Venom: Let There Be Carnage

In the bonus scene at the end of the first Venom movie, fans were teased with the special appearance of Cletus Kasady; a deranged serial killer who would one day fuse with the spawn of the symbiote dwelling in Eddie Brock. The fusion would result in the deadly Carnage, whose red body is 10 times more powerful than that of the black alien being, Venom.

In this sequel from 2021, Venom and Eddie Brock are on the outs. Eddie is tired of being bonded to an alien creature that craves human brains. It hasn't been all bad, as Venom has helped Eddie regain some of the prestige he lost when his life spiraled out of control resulting in losing his investigative reporting job and girlfriend at the same time. Venom is growing bored with a diet of chocolate and raw chicken. But above all else, Venom wants to be appreciated for the ways he's changed Eddie's life for the better, despite a very schizophrenic living arrangement that puts Brock just a bit on edge. It all comes to a head when Venom takes off in search of a new host.

Eddie thinks that his life is finally getting back to normal. Maybe he'll even reconcile with his ex, Anne. However, it seems that Eddie and Venom are destined for each other once again when Kasady escapes from death row, bonded to Venom's DNA as the rampaging Carnage, and threatening to kill Anne unless Venom and Eddie sacrifice themselves to him!

Cletus Kasady/Carnage were the big draws for fans to hit the theaters. I admit, I was thrilled about the prospect when Woody Harrelson popped up on screen in the first film. But really what made this such an entertaining movie was the dialogue between Eddie Brock and Venom. You could have knocked me over with a feather when I learned that Venom was voiced not by Jai Michael White or Khary Payton but Eddie Brock himself, Tom Hardy! When a single actor plays 2 roles on screen at the same time, there's always a time lag that ruins the illusion. Yet, here, they've managed to make it work so seamlessly. And the two characters are written so well. I'd subscribe to a podcast of just Brock and Venom going back and forth at it. They're so hysterical together.

Another plus for the sequel is the director. CGI and blue screen icon Andy Serkis. I for one applaud his efforts. Finally, they're was a comic book movie that didn't use slo-mo during the action scenes. Plus, Serkis really seemed to understand the whole dual nature of both Venom and Carnage with their subsequent hosts. Which makes sense considering the troubled nature of Serkis' most iconic starring roll: Gollum/Smeagol!

Take out the credits, and Venom: Let There Be Carnage is 90 minutes of fun. It's also got a heavy true crime vibe to it as Brock tries to uncover where Cletus Kasady hid the bodies of all his victims during his murder spree. Really, it we could have just had Eddie and Venom kicking the crap out of each other and the crime angle, I would have been just fine with it as the movie. Harrelson's character actually was lessened when he fuses into Carnage. 

That's right: I could have done without the Carnage. I'd be a bigger fan of this movie without Kasady becoming Carnage. Though I doubt very many audiences would have shown up for Venom: Let There Be Cletus. 

There remains 1 more Venom film. I honestly can't believe that Let There Be Carnage came out in 2021. I could have sworn this film was from 2023. I didn't go to a lot of comic book films during the height of COVID and in a way I'm glad. So many haven't been all that great. With ticket prices being so freaking expensive, I'd rather wait a while and see it later on for free. I think I would have hated this movie if I paid $12 to see it in the theater. Besides, I obviously didn't wait that long to see it, since I thought it only came out about 18 months ago.

Worth Consuming!

Rating 8 out of 10 stars.

Deadpool Minibus, Volume 1

This extensive collection of Deadpool miniseries covers the complete gambit of the Merc with a Mouth's 'metaphysical' (or metaphysi-Kill as some fans call it) storyline. Five miniseries make up this massive volume of nearly 500 pages. The best way to describe this book in detail is to break down each miniseries contained within. 

• Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe- In the grand tradition of a Marvel icon murdering everyone in the Marvel Universe, something in Wade Wilson snaps and he goes on the murdering rampage to end of murdering rampages that is until...
• Deadpool Kills Deadpool- It seems that in his quest to destroy all of the characters of the Marvel Universe, Deadpool forgot to kill off all of his alternate universe selves. As two teams merge, it becomes a wisecracking round of the deadliest game meets Highlander, filled with some of the most outrageous incarnations of the hired hand ever devised. Can you say 'Deadpool Panda?'
• Deadpool Killustrated- Though Deadpool has killed off the Marvel Universe as well as the infinite incarnations of himself, Wade learns that unless his kills the tropes that inspired the Marvel Universe, it will never be destroyed. Thus, Deadpool will wipe out all of your favorite classic characters from Tom Sawyer to Dracula. No book too popular is unsafe from this raving lunatic!
• Deadpool Vs. Carnage- Somehow the Marvel Universe survived Deadpool's onslaught and all is right with the multiverse. That is until Deadpool starts to get this weird itch in the deepest darkest recesses of his brain. See, it turns out there's another who wants to see the wanton destruction of everything- one Cletus Kasady... AKA Carnage and this guy's insanity just may give Deadpool a run for his money.
• Night of the Living Deadpool- The final events of Deadpool's battle with Carnage has sent him to an alternate timeline in which zombies have taken over the world. This universe's only hope is... Aunt May Parker??? If you thought you had seen everything the Marvel Zombies storyline could offer- think again! This mash-up of The Walking Dead, A Boy and his Dog, and Multiplicity will leave you laughing you @$$ off while checking to make sure that bump you heard outside was just the wind.

Cullen Bunn takes on just about everything known to man in this huge tome. Classics, superheroes, zombies, mass murderers- if it happened, it's here. There's a slew of artists on tap such as Sean Parsons and Salva Espin and everyone's work is quite good. But my favorite has to be the stellar Classics Illustrated parody covers of Mike Del Mundo (Deadpool Killustrated) and the zombie film parody covers by Jay Shaw (Night of the Living Deadpool.) 

Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe was perhaps the weakest of all the stories. I felt that it was a little too metaphysical at times and when I read Deadpool, I want to laugh, not have to attend a lecture on philosophy. I was quite surprised at the quality of the Carnage story. I thought that it was just going to be pointless scenes of death and gore- and sometimes it was. But as a whole, it was a very interesting look at a character (Carnage) that I just have never really had any interest in prior. 

With a cover price of $59.99, this book is a little steep. But considering how much purchasing all five miniseries individually in either trade form or individual issues, this price might just be worth it. Or, you can get lucky like I did, find it at a used book store and pay a fraction of the cost.

Tons of Deadpool craziness lurks inside and it's all very much Worth Consuming!

Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe: 7 out of 10 stars.

Deadpool Kills Deadpool: 9 out of 10 stars.

Deadpool Killustrated:  8 out of 10 stars.

Deadpool Vs. Carnage: 9 out of 10 stars.

Night of the Living Deadpool: 9 out of 10 stars.

Overall rating: 8.4 out of 10 stars.