Alright, just yesterday a new film in the Sony/Marvel Cinematic Universe was released. Oh yes, we are going to be talking about Venom: Let There Be Carnage and also the first film. Now, I understand that there a lot of people that are not going to like the film. Chances are they probably didn't like the original Venom film. Or they didn't like the tone of that original film. But there are people that enjoyed it quite a bit.
For me, I am a Venom fan. I grew up watching the original 90s Spider-Man cartoon where they had Venom as a villain. I had a Venom #1 for one of the series - it was a really cool cover. It was Venom's face just staring at you and it would glow in the dark. Really badass. I'm also a comic fan. I grew up reading comics when my Dad introduced me to them during a time that I really needed them. My parents were going through a divorce. It was just Dad and I, by that point. We went to a Barnes and Noble and he told me to pick out a comic. Immediately I grabbed Batman Year One - striking red and black image of Batman staring at you. Next thing I dove into was Marvel's Ultimate line of comics - specifically Spider-Man and X-Men. Later on, I would go into reading through so much of this lineup. But the one story that just struck me was their take on the Venom story.
Now, this take was and is probably considered a bit of a hot take. It did away with the outer space origin for the symbiote. It was a man-made entity that was designed to help one heal from wounds and such. It could have had the potential to even cure cancer. That to me was just so powerful. Then there was Eddie Brock, who was a bit more of an anti-Peter in a sense. He tries to come across as a nice guy when it fits his needs. But then proves he's a bit of a douchebag.
I know - what does this all have to do with the movies? I'm going to get there.
So I had a bit of understanding of a Venom story. Spider-Man 3 then released. Yeah, it may be the weakest of the Raimi Spider-Man films. Actually I may consider the first one to be the weakest. But for the most part, people weren't happy with the portrayal of Venom/Eddie Brock in that film. He was a big brute. He was lean and an anti-Spidey. Honestly, I get what they were going with that version. They wanted to have him be a dark mirror version of Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker/Spidey. In that sense, they actually delivered on it. It's not that original comic version. It's basically a mix of the main Marvel line and a dash of the Ultimate line's Eddie Brock/Venom. The biggest mistake with that was there was no time for the story. They didn't do what Marvel would later come to do with laying the groundwork first.
When they first announced that there would be a Venom movie, I was on the fence. I was very worried how it would go. Then they announced it was going to be Tom Hardy. Immediately, I began to get an idea of what they were going to do. Yeah, it was going to be another take on Eddie Brock. But I was very optimistic because at that point I dug what they did with The Amazing Spider-Man films. And then we got the Tom Holland Spider-Man, I kept trying to figure out what was going to happen with the film.
This was going to be a Venom film that had no connection to Spider-Man. Partially, it's like getting a character in their second act and not first act. For me, that was okay. It definitely began to open up a lot of different possibilities for it. Yeah, I miss seeing the giant white spider on Venom. But it isn't necessary, it's not crucial to the essence of the character.
Then word dropped on basically what the story of the first film would be. Eddie Brock is a down and out reporter/tv personality. He happens upon the symbiote after investigating a corrupt corporation. Then he's on the run trying to figure out how to stop said corporation while figuring out what this symbiote is. That's basically the story in a nut shell.
By that point, I had read the Flash Thompson run with Venom. I really loved that take on the character. It was just so different from anything with Eddie Brock. I personally would have loved if they had maybe used the backstory of a soldier getting the symbiote for this new Eddie Brock. With multi-verse theory, that's something that probably did happen.
So, it's safe to say that I was excited for the original Venom film. I didn't care that it was going to be Rated PG-13 like other fans. I was just happy to see the character on the big screen and told in a much better way than the Raimi take. That original film, it honestly was so much better than I could have hoped. It gave a basic superhero story but with a dash of the cosmic weird. Honestly you removed the symbiotes from that initial story, it feels very much in the vein of that original Raimi Spider-Man film. Now, there are some that will just say NO IT'S NOT. Think about it though. It is in that vein at least.
Venom delivered on a superhero film that felt outside of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That was one of its biggest strengths. It's not cookie cutter Marvel feel. They made a film that is a fun ride. That's something that I hadn't had in a superhero film for a while. By that point in 2018, we had so many superhero films going that were serious. While they were good, it began to make things feel a bit stale. Well least with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it felt like just episodes of a tv series.
The action in Venom is pretty good. It's a bit over top when it needs to be. Yeah, motorcycle chase I'm looking at you. There was also humor and weirdness. That's something I love so much is the humor adding so much levity to the film. Yeah, it's a bit camp. But that's the point. And yes, the weirdness is so weird at times. I mean look at the lobster scene in Venom. Eddie just climbing into a lobster tank at a restaurant and sitting there. It's so good. Is it trying to be a super awesome amazing superhero film? Nah, they just wanted to make a fun B-superhero movie. That's honestly what I would consider these films to be.
Now, Tom Hardy is a huge reason why these work. He loves the character and world so much. Its this passion that just oozes from the film. And it's something that is super cool to see.
Venom Rating: 4 out of 5.
It's a fun film that understands what it's going for. It wants to be a B-Superhero Popcorn movie. And that's fantastic.
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Now, Let There Be Carnage. The trailers for this film honestly do it a disservice. Again, I hate when marketing teams just don't understand how to market films. Honestly, I feel like there was no good way they could have marketed the film. The trailers make it look like another bombastic superhero flick with tons of action. That was very much my take away from it.
However, there is a lot going on with this film. First off, I want to applaud Andy Serkis. (I love this man. He does such an incredible job with his films. I had checked out his Jungle Book film on Netflix, it was different than what I had expected. It has a lot of heart to it. If you have a chance, check it out. He also is such a great actor. From playing Klaw in Black Panther and Age of Ultron to Gollum to Cesar in the recent Apes trilogy, he has so much versatility and diverseness with his performances. There's always something to enjoy.) When it was announced he'd be helming the film, I was on board. I knew that he would deliver something that people wouldn't expect.
And holy crap does Serkis deliver on it with Let There Be Carnage. This film is an amplification of all the weirdness and humor from the first film turned up to 11. It basks in all of it. The humor is throughout the film. I found myself laughing at quite a few of the scenes between Venom and Eddie. It's very light-hearted and feels like a rom-com in a sense. Now, the relationship that is explored between Venom and Eddie. That's something I appreciate. While it's reveling in that light-hearted and humor, when you dive in deeper. It's honestly pretty frickin dark. One could view it as two people in an abusive relationship and how that effects them. And Tom Hardy does so much in the film. It's interesting knowing that there are scenes where he's acting with himself and only himself.
Now with Cletus Cassidy, I appreciate Woody Harrelson's performance. It is a bit out there and weird in some instances. But it's very much the character from the comics. Actually the Cletus Cassidy and Shriek storyline is a simplified take on the one from the comic. I actually found myself really digging it. It was pretty touching seeing this relationship. Then I remembered Oh yeah, they both killers and a bit off their rockers.
Carnage. At first, I didn't know what they were going to do with him. They do the character justice. He's more than Venom. He is a whole complete force of nature that just tears through anything he can. He has so much glee in all the destruction. Very much a reflection of Cassidy's base psychotic instinct.
There is some action in this film. The trailers make it look like it's completely bombastic. However, that is a bit of misrepresentation. I know we were just hoping for Venom and Carnage to be duking it out a lot. However, this film takes that hope and flips it. I honestly appreciate that. It makes us eager to see them come together and appreciate it when they do. The whole end fight with Venom and Carnage is so good. It's very gothic and wouldn't feel weird outside of a Universal Horror film.
I had the pleasure of taking my son with me to see it. He had seen the first film and enjoyed it. This film he really loved. He was never bored with it. That's definitely a plus for the pacing of the film. It moves like a rollercoaster of just going. And before I knew it, it was over. That's my only complaint with the film. I wish it was longer. If it had been ten-fifteen minutes longer, we could have had more time with the characters.
Now, I'm going to say something that a lot of people may disagree with. And I'm prepared for that. However, it's my opinion and you can take it or leave it. When I talked about the first film, I talked about B-Superhero popcorn movies. If I had to classify Let There Be Carnage, I honestly would say that this is the Raimi Spider-Man 2 level of B-Superhero Popcorn movies. It's such a fun ride that I could find myself watching it over and over and never being bored.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5. Amplifies the first film to 11.
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