Venom: Let There Be Carnage

It's all very weird, and yet not half-weird enough. Strained edginess mingles with strained sentiment, and also with gags that would make your great-grandfather roll his eyes.

At a tight 90 minutes, Serkis' sequel doesn't feel long, but it is exhausting. It's an entire movie pitched at 11 that screams in your face, "YOU SHOULD BE HAVING FUN."

I actually had a riot and enjoyed it.

Where the first Venom was toxically dull, Venom 2, at its best, is intoxicating.

Serkis dispenses with detailed explanations and instead amps up the humour, leaning into the goofy, flirtatious dynamic between Venom and Brock.

That fierce kineticism has failed to coalesce into a quasi-coherent sequel. Venom 2 is certainly riotous, but where did the fun go?

Director Andy Serkis gets enough support from Hardy and fills the screen with enough big explosions to make the end result fun.

While still as messy as the first one, Carnage helps bring the nonsense to a fun and enjoyable time.

A random, insane, & entertaining comic book movie you would find buried in the back of a Home Video Store that you watch & go OH THIS IS COOL!

It’s still a bizarre, messy and disjointed ride. But, despite its failings, it is a smile-inducing entry.