Venom: Let There Be Carnage reviewed by Mark Kermode

[@TAS2020ls]

5:16 In recounting his first ever experience of a 4DX screening, Mark Kermode transcends our realm and becomes a fourth-dimensional being. Free from the shackles of time, Kermode witnesses the dawn of the first day and the midnight of the last. He is no longer bound to mortal rules such as "not being allowed to electrocute the audience at the BFI". He is beyond our comprehension. He is infinite.

[@raisedonpopcornwithgrant9670]

my friend you won the comment section!!! that was awesome!!!

[@PaulMDavidson]

Instead of Mark's potato-quality webcam, we get a view of Shadow Mark intruding from a rainbow-hued alternate reality into our own, complete with out-of-sync audio.

[@sprobablycancr4457]

Ah. So I needn't reset my router then?

[@robpalwrites]

@@eliotmccann2589 This is one of many reasons why I no longer have a TV licence. Value for money is poor.

[@watkinry]

I thought it was Mark and Simon being transferred to the MCU.

[@butMydesign]

There is something wrong with this video toward the end for anyone wondering. It isn't just your device.

[@edwinsiongkowinarto4928]

It's just about all the videos, mate.

[@L_Martin]

5:18 I like this effect, it’s like Mark & Simon are finally merging into one being, host and symbiot

[@butMydesign]

@@19maurice66 Only in spirit.

[@Fed804]

Love that y’all are back in the studio

[@alexf5777]

@@albionpatterns3986 so you wouldn't regard the near weekly radio shows as being 'work' for him because he didn't go into a studio? and that's not counting all the research and viewings of (sometimes awful) films? i have to go to a work place to work but i have no problem with others working from home if they're able because it often doesn't affect the output. it definitely didn't in the case of kermode and mayo

[@theloniousmorphy]

@@albionpatterns3986 😭 hilarious. How do you know how much he makes? It took longer because Simon has an underlying condition. So Mark cares about his colleagues. Not just Simon but everyone that works on the show. So it takes as long as it takes for everyone to feel safe.

[@BHCha-]

@@albionpatterns3986 Not sure if you've been living under a rock but there's a pandemic.

[@annmaria]

@@albionpatterns3986 what a ridiculous comment. It's kind of a thing now.... wfh.

[@theloniousmorphy]

@@darowa44 WTF Are you on about? Seeing as you are taking about planet Earth. The one with the pandemic. You don't think it's right and just to care for your fellow human beings. Especially ones you work with. To care about their well-being. It takes as long as it takes. And finally they are back in studio. But they never missed a week. The show always came out on time.

[@GentleBen_86]

"I had a Riot." Oh I wish that had been an intentional pun.

[@nogenemcguinty]

Haha

[@nickmcdonald4092]

The mental image of Mark in a 4DX screening had me in stitches

[@Ben_Mdws]

There’s a lot to be said for films where its makers realise it can either be an entertaining 90 minutes or an unnecessarily baggy 140.

[@jonlpage]

5:19 is a reminder to anyone who exports video - pause your cloud storage sync while exporting!

[@frankielees8103]

Great to see them back in the same room on camera again

[@gf2915]

"It's only 90 minutes.." A good tagline for the poster. Moving chairs in the cinema, what did Scorsese say about theme parks again?

[@bzenga5981]

what venom 2 benefits from over the mcu movies is that it knows it's stupid and goes full out with it. give tom hardy a thousand venom movies

[@bzenga5981]

@@mugenspiegal7415 he's also correct

[@seanian8986]

The Venom movies are more fun/interesting than the mcu movies because they're not stuck in the mire of brand integrity. Even the Spider-Man tease is Venom licking the screen, which I'm sure gave Kevin Feige a heart attack

[@Flaming_penguin]

@@attackpatterndelta8949 I think the difference is the approach though. Most people who are critical towards marvel don’t care that the movies have similar plot lines... I would actually argue that if you selected any five movies at random there’s a very high chance at least two have identical plots if you distill it to the narrative. The difference is HOW you deliver a story not the story itself necessarily. Scorsese’s movies all have a different focus. The Irishman focuses on Old age and memory, Goodfellas focuses on paranoia, Shutter Island is a great slice of genre film, taxi driver is about isolation, etc. etc. The issue with marvel is that the emphasis isn’t on characters or their motivations for the majority of their films, and there’s little emotional resonance. Ever zoned out during a big marvel battle? You’d think those scenes would be engaging with all those explosions and shouting, but there’s nothing to hold it up. It’s just spectacle, and for that reason it feels hollow and boring 🤷‍♂️

[@motherplayer]

@@Flaming_penguin People do Scorsese's Filmography a big disservice when they keep distilling it to just his crime features. He has a lot of varied projects, and it sucks that people keep pigeonholing him to just his crime films being worth mentioning in the bigger picture.

[@DFTNSHEXGRM]

Calling Venom a “Xeno-thingy-bob” is gold 😂🤣😂

[@eddyama1946]

Scorsese: they're like theme parks Marvel: how dare you sir Venom: hold my chocolate

[@rzaba000]

I'm quite surprised Kermode liked it so much. I enjoyed it too, but I reckon a bit more depth for Cletus, Carnage, their relationship with each other and their respective relationships with Eddie and Venom could have been explored a little bit deeper. There were also some hickups in the third act, I would say. Other than that, prime entertainment. Oh yeah, it's the second Venom movie that failed to deliver the R rating. Come on, man, we need it. Then again, Holland's Spider-Man probably made it impossible, but that's a trade I'm willing to take.

[@mrcraggle]

Ended up seeing it on Saturday night to a sold out show and while I did find it funny and laughed way more than I expected to, there wasn't much more to the film than that for me. The 90 minutes felt very rushed, like scenes were cut or didn't connect very well and the lack of any real violence when you've got 2 creatures that are all about biting people's heads off felt like a missed opportunity.

[@oscarroswall-stanley2235]

Anyone else felt like the film was really weirdly edited, like it was all over the place and jarring. It felt like a film that was 2 and something hours and someone was told to cut it down to an hour and a half, it didn’t feel like they gave you any chance to really absorb any scenes or really enjoy any performances, which there also wasn’t really any depth to any character to facilitate. The action was great, would have been cool to see more venom fights though. And idk just would have liked it to try something new instead of the super generic kidnapped your love one etc and then have a big cgi fight at the end. I didn’t feel bored watching it, but I didn’t really feel anything else either.

[@mehblahmehblah]

I felt the same! Thought it was the film censors here!

[@IAmNMFlores]

PlayStation (of all people) released the Carnage escape scene, and there were definitely times where it felt "choppy", like the Warden suddenly coming out of the execution room, as well as the cut to Carnage beginning to spin, felt like it was missing footage

[@MrPeachie42]

Mark you should definitely do a 4DX review for Dune. Lots of sand in your eyes!

[@AlanHoey86]

I don't like sand. It's coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere.

[@Garrystephens92]

His 4Dx Dune Review: "There's a worm thing with a billion teeth. I nearly died!"

[@moart87]

“Blowie, blowie. Splashy, splasy.” - perfect way to describe some sexytime.

[@footballmadness2531]

I thought it was really good; I think it was short and intense and is gonna be a setup for Venom 3

[@JeffCreates]

I quite liked the first one. It was ok. This was seemed to lurch from about the right tone, to the kind of thing Joel Schumacher would have direct in the 90s. It felt like a backwards step. I’m all for fun, but this was more panto.

[@Wladislav]

Unexpectedly loved the previous Venom. Hardy was brilliant in the dual role. Still liked this, despite the classic problem of the sequel needing to be bigger and louder than the first film.

[@triple_thrice]

as someone who enjoyed Venom, i feel like this new one - despite its missteps - is a step in the right direction i reckon andy will be back for 3, and as mark said, his motion capture experience really helped make the symbiotes more tactile this time around p.s. please do 4dx for west side story

[@mileslaw]

Very surprised to see Reece Shearsmith shows up in the third act.

[@seancorrigan7448]

Tom Hardy is such an icon!

[@DrePants44]

BBC: "is mark talking about electrocuting the audience again? Can we just warp him to the future 20 minutes to when he's making his review again?"

[@MrPeachie42]

Great to see mark back in full costume - what a handsome man!

[@Silverfirefly1]

My 4DX experience was Civil War, right near the start Black Widow is punching some terrorists and my chair started pummeling me in the kidneys. Overall it was OK but the effect can be a bit distracting, I found it harder than usual to remember details about what I'd just seen, watching it normally later I noticed so many other things on the screen.

[@mck-qt7hu]

If you enjoyed Steve Martin and Lily Tomlin, you'll love Venom Says the back of the dvd

[@bkingofbeers]

Agree here, I enjoyed the movie for what it is. I'm a Venom comic book fan and this was enjoyable and better than the first movie for sure. It should have been R rated like Deadpool /Logan with guts and gore to really make it stand apart from the usual superhero movies because Venom and Carnage are violent characters.

[@jimbeeer]

We've booked tickets to see it in 4DX based on this review. Really looking forward!

[@coventryterrier5751]

I really had a fun time with it. It’s good dumb fun which is exactly all it needs to be.

[@himeisfred]

Those 90 minutes felt longer than Dune's 155 mins.

[@rubberface1424]

I really thought Harrelson would say "Merry Christmas" at the end of that sentence!

[@ClubTylerDurden]

Mark Kermode reviews 4DX.

[@frankmerker630]

It’s about time

[@themcmexchange2938]

This film was better than the first , when the film used its survival horror sub genre for carnage it worked , but when it came to the direction of action for carnage I was expecting so much more , especially having someone like Andy serkis on board directing who is such talented artits. That mid credit scene ! ... our screening erupted into cheers and Claps . December here we come !🕷

[@davidjsward]

I vividly remember seeing 'Hacksaw Ridge' in a 4DX screening in Shanghai. It was hilarious.

[@edwardnixon1782]

Sting's bass would *never* feed back! :)

[@estario]

He had a riot. Love the pun

[@frde2190]

This is the most fun I’ve had in the cinema for a long time. Not a perfect movie but a much better film than the first one.

[@TheSt1092]

I agree.

[@gordowg1wg145]

Well, to be fair, the first set the bar pretty low...

[@Mindfuck36]

The first was better imo. The first one is a perfect mess, this one is more of a mess.

[@Debagio]

I pronounce it 'Sony'.

[@antygod]

it's Sony you fool!

[@Debagio]

@@antygod I've been wrong all this time!? Thank you for correcting me.

[@antygod]

@@Debagio you're welcome, let me know if you have any other words you need to learn how to pronounce correctly

[@timyorke4465]

Watched the first one again on Saturday night and this the following day. Thought that the first was better, funnier, more interesting. Harrelson, for me, was wasted, didn’t really do anything, wasn’t chilling or even charismatic 6 out of 10

[@DoktaVenom]

First was poor…this sequel was far worse. If this wasn’t directed by Andy Serkis, who Mark likes personally, he would have ripped it to shreds, which seeems to be a far too common occurence on the show these days.

[@OzStriker26]

This review says a lot about the film he speaks more about 4DX than the actual film 😂

[@IGameChangerI]

I wouldn't let myself be shocked in the theatre unless it is Mark Kermode himself pushing the button

[@CJJC]

Having been downstairs at BBC Broadcasting House and experiencing tube trains rumbling past, I *knew* that was the comparison Mark was about to make.

[@Slaphappy1975]

I enjoyed the first one and judging by the comments, it appears I'll be enjoying this even more.

[@simonwells733]

Why did you opt for the 4DX?

[@euansmith3699]

I find it weird seeing Woody Harrelson with hair. "...90 something minutes long..." that sounds wonderful. 4D: Shaky Bum Vision.

[@robpalwrites]

Great review, but a shame that the picture lost sync with the audio halfway through. Come on BBC, show some professionalism please.

[@AlexHolmes.]

I was so happy to see the boys back in the studio!!

[@nightlordAL]

How am I meant to break all the rules of conduct if my chair is jiggling

[@ZarlokTV]

5:16 we don't know why!

[@Andy15991]

I watched Shang Chi in 4DX and it was amazing

[@chrishiggins7166]

The film is well acted, well characterised, stylish & effective, however the film’s writing, direction, lack of length & emotional depth is questionable, however the film is an improvement over its predecessor. (59%) (3/5 stars) (mixed)

[@anthonyweston630]

If it’s the right movie, 4DX can be brilliant

[@pcoldlight5631]

Nice to see them back in the same room.

[@chriswilkinson7636]

Is it any good without all the gimmicky effects though?

[@philbruce6470]

FEW! I really wanted to see this because I've been waiting since I was a kid to see Carnage in a film but the trailer made it look a bit crap I thought! I'm glad Mark approves!

[@TheMrdominator1997]

Where is the pod

[@conorfurlong]

They should change the name of 4DX to Shaky Chair, Blowy Blowy, Splashy Splashy.

[@mohammedhanif6780]

If anyone else tried to get away with pronouncing Sony as sonny, no.one would be fooled but with Mark it just fits.

[@MitzyAndSadie]

I smiled all the way through this

[@commissionergordan]

This review did not go how I thought it would goo. More 90 min movies please.

[@mattclarke6117]

Let's excuse the jumpy disjointed direction, characters with little agency, who spontaneously break from character for 'comedic' purpose and are really underdeveloped...seriously what was the point of Naomie Harris' character?...then it's a good film - oh and lets not talk about the weird Woody Harrelson ventriloquism moment at the start - because we as movie goers would accept a different actor as a younger Cletus but not with a different voice? I also questioned why a lot of people had an East Coast accent in the movie, but then I realised that this was a Brit ensemble movie (it was a bit like reverse Mary Poppins for us Brits), which normally wouldn't be a bad thing but this time it just felt odd. Don't get me wrong I love Stephen Graham but I question how Toxteth that NY accent was at points. This was my Raimi Spiderman 3 of recent Marvel movies.

[@Thomas15]

I’m amazed Mark didn’t trash 4DX. I saw The Lego Movie 2 in 4DX without understanding what is was!! Never again.

[@darkno6493]

Is Mark feeling okay?

[@natts]

0:28 Lethal injection, not an electric chair. We actually see the poisons going down the tubes leading into his arm.

[@britishagent]

I see where the sound technician from GB News has ended up !

[@Nightowl2512]

Glad we agree i really enjoyed this moive there wer no slow bits. Just a great pace and like he said 90mins long. Id give it 5 outta 5.. pure enjoyment.. hopefully there will be a 3rd 🙏🤞

[@stephengibbons2260]

“I’m a real boy, and you’re an amoeba.” I kept thinking throughout this diabolical buddy comedy sequel, that David Michelinie and Todd McFarlane must have been thinking, “look how they massacred my boy”. Andy Serkis has now directed three movies, and all of them have been horrendous. I was naively confident that #LetThereBeCarnage would be a better film than #Venom (2018), but oh boy was I wrong. Woody Harrelson gets nothing memorable to do with Carnage. Like the film itself, his villain is neither funny or scary.

[@ANGELOFDARKification]

I actually thought this one was a lot better than the first one. But maybe the first one made me go in with lowered expectations. It wasn't overly long, it remained somewhat consistent in tone compared to the first one. The action and direction is a lot better too. In the first movie's final battle, I couldn't even tell who Venom was.

[@Froggyk123]

Totally agree. It butchers the characters. Acting was awful but then again script was awful. Sony has no respect for these characters and serkis just didnt understand either

[@mus247365]

I hated 4DX - saw one of the most recent Star Wars movies in a 4DX screen - my body felt broken afterwards, never ever again….

[@JamJim]

04:30 instant replay 04:30

[@crispylimbs]

Mark reviews the 4DX format…

[@Waltie1972]

I did the 4dx for no time to die. Had to dump the popcorn and the drink 😂

[@BrendaCreates]

"You're not allowed to electrocute the audience" -- "Why?"

[@jocelynturmel3282]

It's just a matter of time.

[@ruairihair]

4dx for Deadpool was excellent

[@ahdvd]

I can’t believe Mark thought this was good and yet said that Eternals was bad. This was awful, all over the place and an absolute waste of a fantastic story with the Carnage character being involved. Eternals had one thing that Mark pointed out with it which is it has too many characters, but it’s much, much, MUCH better a movie than this. It feels like a biased review because of not wanting to offend Andy Serkis.

[@jpaxonreyes]

I finally saw this movie and I liked it better than Eternals too. This was just fun. Eternals may have had a better story, but the pacing and plotting was boring (to me). Let There Be Carnage was just fast and fun and silly.

[@AllInTheGame01]

Tom Hardy's trying hard to make this his Deadpool in terms of being both a hands-on Producer & Writer as well as the Lead Actor, but don't think it's working. Also, doesn't help that his co-writer on this is Kelly Marcel whose last few credits include the first Venom & Fifty Shades of Grey - says it all really! The Saving Mr. Banks screenplay from 8yrs ago is literally the only good one of the 4 or 5 she's written - both her & Hardy shouldn't have been involved with the script - should have brought in a more pedigreed writer. The studio saw that the critically panned first movie still made a ridiculous $856m worldwide, so only changed director primarily cos he was busy shooting Zombieland 2 while keeping one of its 3 writers, and promoting its good lead actor (not known for his writing or movie producing) to Co-Writer & hands-on Producer on the sequel - learned all the wrong lessons possible! Re the post-credit scene, the MCU has creative control over their co-productions with Sony, so that's at least one bright spot!

[@sgtraytango]

As a long-time Venom fan, I really hoped this wouldn't get a sequel because I just couldn't understand why they did what they did to Venom. Instead of being a bloodthirsty alien who's more like a cancer to his host and gets his powers after being attached to Spider-Man briefly, he's this wisecracking, goofy but powerful alien with powers of his own already and saying lines that are just blatantly stupid and terrible rather than menacing. They even had Eddie go from "absolute bastard" to "bumbling moron", too, so why there's a sequel, I don't know. I don't even have faith they'll do Carnage right.

[@AllInTheGame01]

@@sgtraytango $856m is the answer to the question why did we get a sequel?! The second they decided to make the first one a PG-13 movie without Tom Holland's Spider-Man should have let everyone know what to expect. General consensus is that the sequel is better but that's not really saying much! Expectations for the rest of Sony's own Spider-Man live-action universe - Morbius & Kraven (even though I like its director JC Chandor) should be lowered accordingly!

[@kingkeir13]

@@AllInTheGame01 both venom films are 15 rated

[@AllInTheGame01]

@@kingkeir13 Shocked by that given how tame they are! Both are only PG-13 in the US though, but will amend my above post.

[@rakino4418]

50 shades of Grey is pretty bad, but compared to the book its Shakespeare.

[@Ajaac]

What. On. Earth. Mark, please.

[@Thracian117]

Genuinely thought he'd crap all over this, I really did enjoy the film though

[@KamalTiwari82]

The only thing I didn’t enjoy about this movie is that it potrays itself as a kasady love story.

[@firstnamelastname-pb4mz]

i didnt like the movie but i appreciated that it knew what it was and stuck to 90 minutes instead of trying to make it 2 and a half hours like some other super hero movies do

[@renata8979]

I didn't know they still do 4DX, I thought it went out of fashion years ago, coincidentally, the one and only movie I've seen in this way was also Tom Hardy's "Mad Max", but MM is a great movie on it's own merit, it doesn't need any artificial enhancement. However, it just struck me that the only appropriate movie for this would be POTC trilogy, too bad 4DX was not a thing when it was released.

[@TheNinjaMarmot]

I think he liked it. Esp when they were splashing eau de toilet at him

[@farhanmehmood4880]

the thing that is annoying is that they have great actors like Tom Hardy. Woody Harrelson, Naomi Harris and a great passionate director like Andy serkis, BUT they always end up getting bad writers. A big f*ck you sony for not understanding how to get good writers.

[@motherplayer]

Just content with playing it safe and easy. This could have been far funnier and brutal at the same time, but can't have that. I mean I hate to bring these two up again dammit, but "Nobody" shows a bonkers concept with a short running time doesn't have to stifle itself to meet the needs of trying to please everyone and "The Suicide Squad" showed that you also don't have to play it safe and short to be worthwhile (of course, box office is one thing in that films detriment for some folks and naysayers, but for me, that really means jack all for quality in my book.)

[@AllInTheGame01]

Tom Hardy's trying hard to make this his Deadpool in terms of being both a hands-on Producer & Writer as well as the Lead Actor, but looks like it ain't working! Also, doesn't help that his co-writer on this is Kelly Marcel whose last two credits include the first Venom & Fifty Shades of Grey - says it all really! Re the post-credit scene, the MCU has creative control over their co-productions with Sony, so that's at least one bright spot!

[@BBOYMONI]

Great review of 4DX, with a sentence or two about Venom.

[@marstedt]

Audio out of sync

[@whyarewealwaysyelling]

You say symbiote wrong like the movie

[@nemesis908]

Let there be Carnage is an awful film. It was boring, it looked boring, barely anything happened, it was dumb and all of the jokes fell completely flat. The best 10 minutes, at the end, were beat for beat stolen from Spiderman 3.

[@gerrardmyboygerrard3726]

Just got back from watching it, although I thought it was average it was worth it just for the name of the police station!

[@TABSF1]

Electric Chair... 👀 Review? Did he watch it 🤣

[@nedeast6845]

I want my 4dx

[@hilaryc8648]

It was Lethal Injection Mark. Get your death penalties right.

[@Mr.Grimble]

Splashy, splashy

You are not allowed to eletrecute the audience... WHY? ---> it reminds everbody of the death chair, Mr obvious.

[@kennethbosch9]

what's with the data moshing in these uploads recently? this is the second time it's happened, is this a thing now?

[@HistoritorJimaldus]

‘Blowy, blowy, splashy splashy’?? 🤔

[@bertfromseasamestreet]

VENOMMMMM

[@adrianaspalinky1986]

It was a bit worse than "Venom"

[@adrianaspalinky1986]

Pathos could've been better

[@MrTkeddo]

We just need Nicholas Cage in the third movie now.

[@russellb5573]

A roller-coaster I don't want to ride, sadly! The first films script was tosh and I don't think this will be much of an improvement! Sorry Mark/ Andy!

[@jqyhlmnp]

This movie is amazing