Venom: Let There Be Carnage, tame and underwhelming

The first Venom standalone film was a massive hit with audiences when it was released back in 2018, despite all its flaws. Fans adored the human-symbiote banter. When the sequel to the first film, 'Venom: Let There Be Carnage', was announced, fans expected a bigger and better rendition of the character. After all, the sequel included one of the most ruthless villains to both Spider-Man and Venom.

The movie followed the life of Eddie Brock and Venom after the events of the first installment. After saving earth from a possible symbiote invasion, the duo was trying to settle into an ordinary lifestyle. Eddie was also trying to keep Venom's vicious nature in check by trying to keep him from eating human brains.

A power struggle between the two grew as a new threat emerged. Venom and Eddie became the target for vengeance of a symbiote named Carnage, with the infamous serial-killer Cletus Kasady as its host.

Venom in the comics, as a character, is comparable to Deadpool. One can argue that a certain level of violence has to be shown on screen in order to depict him with accuracy. Perhaps that was the core problem that persisted in both Venom movies. The PG-13 rating especially affected the potential of 'Venom: Let There Be Carnage'. With a ruthless antagonist such as Cletus and Carnage, the violence left a lot to be desired. With the absence of gore and over-the-top viciousness, Carnage just did not resonate as well as he should have.

While the basic idea for the film was good enough, other elements did not quite allow the plot to live up to expectation. The comedy attempts through Venom's trash talk and banter felt like a heavily watered-down version of Deadpool, if he had no clue how to tell a joke.

When Andy Serkis took over as the director for this movie, there was hope from fans for a better rendition of the character. Given Serkis's records, as Gollum from 'Lord of the Rings' and Caesar from 'Planet of the Apes', it was expected that he would bring substantial improvements to the sequel. However, that too never happened due to the PG-13 rating.

The CGI had a little improvement this time, but it was nothing spectacular. The final action sequence could have been done better, perhaps with a bigger budget. Instead, it gave the audience a dismal experience as two enormous globs battled it out, while the human characters mostly spent their time bound and gagged.

The movie had a bit of improvement in storytelling this time around. It was more organised, and had better pacing when compared to the first film. The audience will not have to scratch their heads to comprehend something that happened too fast, or too erratically. The narrative and the message were obviously a plus, but those too lost weight due to persisting flaws.

The casting of 'Venom: Let there be Carnage' was pretty much the same with Tom Hardy in the lead as Eddie Brock. He, once again, brought his best to the table and shined as a man of duality. However, Woody Harrelson also nailed the role of Cletus Kasady with erratic personality.

Expectations were barely met in 'Venom: Let there be Carnage' and, to some extent, it felt as though the second instalment was worse, in comparison to the first film. But despite all its flaws, the film still managed to be a good light watch. It just leaves a lot to be desired. 'Venom: Let There Be Carnage' was released in October of 2021, and is available for streaming on Netflix, in Bangladesh, starting today.