I already reviewed this one.
Went pretty thorough too, analyzing in what ways this might've been better and in what ways it might've been worse than the former, and then I hit the publish button, and then WP spit out a 'you do not have permission to edit this post' error, and there was no way I could get around it, or to retrieve my earlier writing...
When you can refresh a page to re-submit the content of a particular form though - even if you can't hit the back button in browser to go back and actually retrieve said form content - maybe there actually is a way to retrieve said content via the browser cache? If anyone knows a way I'd be very intrigued to know about it!
I don't feel like typing up a long-ass review here again, so in short: I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, but I did also feel like it was somehow a little superficial and simple compared to the first one.
There weren't enough bystanders around for the final fight either, or for any of the fights for that matter.
The cast seemed to be at a bare-minimum for the most part.
Maybe that's due to pandemic restrictions in the real world at the time of filming, but it makes me realize how much you usually rely on larger gatherings of people totally flipping out to convey a sense of true chaos.
Or in this case carnage. All the more relevant for the title.
I loved the performances though. Tom Hardy's great as always, and possibly even more so now than in the previous, with how seemingly all the more conflicted about his involuntary inner inhabitant he his.
The breakfast scene was amazing too. Their fight was good too. The dance club scene was inspiring. Little details like the Asian lady at the shop with venom eyes, or the girl cycling erratically with Venom waving a big F U behind her - things like that really liven it up too.
And of course Tom's constant conflicts and confrontations in the real world as he a bit too audibly confronts the black being in his soul... always fun.
The element of love didn't go the way i thought it would though. Maybe he'll finally find true love in the parallel realm?
But he does have Venom, so maybe it's all good after all.
It's an unconventional love story.
I don't think I even need to say this btw but Woody Harrelson was great. As always. He's a strong villain with unfortunately limited screen time. His girlfriend's great too - even if the scar around her eye clearly looks painted, and even if we know unreasonably little about her backstory compared to Kletus. Like she was never meant for a bigger role.
They make a great duo though. And a tragic one, the way this one goes.
I also really appreciate the eerie sceneries. The asylum, the cathedral - all those things. They're all perfect for this, and for release season.
The filmography's great, and I watched this one on IMAX (last time it was in 3D) so that probably made it even better. The fights do still sometimes rage a bit too fast, and the details of special effects get lost in storms and tornadoes of dust, but overall it works.
Venom's the kind of creature that doesn't fit well in with the real world anyway. His whole being, and texture, everything about him is just... artificial.
I wonder if they could've integrated him into this world in a better way, if he's depicted more like his comic counterpart than is necessary, or if that in a sense might actually make him more timeless.
As special effects that really do look good by today's standards age horribly in time, maybe he'll stand out in a way that's just timeless. His being not a matter of aging gracefully or no but more so standing out so much he doesn't age. The immortal Venom.
Other than that I wonder if I'm maybe tiring of the Marvel movie formula, or if there's just something missing here, because with the latest Marvel movies I'm just not getting the same kick as I used to. It seems to be going downhill since the Endgame.
Maybe that's natural. Maybe there's just no way to trump that. Or maybe I've seen enough of these movies now to tire of the way they do things.
Maybe they've changed, though. I'd like to think the earlier ones really were timeless, and these are just getting worse.
I might've actually written down more now than I did in the initial review. Seems a good time to conclude , and to copy this text before I hit the publish button this time, just in case...
Overall: It's not perfect, it felt rushed, but I did thoroughly enjoy this movie.
When they put out the first Venom they gave out small exclusive comic books after the movie. That was cool too.
No such luck this time.
rated 4/5: fo shizzle