Venom: Let There Be Carnage delivers some more of what works – Eddie and Venom’s dynamic – though everything around them remains quite messy.
The sequel to 2018’s solo origin story movie, Venom: Let There Be Carnage picks up with Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock living (mostly) symbiotically with the alien parasite known as Venom. When the first movie released in 2018, it wasn’t particularly well received by the majority of critics, though it did have its defenders, but went on to gross over $850 million at the worldwide box office, solidifying itself as a hit. For the sequel, Sony Pictures went in a slightly different direction, recruiting new-t0-the-franchise director Andy Serkis to helm, based on a script by Kelly Marcel, who worked out the story of the Venom sequel with Hardy. Venom: Let There Be Carnage delivers some more of what works – Eddie and Venom’s dynamic – though everything around them remains quite messy.
Picking up where the Venom post-credits scene left off, Venom: Let There Be Carnage sees Eddie Brock interviewing infamous serial killer Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson), promising to print a message to the murderer’s fans in exchange for an in-depth exclusive interview. With the help of Venom, Eddie’s able to recover some of the bodies of Cletus’ victims and becomes a hero, while Cletus’ execution date is set. But the execution doesn’t go according to plan as Cletus has managed to get himself a symbiote of his own. He breaks free from prison, looking for Frances Barrison, aka Shriek (Naomie Harris), someone he knew from when he was younger. All the while, Eddie and Venom are having relationship troubles, disagreeing about how they should use their partnership, which is exacerbated when Eddie’s ex Anne (Michelle Williams) reveals she’s engaged to her new partner Dr. Dan Lewis (Reid Scott). Despite their disagreements, Eddie and Venom will have to find a way to defeat Cletus and Carnage together.
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