'Let There Be Carnage' is good but an inferior sequel to 'Venom'

With so many superhero films released, it's almost impossible to keep track. It almost feels like "venom" to any non-comic book reader. It's even harder when you have different cinematic universes that seem so similar in style.

However, one superhero film was released in early October that finally answered the question about a sequel to Venom while also dividing critics. That film is Venom: Let There Be Carnage.

It is also worth noting that this Venom sequel got about a 60% on Rotten Tomatoes, which is a big jump from its predecessor, which only received 30%.

However, critics and their consensus on a film are not always right. In fact, in many cases, they can be wrong.

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Let There Be Carnage is a fun, action-packed superhero film, but it remains inferior to the 2018 predecessor in more ways than one.

Warning: This article might contain spoilers.

It misuses Carnage and Cletus Kasady

Woody Harrelson plays Cletus Kasady in this sequel (Image via ComicBook)

Carnage is a villain who has been incredibly hyped to make his cinematic debut. That's why it was imperative that the filmmakers not undercut Carnage or Kasady in the film. However, that's what ended up happening.

In the movie, Kasady is a psychotic serial killer who reporter Eddie Brock reluctantly decides to interview before his execution and briefly attaches himself to a spawn of Venom, eventually becoming Carnage.

However, Brock and Kasady were cellmates in the comics, with the former escaping using his Venom symbiote. The latter was attached to the spawn that made him Carnage, and omitting this plot point undercuts the dynamic between the two characters.

In the comics, they were both portrayed as two evil men with different motivations. Brock's motivation was to get his revenge on Spider-Man for locking him up. Kasady's was to get revenge on the world.

Brock is portrayed as more of a hero in the film, while Kasady remains the psychotic villain, downplaying their commonalities in the comics.

Venom is less threatening

Tom Hardy with his parasite sidekick Venom (Image via Sony/Everett Collection)

In 2018, the original Venom movie showed audiences an alien symbiote that shook up cinemas with a frightening design and an equally petrifying voice. Fans were so happy that they had a Venom that they could be proud of and not Topher Grace in a black, skinny costume.

However, that sense of fright and awe has faded away with the sequel as it seems Venom has become "softer" with age. It's hard to take one of the greatest anti-heroes in comic-book history seriously anymore when you see him making breakfast for his roommate.

The Venom symbiote even adopts chickens and names them Sunny and Cher, and unwittingly attends pride parties while using victims to get hammered.

Part two had lots to live up to

As said before, Carnage was a hot topic to be in a superhero film for a long time, and the fact that they didn't nail him perfectly is something of a let-down.

Luckily for the original film, many people assumed that the villain would be Carnage, which ended up being Riot. This was a shock because it was a villain that not many people were familiar with, unlike Carnage.

Nevertheless, it worked for the filmmakers. Since many people knew little to nothing about Riot before watching the film, the stakes in nailing the origin story for the villain and getting him right were lowered.

It became less disappointing to watch a villain people didn't know running amuck on screen than it was to watch a villain whose origin story we knew well get hampered by alternate writing and a less-than-stellar screen time.