For its first movie not being really all that successful or good, “Venom: Let There be Carnage” is a solid step in the right direction after its predecessor’s mediocre results.

Now while this new Venom sequel does take things in the right direction with an engaging story, that still doesn’t spare the film from falling short in how the movie was composed and directed. 

“Venom: Let There be Carnage” is only an hour and 30 minutes long. For that short of a movie, the pacing results in speedy scenes, which causes moments like the film’s opening to feel a little too fast to interpret. They feel choppy.

Not to mention a bunch of random logical errors and illogical events happen in the film. Yeah, I get it’s all fiction, but specific parts of the movie make me wonder “How on Earth does this make sense?”

The sequel’s premise centers on protagonists Eddie Brock and Venom, who struggle to put their differences aside, since Eddie struggles to cope with his current life and how much it changed after meeting Venom. 

All the while, the main antagonist of the film, Cletus, continuously proves to be a vehemently dangerous threat against not just our protagonists, but for the rest of the world. Cletus’s actor, Woody Harrelson, portrays the hopeless and sociopathic antagonist incredibly well, as each moment we see Cletus, it’s an unnerving and dark portrayal of such a villain. 

Honestly, Carnage, Cletus’s symbiotic power and alias, was a crazy enemy. With how absolutely violent and extreme scenes can get with him in the movie, it feels like there is something so much greater to develop in his character. If the film were longer and a step above PG-13-rated, then I believe so much more would have come from this character.

I liked how the antagonist compares himself to Eddie Brock, as they both serve as parallels of the sane and the insane. Cletus and Carnage both make for pretty influential forces towards Eddie’s character development, which I thought was a highlight in the film’s character development.

I also like how the film’s director, Andy Serkis, builds a bleak and dark atmosphere which encompasses the movie quite well. The unnerving tone and atmosphere of certain scenes sticks out because of it. There’s also a neat final battle to conclude the build-up between our main heroes and villain, leaving our protagonists to obtain a greater sense of identity as a duo of man and an alien life form.

Also, if you wait for the post-credits scene after the movie, I will say the hype is absolutely worth it. It had me interested to see what happens with Eddie Brock and Venom in the future, but to avoid spoilers, all I’ll say is keep a lookout for yet another upcoming MCU movie.