“Venom: Let There Be Carnage” was released October 1, 2021, as a follow-up to the first Venom movie released in 2018. In this film, we see the return of Eddie Brock accompanied by Venom as they navigate their new challenge in regards to the case of serial killer Cletus Kasady.
I am a first-time viewer of the Venom series to give you some perspective on where I’m coming from on my take on this movie. I had not seen the first movie before viewing the sequel. In addition, I have watched very few superhero movies in my time. Therefore, all that being said, expect more of a casual take in my review rather than that of an enthusiast or expert.
First, I would say that my rating of this movie out of ten comes in anywhere between a seven or an eight, but let’s say a 7.5 for simplicity’s sake. Upon viewing this movie with other individuals, seven seemed to be the average consensus I got for ratings out of ten.
As far as my in-depth personal analysis goes, I’d say that comedy is paramount for this movie, meaning that it excels primarily due to its humor. Venom and Eddie make a great slap-stick duo, and this character duo is the main reason why the movie excels.
For a first-time viewer, I was able to catch on to the concepts of the world pretty quickly, and I didn’t have all too much trouble getting hooked! There are absolutely a lot of interesting ideas at play in this universe, and I enjoy how they utilize them in the movie through fight scenes and character relationships.
And speaking of fight scenes, I can tell you that the fight scenes were great. The CGI and animation were very fluid and didn’t seem very awkward or too unrealistic. I could easily understand what was going on during the scenes, and I thoroughly enjoyed the fight scenes because of the clarity present.
Although Eddie and Venom certainly steal the show for excellent character dynamics, I also really enjoyed the main villains. Cletus and his partner have a Joker/Harley Quinn type of element to them that works very well. The characters are believable, haunting, and delightfully crazy in the best way possible.
If you are not a fan of very classical and formulaic movies, you may not enjoy this movie. I was able to identify quite a few superhero tropes within the film, and I honestly was not upset at that either. They used these classic elements to their advantage and didn’t make something that felt overly cliche or cheesy.
As great as the movie was, there was a reason it was only a 7.5 for me. I wish that movie was less brief and more nuanced than it actually was. Generally, I am not against a simplistic story and simplistic concepts, but there were some elements that absolutely could have used more of an explanation. If you are expecting a really detailed deep-dive of sorts into the mechanics of the Venom universe, that’s not what you’re going to get here. If anything, you may be left with more questions.
However, this movie is still so high for me because of the absolute charm it still manages to put out with the characters and the comedy. I was more than willing to overlook some of the imperfections for the significant victories they brought in the character and comedy departments.
To bring in some outsider point-of-view, I wanted to paraphrase something a good friend of mine said. Kayleb Starnes is a fellow Caleb (despite spelling) and fellow freshman I have had the pleasure of meeting. He’s a lovely fellow hailing from around Mena, Arkansas. As a psychology major and licensed pilot, this guy has an extensive range of expertise and knowledge. And, he also actually has seen the first movie.
All that aside, Starnes imparted some excellent insight and comparisons about this movie that I wished to share because they would be too good for me to keep in.
Firstly, Starnes and a few others I watched the movie with said they believed that this sequel was very similar to the first movie, whether on par or better. Starnes had been told that it shares the same mix of dark tones and concepts with the great comedy.
Secondly, Starnes gave the insight that the Venom movies are somewhat comparable to the “Bee Movie” in a way. Yes, as in “ya like jazz?” type of movie. Basically, my understanding behind this comparison is that it’s definitely not a movie you should go to take 100% seriously and watch for in-depth content. In his words, it’s for a “rollicking good time.”
Lastly, he said that the movie was “CAMP-y.” Now, to be honest, I have heard this term used very far and few between, but I LOVE the use of it. If you don’t understand what it means, it basically means describing something as exaggerated or theatrical.
So, on Venom 2 from myself and from others? This movie is fun! Great comedy, great characters, and interesting concepts that perhaps should have just been explained a bit more. Not a bad time at all, and it’s definitely worth a watch if you are into casual viewing. Seven out of ten – solid movie.