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Venom: Let There Be Carnage
Venom: Let There Be Carnage

6.8

Venom: Let There Be Carnage

PG-13·2021·97m

Summary

After finding a host body in investigative reporter Eddie Brock, the alien symbiote must face a new enemy, Carnage, the alter ego of serial killer Cletus Kasady.

Cast

Tom Hardy

Tom Hardy

Eddie Brock / Venom

Woody Harrelson

Woody Harrelson

Cletus Kasady / Carnage

Michelle Williams

Michelle Williams

Anne Weying

Naomie Harris

Naomie Harris

Frances Louise Barrison / Shriek

Reid Scott

Reid Scott

Dr. Dan Lewis

Stephen Graham

Stephen Graham

Detective Mulligan

Peggy Lu

Peggy Lu

Mrs. Chen

Sian Webber

Sian Webber

Dr. Pazzo

Michelle Greenidge

Michelle Greenidge

Mugging Victim

Rob Bowen

Beaten Mugger

Laurence Spellman

Laurence Spellman

Patient

Little Simz

Little Simz

Little Simz

Jack Bandeira

Jack Bandeira

Young Cletus

Olumide Olorunfemi

Olumide Olorunfemi

Young Shirek

Scroobius Pip

Scroobius Pip

Siegfried

Amrou Al-Kadhi

Amrou Al-Kadhi

Host Two

Beau Sargent

Host Three

Brian Copeland

Brian Copeland

Rodeo Beach Reporter

Stewart Alexander

Stewart Alexander

Warden

Sean Delaney

Sean Delaney

Young Detective Mulligan

Ed Kear

Ed Kear

Reveler

Emma Lau

Emma Lau

Reveler

Louis j Rhone

Reveler

Christopher Godwin

Christopher Godwin

Headmaster (1997)

Tiffanie Thomas

Tiffanie Thomas

San Quentin Tier Guard

Rocky Capella

Rocky Capella

Valet Car Park

Sam Robinson

San Quentin Guard

Greg Lockett

Greg Lockett

San Francisco Police Department Officer

Sonny Ashbourne Serkis

Sonny Ashbourne Serkis

Plunger Man

Otis Winston

Otis Winston

Street Man

Vaughn Johseph

Tie Down Guard

Kristen Simoes

TV Reporter - San Quentin

Miguel Angel Arreguin

Gas Station Attendant

Shaliz Afshar

San Francisco Reporter

Reece Shearsmith

Reece Shearsmith

Priest

Simon Connolly

Simon Connolly

Grieving Father

Rachel Handshaw

Rachel Handshaw

Grieving Mother

Amanda Foster

Amanda Foster

Victim's Sister

Akie Kotabe

Akie Kotabe

Victim's Brother

Eric Sigmundsson

Eric Sigmundsson

Startled Witness

Chabris Napier-Lawrence

Chabris Napier-Lawrence

Ravenscroft Guard

Larry Olubamiwo

Larry Olubamiwo

Ravenscroft Guard

Jose Palma

Jose Palma

San Quentin Last Meal Guard

Ashlen Aquila

San Quentin Last Meal Guard

Jamal Ajala

Jamal Ajala

Ravenscroft Orderly

James D. Weston II

James D. Weston II

San Quentin Commander

Che Amaro

San Quentin Guard

Joshua Eldridge-Smith

Sympathetic Guard

Rosie Marcel

Rosie Marcel

Detective in Bathroom

Elliot Cable

Elliot Cable

Host Pre Carnival #1

J.K. Simmons

J.K. Simmons

J. Jonah Jameson (uncredited)

Tom Holland

Tom Holland

Peter Parker / Spider-Man (uncredited)

David Zepeda

David Zepeda

Max Irázabal (uncredited)

Jason McNab

Talkative Red Jacket Reveller (uncredited)

Crew

Director

Andy Serkis

Characters

Todd McFarlane

Characters

David Michelinie

Characters

Tom DeFalco

Characters

Mark Bagley

Screenplay, Story

Kelly Marcel

Story

Tom Hardy

Reviews

g

garethmb

September 30, 2021

When audiences last saw Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy); the journalist and his parasitic symbiote Venom; had just saved the day and cemented their unusual bond with one another.

In the new film “Venom: Let There Be Carnage”; Eddie and Venom are at the end of their Honeymoon phase as Venom is lingering to be free to eat bad people and do what is natural for him. Eddie meanwhile wants a more conservative approach feeding Venom chicken and chocolate as he knows the eyes of the authorities are still upon him and he has to convince the world that Venom is dead and no longer a threat.

At the same time; serial killer Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson) has selected Eddie to interview him in San Quentin and the two form an unusual connection as Cletus cryptically speaks to Eddie which underlines a deeper motivation.

With the help of Venom; Eddie is able to decipher clues found on the walls of Cletus’s cell which leads authorities to several of his victims. This results in a rapid rise in status for Eddie and fast tracks Cletus for execution as his main means of leverage is now gone.

This leads to a rift where Eddie and Venom split and each has to struggle to adjust to life without one another.

At this point, the film has mainly been odd bits of whimsy between Venom and Eddie around the establishment of the plot and threat. However, things go into chaos mode when Cletus becomes infected with a Symbiote and turns into a destruction spewing death machine known as “Carnage”.

Cletus and Carnage both have their own agendas and Cletus uses Carnage to exact his revenge as well as locate a figure from his past that is as big a danger as he is.

As any fan of films of this genre knows; this scenario leads to a showdown between the central characters which are awash in abundant CGI, loud noises, and destruction. While this is not a bad thing and certainly one of the main reasons I enjoy films of this type; the film never seemed to fully click for me and as such was not as good as I thought it could have been.

In many ways, the film reminded me of how comic-based films were done before Marvel started their own studios and their phenomenal run of hits based on their work.

There have been multiple attempts to adapt comics into films over the last few decades and many of them have not lived up to expectations or failed outright. One of the biggest reasons is in my opinion is that those behind the projects were hindered by the studio, wanted to put their own spin on the material and strayed from the source; or failed to show the attributes that made the characters so appealing to fans.

What we often get is action sequences and CGI galore but without stories or characters that fully draw in the audience and fail to capture the essence of the comics.

Director Andy Serkis has done a great job with the visuals of the film but the tone seems off. The early part of the film is filled with comedic moments that are either hit or miss. Some of which was almost to the point where I wondered if it was supposed to be a parody.

The plot is fairly linear with nothing unexpected as it is simply bad guys get loose; bad guys cause death and destruction, can the heroes stop them. The climactic scene lacks any “wow” moments for me as it was mainly CGI characters rapidly moving around causing damage to one another and their environment. There was no real tension for me and the ultimate resolution seemed a bit anti-climactic.

For me the best moment of the film was a mid-credits scene that really popped as it sets up all sorts of interesting options and indicates that Venom may be about to graduate to bigger and better things.

For now; the cast is solid as is the CGI; I just wish the story was more engaging as it had the potential to be so much more.

3 stars out of 5

Media

Status:

Released

Original Language:

English

Budget:

$110,000,000.00

Revenue:

$506,863,592.00

Keywords

hero
psychopath
superhero
anti hero
villain
alien life-form
based on comic
sequel
fear
aftercreditsstinger
symbiote
carnage