Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) * * *

Directed by:  Andy Serkis

Starring:  Tom Hardy, Woody Harrelson, Naomie Harris, Michelle Williams, Reid Scott, Stephen Graham, Peggy Lu

Venom and Eddie Brock (Hardy) find a way to bicker and fight their way into our hearts in Venom: Let There Be Carnage, a sequel I enjoyed as much as I disliked the original film.   The original was an ungainly film which introduced us to the "cross between a piranha and an oil spill" as I characterized Venom in my review, but just like the creature has grown on and in Eddie Brock, it has also grown on me.  Yes he wants to eat human brains and settles for chickens and chocolate to curb his appetite, but Venom also loves Eddie just as any pet would warm up to its owner.   He just wants to feast on bad guys every now and then.  Is that asking too much?   Venom and Eddie have learned to at least make the most of a relationship in which Venom lives inside Eddie.  

Eddie, the wayward investigative journalist, has now rediscovered stardom and credibility with his coverage of death row inmate Cletus Kasady (Harrelson).   Cletus is a serial killer with a taste for blood and a long-lost love named Shriek (Harris) who was presumed to have been killed by a cop but is in fact an asylum resident.   Hours before his execution, Cletus grants a last interview to Eddie but bites him instead, allowing some DNA of the Venom symbiote into Cletus.  Cletus soon transforms into Carnage, identical to Venom in every way except he is red.   Cletus goes on a rampage while searching for Shriek, with Eddie trying to stop him.   

Eddie and Venom have a breakup in the interim, in which Venom flees from Eddie's body only to try and find a more suitable host.   Venom shows up at a rave and is applauded for his costume, but laments that Eddie isn't around.   It is then where I found I cared and the movie had me in its grasp.   Venom and Eddie find they need each other, especially if they are going to defeat Cletus/Carnage.  In the mix is Anne (Williams), Eddie's former fiancee who is now engaged to Dr. Dan Lewis (Scott), who in a twist is not a supercilious prick, but someone who cares enough about Anne to help Eddie and Venom fight the villains.   Heck, he even seems to like Eddie and Venom, even though Venom would prefer to see Eddie back with Anne.   It's complicated.

Running at a taut ninety-seven minutes, Venom: Let There Be Carnage does not follow tradition by having Venom and Carnage battle several times during the movie.  There is one epic showdown which is relatively easy to follow as these CGI spectacles go, despite taking place in the gloom of night.  Hardy and the cast are clearly having a ball, although upon reflection I wonder how necessary Shriek is and how having her around wouldn't be beneficial to Carnage considering her love of making high-pitched noises and squeals which are Carnage's (and Venom's) downfall.