Venom: Let There Be Carnage is a trashy fun sequel that never stops to breathe. Director Andy Serkis and star Tom Hardy, who also penned the story, play up the strengths of the first Venom and double-downs on the comedy.

It is a funnier and more confident movie than the first. I laughed a lot at the gags. Tom Hardy's committed double performance as Eddie Brock and Venom, constantly bickering like an old married couple, remains the price of admission.

The first Venom had a sluggish uninteresting first act, taking a long time setting up its story before Venom and Eddie Brock ever meet. In Let There Be Carnage, Andy Serkis compensates with a straight-to-the-point approach that moves like a rollercoaster and dispenses with self-important world building and teasing the next installment, which becomes the film's strength and weakness.

Unfortunately, at a 97-minute runtime, Tom Hardy and Woody Harrelson do not have enough time to chew scenery and build a dynamic between their characters and are rushed along to service the plot.

There are also less oddball spontaneous moments like Eddie Brock climbing into a lobster tank in the first film. It's hard to tell with its rapid pacing. The comedy, centered on "what the heck" moments, could have benefited from more awkward pauses. Every scene is truncated in such a way that I expect there's going to be a 2-hour director's cut on home video release later in the year.

The adults who have read Venom since the nineties are all itching for an R-rating. There are missed opportunities for some R-rated violence that will have the adult comic book fans thinking about what the real Venom would really do. Personally, the CGI-laden fights were the least interesting parts. It is during the fights the film feels like a Marvel film, which it isn't.

What Venom: Let There Be Carnage will appeal most to, in fact, are ten-year-old boys. To them, Venom is the coolest looking irreverent comic book character and kids can enjoy it as a fun dark thrill within safe PG-13 parameters.

The ideal audience for Venom: Let There Be Carnage is the adult comic book fan father taking his ten-year-old boy to a matinee. They'll laugh together at all the gags and cheer along when criminals' heads are being eaten. Afterwards, they go home and the mom asks the dad, "Why did you take our son to that?" The dad struggles and replies, "I can't explain it... it's just fun!"

While it won't elevate the Sony Spider-man Universe franchise out of its underdog status from the dominant Marvel franchise, Venom: Let There Be Carnage's biggest strength is that it doesn't take itself that seriously. If you liked the first Venom, you're most likely going to enjoy the sequel. If you didn't, then definitely no. It is that simple.