The last time viewers encountered Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) and his symbiote, Venom, they’d recently saved the day, solidifying their unusual partnership. In "Venom: Let There Be Carnage," Eddie and Venom are past the initial excitement as Venom desires to freely consume those he deems deserving while Eddie prefers a more restrained approach, feeding Venom chicken and chocolate because he needs to maintain appearances and convince people that Venom is gone and no longer a threat. Simultaneously, serial killer Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson) has arranged for Eddie to interview him in San Quentin, where an unusual connection forms as Cletus speaks cryptically, hinting at a deeper motivation. With Venom’s assistance, Eddie is able to interpret clues found on the walls of Cletus' cell, which leads authorities to several victims. This elevates Eddie’s status and expedites Cletus’s path toward execution since his leverage has been removed. This situation creates a divide where Eddie and Venom separate, each struggling to adjust to life apart. The film initially features odd moments of humor between Venom and Eddie as the plot and threat are introduced. However, things escalate when Cletus becomes infected with a Symbiote and transforms into a destructive force known as “Carnage.” Cletus and Carnage have their own agendas; Cletus uses Carnage to seek revenge and locate someone from his past who poses an equal danger. As is typical of films in this genre, the situation leads to a confrontation between the main characters involving extensive CGI, loud noises, and destruction. While I appreciate that aspect of these kinds of movies, the film never quite felt cohesive and fell short of my expectations. The film brought back memories of how comic-based films were made before Marvel established their own studios and achieved a string of successful adaptations. There have been numerous attempts to adapt comics into films over recent decades, with many failing to live up to expectations or completely missing the mark. I believe one significant reason for this is that those involved in these projects were hampered by studio interference, imposed their own ideas on the source material and strayed from it, or failed to capture what made the characters appealing to fans. Often, we get action sequences and CGI but lack stories and characters that truly engage audiences and reflect the essence of the comics. Director Andy Serkis delivered impressive visuals, but the tone felt off. The beginning of the film is filled with comedic moments, some successful, others not so much—some were almost like a parody. The plot follows a straightforward progression: villains are released, they cause destruction, and then the heroes must stop them. The climactic scene lacked any truly memorable moments for me; it mainly consisted of CGI characters rapidly moving around damaging each other and their surroundings. I didn’t feel much tension, and the final resolution seemed somewhat abrupt. The highlight for me was a mid-credits scene that felt impactful, suggesting Venom may be on his way to bigger and better things. For now, the cast is good, as is the CGI; I just wish the story had been more compelling because it possessed the potential to be much more. 3 stars out of 5

Source on TMDB