Venom: Let There be Carnage

Venom: Let There be Carnage was a campy, rompy, B-Grade Marvel film that did not take itself too seriously. At a tight and lean 97 minutes, this Tom Hardy-fronted, Andy Serkis-directed, CGI-heavy spectacle was delightful, funny and very self-aware of its' anti-hero irreverence. It definitely worked too that the core cast  this time round was small (all four were Oscar-nominees!!) and everybody just seemed to be having fun and not taking themselves too seriously. 

Hardy gave an all-in, dedicated performance that daftly balanced physical comedy with outstanding voice work and - surprisingly - a  genuine, emotional undertone. He was, and remained, the highlight of this franchise. Good for him! Michelle Williams was surely here just to cash in the paycheck but at least she seemed to be at least having fun and was present in her few scenes. Woody Harrelson played a juiced-up, hyped-up, sociopath-to-the-10th-degree version of his Zombieland/Natural Born Killers character, and again, seemed to be having fun. Lastly, we had Naomie Harries getting to go a little psycho after her recent turn as the more straight-laced Moneypenny. 

The CGI here seemed a bit basic with nothing really groundbreaking, although when it was Venom vs Carnage the CGI-heavy fight was quite exciting. Although the showdown did come a bit later than expected, and the expectation weighed heavily on the narrative. 

Serkis' direction was straightforward and he and Hardy had good chemistry in exploring the comedic side of the Odd Couple relationship at the core. It was slightly reminiscent of Deadpool but without the violence and gore - very PG13 - which ironically kind of worked with Venom making it a seemingly, intelligent alien that had seen much of the universe, rather than a brutish, simple-minded, thug.

Music was by Oscar-nominated Marco Beltrami and cinematography was by Oscar-winning Robert Richardson. However, despite the pedigree, both aspects seemed rather pedestrian and perfunctory. There were a few gorgeous, well-framed, shots, and the score for the climatic battle was sufficiently exciting, but neither were highly memorable.

This was a really fun film to watch but ultimately felt like a filler to the bigger MCU. The mid-credits scene will surely garner more attention that the actual film itself although I am a bit apprehensive as to where it will lead. Nonetheless, am still looking forward to the next instalment.