Venom – Let there be Carnage

Sony 2021   K-16    1h 37min   release: October 2021

True love, they say, is about accepting someone else with all flaws and problems – and well, by the end of this movie, an alien which uses humans as symbiotic hosts (killing them in the process) or eats their brains seems worthy of this true love. So does the creature’s pretty unwilling host, rather the antithesis of a “hero in shining armor”…

The story:
Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) struggles to adjust to his new life as the host of the alien symbiote Venom, which grants him super-human abilities in order to be a lethal vigilante. Brock attempts to reignite his career by interviewing serial killer Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson), who becomes the host of the symbiote Carnage and escapes prison after a failed execution.

The sequel to the Venom movie doesn’t seem weaker, as many sequels do, it’s rather more entertaining, containing several more LOL moments than the 2018 film. Plus plenty of carnage – graphic scenes that justify the K-16 rating. And it feels more rounded and coherent, whereas the first movie based its entertainment value rather on a roller-coaster-wild-ride. Well, the reasons might be that director Andy Serkis has plenty of experience with an appealing portrayal of conflicted-schizo characters* and Tom Hardy had joined Kelly Marcel and Todd McFarlane as part of the writing team.

Therefore, if you’re seeking a big screen experience, after such a long absence from movie theaters, for sheer entertainment – this movie is not a bad choice.

*he played Gollum in Peter Jackson’s Tolkien adaptations Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit

Stars
Tom Hardy – Eddie Brock
Woody Harrelson – Cletus Kasady
Michelle Williams – Anne Weying
Naomie Harris – Frances Barrison
Stephen Graham – Detective Mulligan
Reid Scott – Dr. Dan Lewis
Peggy Lu – Mrs. Chen