'Venom: Let There Be Carnage' A Review

Venom: Let There Be Carnage is a superhero movie, a sequel to 2018's Venom. Brock(Tom Hardy) is living somewhat effectively if not easily with symbiote Venom(also Hardy), when he's asked to visit a death row inmate Kasady(Woody Harrelson), the two have an altercation and a symbiote is incubated within Kasady which comes out at his lethal injection. He escapes and only Venom can stop him!

Hardy again turns in a great performance, balancing humor and action and this kind of befuddled-schlub-everyman quality. There's even more humor in this installment with a lot of Hardy-as-Brock and Hardy-as-Venom gags and Hardy clearly relishes it. Harrelson, god bless him, looks old and feels a bit too old for the part. He does a decent job, he's a pro, but his Carnage just doesn't have much energy or umph especially with Hardy in contrast. The wonderful Naomie Harris is underutilized as is Michelle Williams. A couple people in the supporting cast has some fun turns but ultimately the movie is more concerned with the superhero machinations of the plot and they're the least interesting thing about the movie.

A slick look and solid mo-cap/animation for the symbiotes make for an engaging look, the action is mostly dynamic if overly CGI'd(a criticism that could be leveled at virtually every superhero flick), an effective if mostly forgettable soundtrack, and some nice on location San Francisco shooting make for a solid production if not one that particularly differentiates itself in any way from the superhero landscape.

Basically its fine, but with a property and a lead that beg for something more bizarre and outside the box Venom: Let There Be Carnage stays inside the lines way to often.

Currently in theaters, coming soon to VOD.

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