The Sunday Mail
Film Review
Tinashe Kusema
THERE is a very good chance that I may be one of the few people that actually enjoyed “Venom: Let There Be Carnage”.
Just like any movie, it has its shortcomings, but the positives outweigh the negatives.
A sequel to the 2017 surprising hit, it picks up where its predecessor ended, with Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) trying to find a balance between his life as an investigative journalist and life with a symbiote (Venom).
The alien, which has taken residence in his body, looks to have an appetite for human brains and hopes to become a crime-fighting superhero.
The situation gets even more complicated when Brock is chosen by renowned serial killer Cletus Kasady to tell his story.
This is done with the hope that they will reveal where some of the bodies are buried.
But things do not go well on both fronts.
Venom leaves and Kasady gets his own symbiote (Carnage) and goes on a killing spree that leads to the death of Brock.
Before we get into it, I feel inclined to warn you the computer-generated imagery (CGI) is terrible.
I mean it is so bad!
Also, Woody Harrelson could have done a better job.
It is almost as if he took up the role as an easy payday, or the American actor simply misread or failed to interpret his character well.
Now for the good stuff.
For the most part, the dynamism between Brock and his symbiote is the main focus of the film.
One can never go wrong with Tom Hardy.
The English actor brought a brand-new dimension to the role, capturing the essence of his character.
His physical comedy during fights with Venom is one of the funniest things I have watched all year.
His general demeanour, voice projection and the way he carries himself are all on point.
Add Venom, the symbiote, and you have comedy gold.
There are also a couple of good-to-great supporting performances, with my favourite being that of Peggy Lu as Mrs Chen, Michelle Williams and Reid Scott as Anne Weying and Dan Lewis, respectively.
The chemistry between all five of the aforesaid is just in a league of its own.
Can we have more of Mrs Chen, please?
And now to talk about the biggest merit and scene-stealer, which in this case is the mid-credit, we look at “Spiderman: No Way Home” tie-in.
The said scene sees Brock and Venom stranded on some exotic island only for a bright flash of light to appear and the two get transported to an alternate Universe.
The Universe is presumably the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and it opens a lot of avenues for Marvel to go with phases three and four.
The film has already surpassed the US$400 million mark on the box office and here is to more success and bigger roles for some of the marginalised supporting acts.
