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Venom 2 Movie Review

Venom: Let There Be Carnage is a 2021 superhero film directed by Andy Serkis and starring Tom Hardy and Woody Harrelson. It’s another solid entry in this highly entertaining franchise.

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“What a dick!“

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Eddie Brock is still struggling to coexist with the shape-shifting extraterrestrial Venom. When deranged serial killer Cletus Kasady also becomes host to an alien symbiote, Brock and Venom must put aside their differences to stop his reign of terror. I actually found the simplicity of this storyline and the entire movie rather refreshing. In an age of explosive, overly chaotic and huge cast superhero movies, this simple flick came as a breath of fresh air.

While I would argue that the storyline is nothing special, this has always been a franchise that is more about the characters, so I did not mind the predictability of its plot all that much. Woody Harrelson is pretty solid as Kasady, but I did feel that he was rather poorly utilized. He is an amazing, fan-favorite actor, so he needed a much more memorable villain role if you ask me.

But this movie is all about the relationship between Eddie and Venom. Are they hilarious or what? Being basically depicted as this married couple getting a divorce was an ingenious idea that really worked. It was both funny and silly in the best combination possible. Sometimes superhero movies can be just enjoyably silly and there is nothing wrong with that.

The best parts of the movie are these two going after each other’s throats. There are many lines that Venom blurts out that are so funny while Tom Hardy is reliably charismatic in his role. His physicality is also commendable and perfect for this franchise.

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Whenever Venom 2 dealt with the rest of the characters, it was much less memorable. The central pairing is so great that nothing else could ever compare to these two fun fellows. The technical aspects are also nothing to write home about as the movie is way too dark-looking for its own sake, but Serkis did a surprisingly good job in the directorial chair. The dialogue and the humor steal the show while the post-credits sequence is hugely important for finally hinting at the connecting of the Sony and Marvel cinematic universes.

Venom 2 is just as solid as its predecessor and it might even be better. Yes, the movie is simple in its plot and very silly, but this funny and ridiculous approach came as a giant breath of fresh air in an era of overly serious and complicated superhero movies. Simply the main dynamic between Eddie and Venom is the reason to see this movie. They are both hilarious as the choice to basically portray them as a disgruntled married couple paid off significantly in the comedy department.

My Rating – 3.5