When I saw the original Venom movie I had mixed feelings but my big takeaway was the “humor worked for me” and then I added “I’d be open to a sequel where they could iron out the bugs”. Now we have a sequel and in my opinion they have done just that. The humor is still great and the problems with the supplementary characters and the sluggish pacing have been addressed. I walked away from Venom: Let There Be Carnage having been thoroughly entertained. Other people seem to be having different responses and that’s fine. I can only share my experience.

Sometimes I like a movie that’s just plain weird and both of the Venom movies fit that description. The buddy relationship between Venom and Eddie is bizarre, random and hilarious. I was laughing throughout- and so was most of the audience in my critics screening. Eddie trying to keep Venom happy which usually means he says funny, inappropriate and strange things. Tom Hardy is great as Eddie/Venom and it’s fun to see an actor of his caliber arguing with himself over chickens and what not. If my Grandma was alive she’d describe it as a hoot and I’d agree with her.

The rest of the movie is fairly standard but well done with Woody Harrelson playing Carnage. He always does a good job playing manic insane villains. Naomi Harris plays his love interest Shriek and she’s fine. They aren’t especially memorable but they do the job they need to do to get to the action and Venom/Eddie plotline going.

Much has been talked about the 97 minute runtime. I loved it. I was never bored. It never got bogged down in exposition. It was clean, concise and on its way. I found the pacing very refreshing. It’s actually simple. If you want to watch a weird movie about a very odd couple and have some laughs check out Venom: Let There Be Carnage. I sure enjoyed it and I bet you will too. If you are expecting a Shakespearean comicbook movie you probably won’t like it but if you want a kooky good time you will or at least I sure did.

7 out of 10

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