Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) - Film Review

Venom was very much the victim of an awkward custody battle between Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios / Disney: A Spider-Man spin-off film which couldn’t feature or reference Spider-Man, arguably a key selling point for this kind of franchise expansion. Somehow, turning classic Spidey villain Venom into a sort-of good guy played by Tom Hardy turned into an $800 million smash hit, and a sequel was almost immediately greenlit. While the first film was “like a turd in the wind” (one of the film’s memorable, terrible lines of dialogue), this second film needed to somehow recreate the success whilst also hoping to make something that might be considered “good enough” for audiences to invest in future sequels (possibly why the first film ends with an apology: “I’m sorry about Venom” says Michelle Williams).

Enter Andy Serkis, hot off the heels of drama Breathe (starring ex-Spidey Andrew Garfield) and Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle (a poorly timed Jungle Book adaptation dumped onto Netflix), and perhaps best-known for his work as a performance-capture actor in The Lord of the Rings and Planet of the Apes movies. Under Serkis, one would expect Venom: Let There Be Carnage to push the boundaries of visual effects technology, and to create something lightyears better than the “black Venom fights grey Venom in a flying mass of CGI tentacles” drudge of the first film. Unfortunately, while the CGI feels well-implemented with the live-action elements, none of it looks particularly good – whether it be due to a rushed production schedule or terrible design work, who can say – and the big third act extravaganza is underwhelmingly average.

The real appeal of the first Venom was the bromance between Eddie Brock and the titular symbiote. With their constant bickering and humorous gay subtext, it’s hard not to see the appeal, but the screenplay was so terrible that I struggled to get on board with it – or any aspect of the movie. Let There Be Carnage dials this up as much as it can, playing up the rom-com elements as Venom “comes out of the Eddie closet”, cooks an awful breakfast and complains about not being able to eat bad guys’ heads (the film may be rated a 15, but no such violence occurs explicitly). Hardy is committed to both roles, clearly relishing the chance to go nuts at any opportunity, but here must contend with a villain intent on hamming it up as much as possible. Woody Harrelson spends most of his time chewing the scenery in not one but two awful wigs, before bonding with the sub-titular Carnage symbiote (essentially Venom, but red) and allowing his CGI alter ego to fight Hardy’s. Quite why Carnage hates Venom isn’t clear, but at least it’s not as contrived as the enmity Harrelson’s Cletus Kassidy has for Hardy’s Brock. Naomie Harris attempts to much on what’s left of the scenery as secondary villain Shriek – a character more likely to create awkward laughter than scares. Her Bonnie and Clyde double-act with Harrelson is watchable enough, but neither are particularly memorable. On the flip side, Stephen Graham and Michelle Williams seem almost bored playing “normal” characters in an otherwise bonkers superhero film.

I imagine that fans (ironic or unironic) of the first Venom will be quite satisfied with this out-and-proud sequel, while hardcore Marvel fans with no doubt be ecstatic about the possibilities the mid-credits scene suggests. Personally, it’s difficult not to find Venom: Let There Be Carnage a strange mix of bizarre and bland. At 90 minutes, it’s not too long, but fails to develop any kind of interesting story; the screenplay seems more focused on the rom-com aspects rather than the murder-mystery / superhero angle, and the plot is struggling to reconcile with the awful groundwork laid in the first movie. Venom isn’t a sustainable franchise, but as long as these keep making money, Sony will keep producing them – as cheaply as possible, and with as little care for telling a decent story. 2/5