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Parents' Guide to

Venom: Let There Be Carnage

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Noisy violence and forced comedy in poor super-sequel.

Movie PG-13 2021 90 minutes
Venom: Let There Be Carnage Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

age 13+

Based on 17 parent reviews

age 14+

Not impressed and not disppointed

The film left a very strange feeling. Usually, after watching the feeling for what he saw, it was already formed, whether you liked it or not, after this work he ate something insipid and tasteless, it seemed to satisfy his hunger, but there were no emotions. It seems that both interesting and familiar characters, and the first film were not so bad, but there is no indistinct reaction after watching it. There are no negative or positive feelings, just an hour and a half have passed. Movies based on comics always combine something serious and a little humour. There has always been less of a comedy situation, it is like a glueing ability between important scenes so that people take a break from the constant action or an abundance of information, and then for some reason decided to notably go too far with it. The first half of the film, before the start of all sorts of fights, destruction and showdowns between the main characters, is similar to some kind of sitcom. A story about two diverse neighbours who cannot get along with each other. They have both pleasant moments and not very good ones, they live in the soul, and then they argue. I am more than sure that in some 90-00s something could be released on TV. In some moments, with some long jokes, there was even stupid off-screen music. There were also good jokes, but a little lost against the general background. But that's okay, a comedy about how an alien and a person are sitting on the couch would not be very interesting, some kind of conflict situation is required for the development of the plot. And they are, but there is a feeling that is just for show. Problems and complexities of various problems arise with amazing, there is almost no resistance from manifestations from the other side, everything is resolved quickly and without hindrance, he went in - said something - done, no problems with anxieties, tactics, thoughts, problems with penetration into hard-to-reach places, in a general passage on an easy difficulty level, perhaps this is an excess of timing. The age rating also makes its adjustments, cruelty is not observed here, despite the sharp teeth of the symbiotes, which stand out exclusively behind the scenes. Tom Hardy and Woody Harrel didn’t really help here, and if it was somehow interesting to watch Carnage’s accomplice, mainly because of his appearance and facial expressions, a bit like a maniac, then his British colleague, previously perfectly highlighted in his films, is here except for stupid antics in disputes with Venom, he showed nothing. Only in the second half of the screen, there were some emotions experienced thanks to the graphics and all kinds of explosions, destruction, and reincarnations. The symbiotic component is very pleasing to the eye. The fights and the special metamorphism of the holder of this film, as well as the giant pulsating tentacles in various forms, spread out over the houses and lampposts, kept the car of the main villains. As a result, the scene after the credits was interesting, and not the film itself, obviously apologizing for what we had seen earlier indicative, which can be investigated after watching it, the film itself turned out to be quite passing and nothing memorable.
1 person found this helpful.
age 12+

More violemt then spider man films, but not that bad.

Definitley more violent then other marvel films like captain america, but nothing too crazy. There is violence, people getting there heads chomped off, people getting strangled, people getting torn apart, but its either always done off screen, or with little graphic detail. There is one time a character gets stabbed in the chest once, which was a bit more graphic, but again there was zero gore and wasnt graphic, just a bit violent. Overall should be fine for a mature 11 year old, especially if theyve seen the first venom.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (17 ):
Kids say (75 ):

With poorly chosen "comedy" moments that consist mainly of shouting and action elements that are mainly noise and smashing, this sequel misses every chance to come together in a satisfying way. Directed Andy Serkis, Venom: Let There Be Carnage (which follows 2018's hit Venom) starts off with a supposedly comic situation, as Eddie and Venom argue and shout about how things are going to be. They're like a more violent, less funny version of Shrek and Donkey. The movie has no idea how to weave the situation of Venom occupying Eddie's body into clever or physical humor. It's all forced and graceless. Unlike, say, Steve Martin and Lily Tomlin in 1984's excellent body-sharing comedy All of Me, every attempt at a similar situation here -- such as Eddie ducking into a women's bathroom to argue with Venom -- falls completely flat.

As Carnage, Harrelson sometimes manages a few wry line-readings, but he also frequently stumbles on his chunky, villainous dialogue, as does Harris. (This is the kind of movie wherein one of Carnage's first lines is "Let's get this party started!") Normally a bold performer, Williams perhaps fares the worst of anyone in the cast; in her one big scene, Anne must use her "feminine wiles" to convince Venom that he's sexy, just before she's kidnapped and held captive for the rest of the movie. The action is a blur, with mounting destruction and no human interest or consequences. It's difficult to care as either buildings crumble or victims are dispatched. On the plus side, the Venom visual effects are quite impressive, and the movie is swiftly paced, which means it's over fairly quickly.

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