Venom’s mortal enemy Carnage makes his long-awaited live-action debut in Venom: Let There Be Carnage. In the Sony Spider-Verse sequel Eddie Brock meets famed killer Cletus Kasady whom he has tried for murder after aiding police in finding the remains of his victims. Following an incident with a visitation from Brock, Cassidy becomes taken over by the symbiote and goes out on a hunt for revenge.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage is a 2021 superhero film it is produced by Columbia Pictures and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. It is currently in theaters with a home media release later this month.

Editor’s Note: Spoilers for Venom: Let There Be Carnage, the source material and the Marvel Cinematic Universe & Sony Spider-Man Universe may be present within this review.

The sequel to Sony sleeper hit Venom continues the story of a man and his symbiote. Eddie Brock former professional journalist turned freelance must vie with the break up of the love of his life & his relationship with alien parasite Venom. Following an interview with killer Cletus Kasady he aids police in having Kasady convicted of murder. Kasady becomes host to a new symbiote born from a scuffle between himself and Brock & Venom. He and the newly born Carnage then go on a tear across the city. 

THE GOOD: Taking place after the events of Venom, “Let There Be Carnage” follows newly freelanced journo Eddie Brock dealing with a tough time. He has to contend with a recent break up, a cop consistently breathing down his neck, his symbiote partner being at odds with him, and a killer seeking vengeance for Brock’s poor media coverage on him. After Brock helps the police find the bodies Cletus Kasady cleverly hid all over the city his career is on the rise again. Kasady’s girlfriend Shriek is captured and moved to a secure facility soon after. While visiting Cletus in prison Venom attacks him which allows Cletus access to Brock’s blood that he swallows. One night Brock & Venom get into a fight after Brock blames the symbiote for actively ruining his life. They part ways and Venom goes on possessing multiple people while exploring the city.

Eddie learns from his ex-fiancé Anne that she is getting remarried to Dr. Lewis. While in prison Kasady becomes possessed by a newly born symbiote going by Carnage who destroys the prison, frees the prisoners, and kills several guards. Kasady & Carnage escape and free Shriek from her special cell after Carnage hacks the internet to find her location. The new trio go off to find Brock, Venom, and Detective Patrick Mulligan who they plan to kill. After they capture Anne & Mulligan, Brock reunites with Venom (who was earlier convinced to forgive Brock thanks to Anne). A battle ensues and Brock & Venom are easily overpowered by Kasady & Carnage. Shriek attacks Mulligan and nearly kills him. She’s ultimately disgusted with Carnage’s power and tries to get Kasady to break free from him. Carnage kills Shriek by having her fall to her death, but before doing so she uses her scream power to separate Carnage & Kasady. Taking advantage of Kasady & Carnage’s lack of compatibility Venom & Brock kill them. Brock & Venom make amends and escape the police with help from Anne & Lewis. Mulligan who survived has blue glowing eyes while being assured that monsters exist. In the end credits scene Brock & Venom discuss the previous events and are suddenly teleported to a new location. The TV they were watching airs a news report revealing Peter Parker as Spider-Man and wanted for his possible murder of Mysterio. Brock is shocked as Venom licks the image of Peter revealing that their universes have fused together.

Venom’s sequel is a fun improvement over it’s predecessor. There’s a big emphasis on the relationship of Eddie Brock and the alien symbiote. Naturally, this brings the film into a comedic bent and it makes sense considering the situation. Given how brutal the Venom source material can be I’m admittedly impressed with the way Sony was able to dance around that type of content with a PG-13 rating. That being said I do think the franchise would be extremely successful if they went forward with a darker more R-rated direction. Hardy’s voice work as Venom is just as much as a highlight here as his performance of human Eddie Brock. He really nails the humor of Venom as a supportive yet slightly dimwitted partner to Brock. There’s some slight world building in Venom 2 and we get an idea of how the symbiote can spread giving a large number of ideas for future movie stories. Some of which are even teased within the film itself.

THE BAD: Venom 2 can a bit too reliant on the slapstick even with the more darker moments of the movie. Also I mentioned above that I was impressed with how Sony can dance around the PG-13 rating, however there are times when it can be silly. Like there are certain scenes of decapitation they won’t show when I swear I’ve seen PG-13 movies get away with worse.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: While the initial entry was a nice surprise Venom: Let There Be Carnage is a great major step into what’s next for Sony’s Spider-Man Universe. Especially with it colliding into the events of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Things are looking quite bright for Marvel’s live-action future regardless of who’s side you’re on. However, I must admit that the Sony side of the spectrum appears to have a slight edge. Otaku Dome gives Venom: Let There Be Carnage an 80 out of 100.