“Venom: Let There Be Carnage,”  released on October 1st, is a solid movie for Marvel fans. With fun jokes and solid action, it’s a fun movie for anyone who loves a good action comedy. 

This sequel was directed by Andy Serkis, a change from the previous director of the first movie, Ruben Fleischer. With filming starting on November 18th, 2019, it’s been eagerly anticipated by fans.

Eddie Brock, the protagonist, played by Tom Hardy, is living with Venom in his everyday life as a reporter, with the growing space between them becoming more apparent. As Dr. Dan Lewis states in the movie while talking about Eddit and Venom, “Man those two need some serious couples counseling”

Eddie is called out to talk to serial killer Cletus Kassidy (Woody Harrelson). The plot complicates as Cletus is infected with Carnage (Carnage enters his system and joins his body, similar to a parasite), the spawn of Venom. Cleetus wreaks havoc on his way to get revenge on those who he believes have wronged him. Cleetus references his thirst for vengeance multiple times throughout the film. 

“I’m not a crazy man, but I am vengeful,” said Cleetus while talking about himself.

This infection and path for vengeance eventually leads to the climactic final battle of the movie against Venom and Carnage, while also showing us the battle between Eddie and Cletus.

Venom, while categorized as an action movie, is filled with jokes and purposefully awkward moments. While this is common in the Marvel movie genre, some jokes were timed well and gave a good chuckle, while others this film could have gone without. Some felt forced, like Marvel and Sony were pushing the humorous part of the movie a touch too far. 

The actual plot of the movie was fairly well put together, with a few good twists. The movie was a little predictable, with the ending being pretty easy to assume. 

The special effects were well put together and not over the top. I feel that the characters of Venom and Carnage were very well designed, with their overall look of toxic goo coming together pretty well. The movie was shot in San Francisco, and it is very well done in that aspect. The costumes were also very well made, looked durable, and fit the characters well.

Overall I recommend this movie to people interested in the Marvel franchise and anyone who likes a good action comedy. To see this movie it would be helpful to have seen the first Venom movie, but it is also possible to see and enjoy without.