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Woody wows but same missteps taken
Sequel lacks intelligence and heart
With its campy tone, underwritten villain and dodgy CGI, 2018’s Venom was like a throwback to pre-mcu comic-book movies where superior efforts like Batman Begins and Spider-man 2 were overpowered by duds including Jonah Hex and Ghost Rider.
Sequel Let There Be Carnage is unfortunately more of the same but has a couple of things going for it that ensures an improvement on its predecessor – Woody Harrelson’s baddie and an equally committed performance from Tom Hardy’s antihero.
Andy Serkis replaces the first film’s Ruben Fleischer in the director’s chair, marking only his third feature-length outing behind the camera.
It’s a very British affair as Hardy himself co-wrote the script with the original’s Kelly Marcel and while the general plot is more exciting and urgent than the 2018 effort, it’s still sorely lacking in intelligence and emotion.
Harrelson thankfully ditches the wig he wore in the Venom mid-credits scene that set up his character’s introduction and his serial killer-turned-symbioticrival delivers a few genuinely chilling moments; you can see how much fun the Texan is having.
Nothing in Hardy’s turn quite matches the insanity of his lobster chow down in the previous flick but his physicality is again a joy to behold and, with Venom’s origin story out of the way, he gets to kick loose right from the off.
However, Michelle Williams (Anne) is somehow given an even more thankless role this time, Naomie Harris (Shriek) doesn’t really pull off her character’s zanier elements and Stephen Graham (Detective Mulligan) has to take a back seat to others.
It may still be overly reliant on CGI, but the action improves a fair bit as Venom does some body-swapping across the city before butting heads – and tongues – with Carnage, while Serkis’ visual flourishes peak during an animated sequence showcasing how dangerous Harrelson’s killer can be.
Let There Be Carnage is a very small step in the right direction for the series – but it really needed a giant leap to sit alongside the genre’s kings, queens and gods.
●What are your thoughts on Venom: Let There Be Carnage? Is it an upgrade on its predecessor?
Pop me an email at ian.bunting@ reachplc.com and I will pass on your comments to your fellow readers.