Watched Venom 2 recently with a few fellow Panickers. I went in with high expectations (at the very least it should be better than Eternals) and I was not disappointed. I highly recommend it.
The sequel is bigger and better than the original in many ways, since most of the characters are already established the film does not waste much time on backstory and focuses on the main plot and new villains, namely Carnage and Shriek.
Carnage is an Avengers-level threat in this movie, he dominates every scene he is in once the symbiote shows its claws. I could not help but imagine if the MCU Avengers fought him, most of them would be killed within the first 5 minutes, probably leaving only Thor and the Hulk alive at the end!
I feel this is also the best buddy-cop movie I have seen in a long time. The interactions between Eddie and the Venom symbiote are usually hilarious, I found myself laughing a lot as I watched the film. What Venom says just before the final confrontation with Carnage is especially funny, pay attention and enjoy a good laugh.
It was great seeing a lot of characters from the first movie appear again like Anne (who becomes She-Venom again briefly, sorry for the spoiler) and Mrs Chen the sassy storekeeper. Woody Harrelson is also hamming it up and delivering a great performance as Cletus Kassidy, coming off as both a sympathetic and romantic character as well as a sociopathic homicidal lunatic.
The story is mostly based on the Maximum Carnage comic storyline which I read when I was a kid as well as some elements of recent cartoons featuring the Venom symbiote. The pacing of the movie is good, doesn't drag anywhere. Lastly the action is spectacular, good enough to satisfy even the most jaded Michael Bay fans.
My one complaint is that they recast Shriek as a black woman. Shriek was the whitest white girl I have seen in comics, she actually painted her skin white because she felt she wasn't white enough! Racial recasting isn't even my issue, my problem was the actress looks and acts too much like she did when she was the witch Tia Dalma in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Every time she was on screen, I thought about the Pirates movies...it was a bit distracting.
But that's just a tiny thing, this movie is a must watch just for the incredible after credits scene...which I will not spoil for you. Go see it yourself! It opens up incredible possibilities for Venom's future projects! Go watch it if you haven't seen it yet and we will see you all again for "Spider-Man: No Way Home" which is coming soon!
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