of the dialogue, especially from Venom. We'll see if that changes anything when I watch it with subs.

Edit: I watched it again with subs. It didn't help. Still underwhelming. So many parts just feel off. And some scenes are straight up bad (cooking breakfast scene smh). Changing it from 6 to 5 stars. Sad face.

(3 viewings, 9/30/2021, 12/11/2021, 10/18/2024)

Much like the protagonist in Venom: Let There Be Carnage, I feel like there were two different screenwriters battling about what this movie should be, and they didn't really communicate with each other. This sequel is a loud and frantic mess, where superpowers can do whatever the plot demands, characters don't care about consistency, and the same jokes are repeated a dozen times. If you liked the first Venom movie, you'll probably like this one. I didn't, so I don't.

I've seen both Tom Hardy and Woody Harrelson act their behinds off and it was great. I've seen humor and dark humor work wonders for DC. I've seen Michelle Williams look beautiful and amazingly desirable. None of these feature in Venom: Let There Be Carnage.

Instead you get a constant gay married couple bickering between Venom and Brock which is supposed to be insightful and funny, but isn't, a cardboard psychopathic villain that could have been sympathetic with just a few edits, a pointless villain girlfriend that has no influence on the plot of the film whatsoever, even though she has a superpower she is inconsequential, a pointless hero girlfriend who is there just to be a damsel in distress, copy pasted from the bad Spiderman films, a policeman who is there just to be the always late to the joke guy and... Dan? Who cares about Dan?! I swear the most interesting character in this film is the mean Chinese lady at the store. There is no chemistry between any of the characters. None!

But the worse problem is that there is no story, no tension, nothing to solve. The interaction between hero and villain is minimal yet stretching imagination and both their paths when separate are boring uninteresting bad writing.

Even the CGI fights feel pointless, as two blobs fight each other by hitting and throwing each other. Venom knows ALL the weaknesses of a symbiont and does nothing with it. Brock knows his symbiont and does nothing with it.

The more I write in this review the more stars disappear from the rating, so I will just stop. This could have been the exact same movie with ten times less budget, cheap CGI and unknown actors. No one would have noticed a difference. And there is one end credits scene that is more interesting in its implications than the entire movie!! Ugh.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage is a one trick pony that doesn't land its trick. The entire movie is filler stalling for its final battle, yet that showdown is disappointing. Yes, it is between two marketable comic book characters, but that's all it provides. The villain is underdeveloped and uninteresting, the imagery is sloppy and cluttered, and the choreography is nonsensical. Because there is no coherent style or vision, the sequence ends up being a big, ugly mess. Normally, the details of an action sequence wouldn't be so significant, but that's all this film invests in.

Everything about the story is rushed, repetitive, and uninspired. There are no intimate moments to allow things sink in because the script lacks substance worth meditating on. The humor is okay at times, Tom Hardy is talented enough to have chemistry with himself, and effort went into the CGI (though it was overused). However, besides that, this production is pointless. Even the violence is unsatisfyingly suppressed for that PG-13 rating. Undoubtedly, some fanboys will be content with a mediocre fight between two characters they recognize, but as a film, Venom: Let There Be Carnage is a noisy pile of nothing.

Writing: 2/10 Direction: 2/10 Cinematography: 2/10 Acting: 7/10 Editing: 4/10 Sound: 7/10 Score/Soundtrack: 5/10 Production Design: 3/10 Casting: 7/10 Effects: 6/10

Overall Score: 4.5/10.

The Good:

• Nice CGI

The Bad:

• Immense cringe factor
• Terrible story with unclear character motivations
• Complete Overacting
• Full of cliches
• 80% of the jokes don't land

...

The film is a complete character assassination of a beloved character that might ruin Venom forever. (I hope not tho... I grew up with the comics and love the character.)

I really don't understand how this movie even got made in the first place.

Like... Did you ever want to see Venom in a disco... Making a speech about equality... Dropping a mic at the end? This is not Venom - This is a complete joke!