"Venom: Let There Be Carnage" is the sequel to 2018's standalone superhero/villain film "Venom". Once again starring Tom Hardy in the lead role and this time joined by Woody Harrelson, it is a notable improvement over the original despite not being a difficult task.

One year after the events of the first film, Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) is still working as a journalist while also tolerating the alien symbiote Venom sharing his body. Eddie is soon required to conduct another interview with detained serial killer Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson), who is now on death row. After the interview has been completed, Venom is able to deduce precisely where Cletus has hidden his victim's bodies, which boosts Eddie's journalistic career significantly. On the day of Cletus's execution, things go terribly wrong as a red symbiote emerges from him and breaks them both free from prison. This new symbiote refers to himself as Carnage and strikes a deal where if Cletus is able to help him find Eddie/Venom, Carnage will help Cletus reunite with his estranged girlfriend.

Honestly, I wasn't all that fussed on the 2018 film "Venom". The whole movie felt like a watered down, tonally inept, oddly paced origin story of an iconic Marvel supervillain. Considering how sinister the character is supposed to be, I was constantly wishing that the film was R-rated and had really let loose on the gory detail. With that said, I am willing to admit there were some positive traits that I enjoyed, like how they nailed Venom's physical appearance, voice, and personality. Fortunately, most of the aforementioned issues have been addressed in the sequel, as things feel much more consistent this time around, making it a successful follow-up to an otherwise disappointing original.

It appears the filmmakers have listened to some of the feedback regarding the original's inconsistent tone. Instead of awkward attempts at comic relief, all of the humour here flowed naturally through the characters at the best of times, especially from Venom himself. I actually got some decent chuckles out of almost all of these scenes, as opposed to cringing at the cheesy jokes in the first film. Of course, there were some moments that were obviously aimed at younger audiences, which makes sense since this is still a PG-13 marketed movie. However, this outing seemed much better tailored to suit the tastes of both young and old viewers alike, rather than feeling all over the place.

To my surprise, this film was directed by none other than Andy Serkis (yes, THAT Andy Serkis, a.k.a. Gollum). Under his helm, Serkis addresses the pacing issues in the original by keeping this one moving along at an almost breakneck speed. As a result, the film clocks in at a mere 97 minutes in length, much shorter than most other superhero movies, which are typically over two hours. Normally I would be dismissive of this type of movie being as short as it is but thanks to Serkis, virtually everything works out for the most part. Despite its short length, the film still manages to squeeze in just enough action, character drama, and genuine superhero fun to satisfy fans of the genre. In particular, the final climactic battle was handled well with the build up towards it feeling earned and not simply there for the sake of an elaborate action scene.

In the first film, Tom Hardy's performance in the main role was one of its biggest strengths and that's also the case here with the sequel. Hardy is great at playing the duel role of the mild mannered Eddie and the hungry-for-action Venom. Their dynamic here is considerably more comedic, with Venom's eccentricities frequently clashing with Eddie's wish to get some peace and quiet. It's also amusing to see how characters from the previous film just accept that Eddie is now hosting an alien symbiote inside his body, simply treating it as a normal occurrence.

But of course the real focus here has to be on Woody Harrelson as Cletus Kasady/Carnage. Like with Venom, the effects used on Carnage look fantastic and Harrelson's dark take on the character helps emphasise this. Interestingly, I couldn't help but draw some parallels between Cletus Kasady and Mickey Knox, Harrelson's character in "Natural Born Killers". Both happen to be serial killers focused on by the media who would do anything to protect their significant other. Whether the decision to cast Harrelson based on that comparison was intentional or a mere coincidence is up for debate but it certainly adds a more threatening undercurrent to his presence in the film.

Though I initially had my doubts, this sequel to a painfully mediocre original has proven that a character like Venom is fully capable of holding his own in these series of films. I still would have preferred to have seen a more gritty, R-rated continuation of his story, one where we could actually see him bite someone's head off onscreen, but I'm mostly happy with the direction this one has taken. I'm curious to see where things will go from here. Will Sony Pictures let this Venom appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe or will they keep him as part of something separate altogether? I suppose we'll have to wait and see what happens over the next few years.

I rate it 7/10.