This is a spoiler-free review.

The original 2018 Venom film may not have been a favorite among critics, but it won the hearts of countless fans thanks to the performance of Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock, whose dynamic with the Venom Symbiote injected the film with plenty of fun and charm. However, its newly released sequel Venom: Let There Be Carnage sadly lacks the redeeming qualities of its predecessor, resulting in an unimpressive and often confusing experience.

Let There Be Carnage is directed by Andy Serkis, best known for playing Gollum in Lord of the Rings — as well as Ulysses Klaue in Black Panther. But while Serkis earned plenty of praise for playing a Marvel supervillain on the big screen, his work behind the camera is unlikely to do the same. Despite having the potential to be even more entertaining than the first film, Let There Be Carnage is instead a rushed and disjointed affair, with messy editing and an even messier script.

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Many of the film’s issues are centered around its main villain: Cletus Kasady, aka Carnage. Kasady was first introduced in the post-credits scene of the first Venom, played by Woody Harrelson, who reprises the role here. Carnage has been one of Spider-Man’s most popular villains for decades, making his film debut an exciting prospect for fans. However, the Cletus Kasady portrayed by Harrelson in this film is a far cry from the character that comic readers know and love.

The comic book Carnage is a being of pure evil — a sadistic, larger-than-life serial killer who believes that morality is a lie, murder is an art, and chaos is the true meaning of existence. He’s essentially a slasher villain who’s escaped into the superhero genre, gleefully killing innocent people simply because he can. He’s hardly the most nuanced or sympathetic villain, but his simplicity is part of his appeal.

Harrelson’s take on Cletus seems to be headed in a comic-accurate direction at first, right down to the details of his backstory. But rather than the bloodthirsty chaos-worship of his comic counterpart, the film’s Cletus claims to be motivated by a desire for family — his main goal is to be reunited with his lover Frances Barrison, aka Shriek (played by Naomie Harris of Skyfall and Pirates of the Caribbean fame), so they can exact their vengeance on everyone who’s wronged them. However, Cletus’ motives for targeting Eddie Brock are flimsy at best, and the film’s attempts to humanize him fall flat. Even Harrelson’s performance is strangely underplayed, neither subtle enough to be truly menacing nor charismatic enough to be entertaining.

Meanwhile, Shriek is little more than an afterthought in the story, acting more as a walking plot device than an actual character. And finally, rounding out the film’s villain roster is the Carnage Symbiote itself. While Carnage is usually depicted in the comics as being fully subservient to Cletus and potentially lacking a will of its own, the film’s Carnage is a separate character with its own goals — goals that are never actually revealed to the audience, making Carnage’s hatred for Venom come off as completely arbitrary. It doesn’t help that Carnage’s powers are never properly explained, making him seem to gain new abilities at random when the plot requires it. Despite all the screen time they receive, none of the film’s villains are fleshed out enough to feel like memorable, fully realized characters.

Of course, the previous Venom had an equally weak villain in the form of Carlton Drake, aka Riot, but that film at least kept its focus on the relationship between Eddie and the Venom Symbiote — by far the strongest part of the movie. Let There Be Carnage, on the other hand, has much less engaging material for Tom Hardy to work with. In the previous movie, it was fun watching Eddie bicker with Venom as he desperately tried to keep the ravenous and unruly Symbiote under control. It’s a trope as old as storytelling itself, but the “two misfits learn to work together” buddy movie format worked wonders for Venom’s origin story. But in the sequel, there’s not much for Venom to do besides fight Carnage — and with both protagonists lacking any meaningful connection to the villains, there’s not much for Eddie and Venom to do for the film’s first two acts besides waste time. There’s a token attempt to give them another arc, but it’s little more than a rehash of the first movie’s character development.

Michelle Williams returns as Eddie’s ex-fiancée Ann Weying, who has even less to do in this film than she did in the first, raising the question of why the character was even brought back to begin with. Reid Scott also reprises his role as Ann’s new boyfriend Dan, who sadly lacks the everyman charm he had in the first film. The only other prominent character is Stephen Graham as Detective Patrick Mulligan — better known to comic fans as the alter ego of the Symbiote anti-hero Toxin. But alas, the character fails to leave any kind of lasting impression.

But as disappointing as the film’s characters and story are, its visuals aren’t much better. The movie’s aesthetic is plain and muddy, without much in the way of vibrant colors or stylistic flair. Action scenes are few and far between, and the ones that are given don’t do much to make an impact. The showdown between Venom and Carnage has a few striking shots, but is otherwise lacking in both fight choreography and dramatic weight. Throw in some choppy editing and rushed pacing, and you have the perfect recipe for a mediocre viewing experience.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage is far from the worst superhero movie ever made, but it’s hardly among the best either. If anything, its worst crime is being boring — the first Venom was no masterpiece either, but it was fun enough to find a decent following anyway. This film, by contrast, has nothing to elevate it beyond its status as just another forgettable action movie. But unlike most action movies, Let There Be Carnage is also the film debut of one of Marvel’s most beloved villains, making its flaws all the more disappointing. The only spark of hope to be found in the entire movie comes from the mid-credits scene, which sets up some genuinely exciting new developments for Tom Hardy’s Venom that will hopefully make up for this film’s failings. But as for Sony’s future Spidey-related projects, one can only hope that they make more movies like Into the Spider-Verse and fewer movies like this one.

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