Tom Hardy tired even more – Review of the movie “Venom 2: Carnage”

Journalist vs. murderer

Let’s start with the plot. It is a direct continuation of the previous part of Venomin which Eddie (played by Tom Hardy) joins a formidable cosmic symbiote, learns to cooperate with him, fights a cruel opponent, saves a girl, and so on and so on. Here, at the very beginning, however, we meet the main antagonist and his beloved. Cletus Kasady, because that’s the name of our unfriendly psychopath (played by the faultless Woody Harrelson), is a serial killer, responsible even for the death of his own family. The chosen one of his heart is, in turn, a mutant who can kill with her voice. They are both in jail, but the problems begin when Eddie Brock is sent off for a journalistic interview with Kasady. Thanks to the help of his symbiote, he is able to decode the mysterious words of the murderer and discover the crime scene, for which the villain is sentenced to death. But everything gets complicated,

The actors did a great job

It cannot be denied that Woody Harrelson’s performance is the highlight of the entire movie. He can perfectly illustrate a psychopathic murderer, but here he goes over the top of himself. The filmmakers also helped him create a dark antagonist. We get a scene in which the simple drawings of Cletus come to life, showing his childhood and first crimes. The perfect way to mysteriously and brutally portray the protagonist’s backstory. Also Tom Hardy fared quite well in terms of acting, even though it is a rerun of what we already know from the first part of the film. He is always tired, he looks almost spit out by his symbiote, but this is why the film has gained a faithful crowd of fans. In this part, however, I noticed one detail that made a great impression on me. When Eddie Brock gets nervous his voice is beginning to resemble that of Venom himself! A tiny detail, but how important it is to show that the journalist and the occupant of his body are slowly becoming one.

The spirit of San Francisco is missing

The setting of the action is always very important to me, especially in superhero productions. In Spider-Man and Daredevil it is New York and its individual districts, in DC movies they are usually fictional towns. In the case of Venom, it is San Francisco. In the first part of the series, we could admire beautiful panoramas of the city, iconic places, some scenes almost resembled postcards from this beautiful Californian city. The second installment of Venomunfortunately, it does not provide us with such shots, and the role of the city itself has been reduced. It seems to me that this may be due to the shorter production time compared to the predecessor. Still, I miss a bit of a broader way to show the viewer exactly where the action is taking place. It creates a sense of immersion, and in addition builds the atmosphere of the entire film.

Carnage or the cartoon Tasmanian devil?

When it comes to special effects, Venom 2 is the world championship. This is best shown by the character of Carnage. It is so slimy, so ugly, and at the same time so fascinating with its appearance that you can immediately see the artistry of the creators from Sony studio. The evil symbiote of this story is terrifying and shows its enormous, destructive power at every turn. This is best seen in one of the final sequences, in which Carnage stretches his tentacles and shows himself to us in all its glory against the background of the church’s stained glass window. Guaranteed jaw on the floor. Is there anything that can spoil this character? Well, we also have a sequence in the movie where the red symbiote spins so fast it forms a tornado … I’d rather forget that moment, though. It looks too much like the Tasmanian Devil from the Looney Tunes cartoon .

Let there be… R-rating!

The final fight of the film is great. Hollywood mayhem at the highest level. The selection of music, such as Mozart’s Lacrimos during the wedding of the murderers in the cathedral, is also impressive . However, I miss the R category in this film. You can clearly see it in the fight scenes. Nevertheless, the creators managed to smuggle into the production somewhat unjustified brutality, which slightly touches the much desired by viewers R-kę. One of the SFPD officers is subjected to a really fancy, extensive execution that extends over several shots. Of course, there were also a few bitten off heads – Venom’s specialty.

Red means faster

What else could I attach to? Unfortunately, Venom is no longer scary. Nothing. Not at all. Even in the first part, the black symbiote terrified with its unpredictability and the way it possessed its host. Eddie Brock did look like he hadn’t slept in at least a year. The cosmic slime was constantly trying to kill someone, and his motivations were questionable to say the least. The second part, however, is a very polite version of Venom. You could even say that he was made a comedy character. The crowning achievement, or perhaps the fall of the figures, can be called the disco scene. The cosmic devourer of people plays around with fluorescent bracelets, jokes, complains about Eddie on the stage to perform the famous “drop the mic” to the sound of applause. This character has completely lost its horror. However, this does not change the fact that sometimes you can still smile at the symbiote’s comments. Before the final fight, however, he decides to leave Eddie’s body. Why? He noticed Carnage was red. And as we all know, the red ones are the worst!

Big bang at the end of the movie?

Venom 2: Carnage is a really good piece of entertainment. We get what we expected – great special effects, good music, decent acting and a lot of beating up. If, however, someone was expecting a revolution of heroic cinema, he will be sorely disappointed. The only thing that bothers me is such a polite character, which for me was one of the greatest nightmares of my childhood. At the end, we also get the announcement of the appearance of another symbiote, which leaves the creators an open door for further sequels. And don’t forget to wait for the stage after the credits! This time it’s a real firecracker. I would even say that with the greatest reach in the entire history of Marvel film …