Venom Review

By John Raspante Assistant Editor

At the time of this writing, “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” has become the highest grossing film since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and I believe it is well deserved.

For those who don’t keep up with comic book movies, the first “Venom” saw journalist Eddie Brock (played by Tom Hardy) merge with a dark and rage-filled alien life-form known as Venom. The sequel takes place shortly after their original adventure, and finds Brock and Venom struggling to coexist. However, when a deranged serial killer, Cletus Kasady (played by Woody Harrelson), also becomes a host for an alien symbiote known as Carnage, the heroes must put aside their differences to stop Kasady’s reign of terror. This follow-up to the 2018 hit was highly anticipated by many people, and I’ll be honest, the movie isn’t perfect.

There are some tonal issues for one thing, which were also prevalent in the original. It felt like the movie couldn’t pick a genre at times. There was one moment in particular where the movie shifted from a rom com in one scene to a horror movie in the next. For me personally, it was a jarring shift that happened way too quickly, which was another issue entirely. “Venom 2” clocked in at a short 97 minutes, a whole 43 minutes shorter than its predecessor, and it made the movie feel rushed. The plot moved from one story beat to the next in rapid succession, which made the stakes not feel as high as they could’ve been. If something went wrong, it was going to be fixed in just a matter of moments, so why even worry about it?

My thoughts on the movie aren’t entirely negative though. For one, I thought Carnage was portrayed perfectly in his first big screen adaptation. In an interview with www.ign.com, director Andy Serkis shared “I think we have pushed to the very limits [of a PG-13 rating with] the danger and darkness and the threat and the menace of Carnage.” Seeing Carnage wreak havoc, biting heads off and just being downright brutal brought a huge smile to my face, because that’s the embodiment of the whole character!

Additionally, the action and fight sequences were pure comic book fun. Getting to see Venom and Carnage pitted against one another in live action was just as satisfying as I ever could’ve imagined. The battles were intense, loud, and some parts even had the audience cheering in delight. University of St. Francis junior, Sarah Vandermolen, shared that “Personally, my favorite part of the movie was the dynamic between Eddie and Venom. It was heartwarming to watch them grow together amidst all of the chaos.”

Overall, I think the movie was a solid seven out of ten. It definitely was not perfect, but when the action scenes would play, I forgot about all the issues and just enjoyed the madness. Also, the end credits scene made the movie worth watching all in itself. According to www.theringer.com, “The last moments of the ‘Venom’ sequel promise to alter the franchise forever, but when and how is still up in the air.”

“Venom: Let There Be Carnage” is out in theaters now. And please, stay seated once those credits start rolling. I promise you will not regret it.

REVIEW