Film Review: VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE (2021): Superhero Sequel Tops Original Thanks to Woody Harrelson’s Performance

Venom: Let There Be Carnage Review

Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) Film Review, a movie directed by Andy Serkis and starring Tom Hardy, Woody Harrelson, Michelle Williams, Naomie Harris, Reid Scott, Stephen Graham, Peggy Lu, Michelle Greenidge, Laurence Spellman, Little Simz, Jack Bandeira, Scroobius Pip and Amrou Al-Kadhi.

When the original 2018 film Venom opened, it was poorly received by critics but was a “monster hit” at the box-office earning $856 million worldwide. That film didn’t have a strong villain and seemed to be all over the place from a cinematic standpoint but the new sequel, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, is so much better that it could be compared to Spider-Man 2 as that rare superhero sequel that triumphs over the original. I won’t go as far as to say the new Venom picture directed by Andy Serkis is that good but it’s a lot of fun and keeps the audience’s interest throughout due to the presence of a well-written serial killer villain named Cletus Kasady who is played with terrific zest by the great Woody Harrelson.

Tom Hardy reprises his role as Eddie Brock from the first film. Eddie is a journalist who initially failed in his career and in his relationship with Anne Weying (Michelle Williams). Anne is now engaged to Dr. Dan Lewis (Reid Scott) as the film’s main story begins. But, wait, we’re forgetting someone. That’s right. It’s Venom, the alien being which is seemingly attached to Eddie in more ways than one. They’re the best of friends and the worst of enemies. Venom and Eddie bicker and argue about food for Venom (Eddie wants him to live off chicken but Venom prefers humans) with Venom going as far as to toss furniture out of the window of their apartment when they fight in a hilarious sequence. Venom wants Eddie to rekindle his love for Anne but Eddie just seemingly wants to live a normal life free of Venom if at all humanly possible.

Naomi Harris plays Frances Barrison, a woman who met Cletus Kasady in jail and fell in love with him. Cletus is a murderer who killed his mom and his grandmother but had his reasons for doing so which are revealed later in the film. But, still, Cletus is a serial killer regardless of the reasons why. Frances apparently gets transferred to another prison but the plot will have some terrific twists regarding her love for Cletus which is enhanced when Cletus escapes from jail and merges with the evil alien being known as Carnage who becomes Venom and Eddie’s archenemy.

There are plenty of fun scenes from a sequence where Venom, now “broken up” with Eddie, attends a nightclub where a Halloween party is going on. People think Venom, the giant alien with the sharp teeth, is a costume someone’s wearing and cheer him on as Venom makes a speech about the need for acceptance and common decency in society today. It’s a great movie moment. Peggy Lu’s performance as convenience store owner, Mrs. Chen, is absolutely hysterical as per the first film. In a great scene here, Venom takes over her body when he needs a new human host and Anne discovers Venom hiding inside Mrs. Chen’s body.

Michelle Williams is always reliable and shines in the screen time she is given here which admittedly could have been a little more but I enjoyed the seemingly doomed relationship between Anne and Eddie as well as the one between Anne and Venom which is more of a friendship. Reid Scott is perfect as Anne’s new love interest who even, surprisingly, decides to help our heroes out later in the film.

This film would be a bit less successful if not for Harrelson’s frightening, yet wildly charismatic, turn as Cletus who steals a nice car to impress the love of his life, Frances (better known as Shriek), and becomes attached to the evil being known as Carnage. Cletus is ready to seek vengeance upon Eddie for making him look like a monster in the newspapers. Cletus may be a vicious murderer but he has his reasons and the film is wildly entertaining as Cletus makes an attempt to marry Frances amidst all the chaos and justify his past wrongdoings.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage is a significant improvement over the original picture. The plot is more coherent, the heroes are more likable, the villains are more wickedly evil and the action scenes are bigger and better. Let’s not forget that Hardy, Harrelson and Williams are Oscar-nominated performers and they all do superb jobs here with Harrelson stealing the film whenever he’s on screen. Harrelson’s work is ultimately the main reason to see the new picture. But, there’s plenty of excitement going on throughout and it’s one of the more interesting superhero movies to come out recently due to its unique style and crackerjack pacing.

Rating: 7/10

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