I didn't really like the first "Venom" film that much. I found the banter between Brock and his symbiote to be more wearing than entertaining and the conclusion a CGI constructed mess. I liked this sequel a little more, but I wouldn't go as far as saying that I thought it was good.

Whilst interviewing serial killer Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson), some of Eddie Brock's (Tom Hardy) symbiotic blood is introduced to Kasady's system. This goes on to generate Carnage, a powerful red symbiote charged with the psychosis of its host. Escaping from prison, Carnage tries to rescue Kasady's long term girlfriend Francis Barrison (Naomie Harris) and then find a way to get their revenge on Brock. However, Brock and Venom are not finding life together particularly copacetic.

I really wanted to get there this time, to like this one. I like Andy Serkis, I like how committed to playing the character Tom Hardy is, acting as a producer this time and getting his friend Kelly Marcel to return to write the film with him. I liked the cameo roles for British actors, Rosie Marcel, Scroobius Pip and most high profile, Reece Shearsmith, in a role that was a real surprise, as I don't think he's talked about it anywhere.

But I just didn't manage it. The bickering between Brock and Venom is rarely (but not never) funny, and again becomes tiresome quite a lot of the time. There's a lot or praise for the tight runtime, but I felt that came at the expense of the story, which is really basic and leads to the under utilisation of several characters - most notably Naomie Harris' Shriek villain, who appears retrofitted into the story to make the conclusion work. I understand the change in Carnage's origins, in order to differentiate the film from the first one, but I didn't like it. The CGI work isn't particularly amazing and the final fight has been done before.

The post credits scene was intriguing, but for me, I'm as excited that the character can get into the hands of better storytellers, as for the actual reveal of it.