Venom: Let There Be Carnage is slightly better than its predecessor yet still not great although Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock and Venom was easily the highlight while we still get the CGI vs. CGI fight sequence during the finale which I find rather boring.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage
(2021)
Genre(s): Action, Horror
Sony Pictures| PG13 – 97 min. – $38.99 | December 14, 2021
Date Published: 12/30/2021 | Author: The Movieman
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Sony Pictures Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE MOVIE — 3/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: In search of his next big story, journalist Eddie Brock (TOM HARDY) lands an exclusive interview with convicted murderer and death row inmate Cletus Kasady (WOODY HARRELSON), who discovers Eddie’s secret and becomes the host for Carnage, a menacing and terrifying symbiote born from Venom. Now, Eddie and Venom must get past their contentious relationship to defeat him.
Quick Hit Review: I was not a fan of 2018’s Venom, mainly finding it pretty dull and forgettable, not to mention an ending just watching CGI characters going after one another. Now there’s Venom: There Will Be Carnage, a movie that is slightly better than the original, mostly to the back-and-forth fun relationship between Brock and Venom, has a very thin plot and once again we get a CGI vs. CGI character battle in the finale. Tom Hardy returns in the lead playing Eddie Brock and Venom and he seems like he’s having a good time, as does Woody Harrelson hamming it up which may not to be everybody’s liking, however I thought he was a lot of fun. The others in this cast, like Michelle Williams returning as Brock’s ex, was pretty much just a damsel in distress while Naomi Harris comes in playing Shreik and while I like Harris as an actress, her performance here was rather mundane; and from what I read, as I’m not a Marvel guy, did not to the character justice.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage was helmed by Andy Serkis taking over from Ruben Fleischer who was busy working on Zombieland: Double Tap (at least officially, unofficially might have stepped out due to the original’s negative reactions). Serkis seemed like a natural fit with his background working with CGI and although there’s nothing wrong with his direction, there’s also nothing especially noteworthy other than, with his cinematographer Robert Richardson (longtime DP for Quentin Tarantino) and whoever was in charge with lighting as it seemed like most of this was dimly lit, perhaps to hide some of the irregularities with the vfx. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 3¼/5 |
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This release comes with a semi-glossy slip cover. Inside is a redemption code for the Digital HD copy. Let There Be Action (7:20) — Behind-the scenes featurette looking at the action elements of the film. Outtakes and Bloopers (3:22) contains the usual character and break, flubbed lines, etc. Deleted Scenes (9:33) — There are six scenes that were either cut or trimmed. Eddie & Venom: The Odd Couple (10:18) looks at the advancement of the duo’s relationship. Tangled Web: Easter Eggs (4:31) breaks down the various Easter eggs sewn throughout the film. Sick and Twisted: Cletus Kasady (5:36) is a profile on the villain played by Woody Harrelson. A Fine Romance: Cletus and Shriek (5:02) outlines the relationship between these two villains, played by Harrelson and Naomie Harris. Concept to Carnage (4:23) covers the design for Carnage. Select Scene Previs (8:33) shows off the previsualizations for three scenes: Ravencroft Breakout, San Quentin Carnage and Show & Tell. Extras Trailer (1:09) which is just a promo for all of these features. Odd they have this but no trailers or TV spots for the movie itself… |
VIDEO – 4¼/5 |
| Sony releases Venom: There Will Be Carnage onto Blu-ray, presented in the original theatrical 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer (MPEG-4 AVC codec). Detail on this was okay though a fair portion of this film is darkly lit so it’s difficult to judge the sharpness at times. This also means colors are more drab but there are some flashes of vibrancy for the few daytime scenes. |
AUDIO – 4/5 |
| This is another release that for some reason *only* gets a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track while the 4K UHD release got Dolby Atmos, I think at this point Sony might be the only one that does this. But in any case, I found this one to be rather lackluster. While dialogue comes across with good clarity, the action scenes seemed uninspiring, no real punch or great depth, which was kind of surprising for a Hollywood blockbuster. |
OVERALL – 3¼/5 |
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Venom: Let There Be Carnage is slightly better than its predecessor yet still not great although Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock and Venom was easily the highlight while we still get the CGI vs. CGI fight sequence during the finale which I find rather boring. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.