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VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE

I like Venom: Let There Be Carnage because it is based on one of my favorite Marvel characters, Venom. I like that Carnage is a product of Venom, so watching these monsters clashing with each other is phenomenal.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage is about a journalist named Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) who has a dark black, Spiderman looking devil named Venom that lives inside his body. Most of the movie shows Eddie and Venom not getting along, because Eddie is sick and tired of having Venom inside his body and Venom wants to be free to eat people. Venom is very clumsy and destructive and Eddie is frustrated because his apartment is a mess. An assassin named Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson) knows Eddie and asks to speak to him before his death sentence is carried out. Eddie visits Cletus in prison, but Cletus antagonizes Eddie with his past and Venom comes out of Eddie's body to choke Cletus. Cletus bites Eddie's hand and tastes Venom's blood. So guess what happens? You have to watch the film to find out.

This film has amazing CGI graphics. The graphics look so real and the buildings falling apart when Venom climbs between them look real as well. The fighting scenes between these two titans are so incredible that it makes you want to see more. I expected there to be more encounters between Venom and Carnage and was disappointed that there weren't more. The movie has a good combination of comedy and action. The music is appealing in every scene. My favorite part is, of course, the battle between Venom and Carnage in the church. Carnage is huge compared to Venom and looks more powerful than him because Carnage has multiple extremities which Venom does not have.

The moral of this film is to never underestimate yourself no matter your size or strength. You do not know if you can win the war if you don't go to battle.

I give Venom: Let There Be Carnage 4 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 8 to 18, plus adults. This movie is available in theatres Friday, October 1, 2021. Remember, like all Marvel movies, you have to wait until after the credits. By Ethan P., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, age 13

There are several things in this film that fall short for me. Its lack of development of Kasady and the way it seems quite biased towards Venom. It's important to note that I haven't seen the original Venom, but I had a pretty easy time understanding the characters and the important plot details. As far as I can tell, the first movie didn't have much of an impact on the story of this film.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage is the sequel to Venom (2018) and it continues the story of Eddie Brock and the alien symbiote Venom (Tom Hardy). In an attempt to restore his journalism career, Eddie interviews the serial killer Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson) right before he receives the death penalty. However, Kasady ends up becoming the host of a new symbiote, named Carnage and escapes. Now Eddie and Venom must stop Kasady and Carnage.

My biggest issue with this film is its pacing. The film is 90 minutes long, and it feels like it ends before the climax really starts. If I could make a suggestion, I would have preferred that they spent more time developing Kasady, as well as his childhood love interest, Shriek (Naomie Harris). We see small glimpses of their history with each other, but we never really learn why they're so attached. Considering that Kasady's main motive is to be with Shriek, she definitely should have been more developed; she doesn't really feel like a character her, she feels more like a plot device. Another thing that bothered me about this movie is the way it treats Eddie and Venom. Venom is an interesting character, because he starts as a villain and morphs into an antihero over time, and the movie hints at this duality. However, the movie seems very biased towards Venom. When Eddie calls out Venom for causing problems for the both of them, Eddie later has to apologize to Venom. Meanwhile, Venom is never held accountable for the fact that he does cause a lot of problems. Eddie was completely in the right in that situation. The film wants us to believe Venom is super funny and edgy, but he acts like a spoiled child for most of the film and I felt bad for Eddie the entire time.

The message of this film is that it's important for people to work together and communicate, so they can come to an understanding. I also would like to warn people that it is quite a violent and loud movie with a lot of action scenes.

I give Venom: Let There Be Carnage 2 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 14 to 18. It releases in theaters October 1, 2021. By Calista B., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, age 18

Time to sink our teeth into the new wild ride of Venom: Let There Be Carnage! This film differs little from the first film, but still delivers entertaining action with its stellar CGI. A complex plot is crucial for a blockbuster action film of this caliber, and unfortunately this sequel spirals out of control and ends up a large mess. Most of the dialogue between Venom and Eddie is extremely hard to understand because of the depth and pace of Venom's voice; so watching with subtitles on is ideal. Venom: Let There Be Carnage begins with the iconic duo of Venom and Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) as they both learn to live with each other and solve their own problems. When Eddie continues to interview serial killer Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson), he ends up solving a murder case tied to Celetus's name. This seals Cletus's fate as he is now sentenced to death. Allowing his seemingly "final words" with Eddie, he gains the offspring of Venom, giving Celetus the ability to team up with the psychotic beast Carnage! Venom and Carnage go toe to toe for the battle of a lifetime.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage has a plethora of carnage, just not in the way we want to see. The sequel is borderline pleasurable, however has no remarkable improvements or differences from its predecessor. Carnage, in his original comics, is brutal. He is an insane symbiote who doesn't kill because he needs to; it's because he wants to. Before the release of the film, there was early debate whether a PG-13 rating could handle him, or truly embrace him by having an R rating. Comic book fans will notice how significantly diluted the character is, making him feel out of place and simply inaccurate. Another consistent problem is the humor and dialogue. The first film had a known struggle of embarrassing dialogue and the sequel tries to overcorrect that issue, but results in numerous jokes not landing, with no audience reaction.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage is as PG-13 a film could be without being rated R. As you can expect with these characters, there is plenty of graphic and intense violence with multiple instances of cursing. Multiple scenes are extremely vigorous and can not be handled by younger viewers. Beneath the mayhem lies themes of friendship, family, and love. One of the main morals is that, despite all obstacles, teamwork always prevails.

I give Venom: Let There Be Carnage 2 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 14 to 18, plus adults. You can find Venom: Let There Be Carnage at your local theater now.

By Jude A., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, age 15

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Eddie Brock struggles to adjust to his new life as the host of the alien symbiote Venom, which grants him super-human abilities in order to be a lethal vigilante. Brock attempts to reignite his career by interviewing serial killer Cletus Kasady, who becomes the host of the symbiote Carnage and escapes prison after a failed execution.