After the events of the last movie, Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) and Venom (Tom Hardy) are attempting to make a life for themselves.
The pair find themselves in conflict - between Eddie’s moral code, and Venom’s craving for human brains.
This conflict reaches its climax after Eddie downplays Venom’s role in restoring his reputation as a journalist.
Feeling that Eddie does not appreciate what it brings to the relationship, Venom leaves.
Eddie thinks he will be fine - until serial killer Cletus Kassidy (Woody Harrelson) breaks out of prison. Bonded with another symbiote and paired with his lost love Shriek (Naomie Harris), he is gunning for vengeance on Eddie.
Will Eddie and Venom make up before it is too late?
About 30 seconds into this movie I realised I could not remember what happened in the last Venom.
Thankfully, that was not a problem.
If you are going to watch a Venom movie, this is probably the one to start with.
The original is a beautiful accident - a bland superhero tale juiced up by the relationship between its central characters.
To the filmmakers’ credit, they recognise what worked about Venom, and strip the movie down to those ingredients.
We get more focus on the relationship between Eddie and Venom, with the villains (Cletus Kassidy and Frances Barrison) acting in juxtaposition.
There is nothing more to it - there is no big scheme to foil, or extra mythology to build or sequel-teasing (at least that I noticed).
In another plus, the movie is a trim 90 minutes. Movies are so long and bloated nowadays - this movie feels like a smarter play.
Where the original felt like a throwback to shitty blockbusters from 20 years ago, this movie feels like a programmer, a mid-budget genre movie that knows exactly what it is, and does not have airs above its station.
This movie is really efficient - it moves quickly from scene to scene, and the plot is relatively straightforward so you cannot get lost. There are alos no digressions or extra subplots.
This movie is far from perfect - Michelle Williams is still over-qualified for this; the opening flashback features some ridiculous over-dubbed voices; the final battle is a familiar CG-fest - but if something is not working, or corny, it is over quickly.
The centrepiece remains Hardy arguing with himself - his commitment to these roles is so earnest and lacking in vanity that it makes the movie far more enjoyable.
What helps is that the script - based on a story co-written by Hardy and the film’s writer, Kelly Marcel - plays out Eddie and Venom’s relationship like a romcom. It is present in the original, but this time the movie strips out any other elements so that it becomes the focal point.
Hardy/Hardy is such a commanding centre, the couple overshadows Woody Harrelson as the villain.
Harrelson is solid as Cletus, but he is somewhat sidelined. He is at his best when he is playing off of Naomie Harris - they have a childlike infatuation that is weird enough to contrast with Eddie-Venom, except they do not get the same screen time.
While her role is small, Naomie Harris is in the same zone as Hardy. Her body language and vocal choices fit this movie like a glove. While I wanted more of Harrelson and Harris, that would mean making this movie longer.
Maybe they can contrive a way for them to return - or as different characters.
While the third act is the usual drawn-out nonsense, once the day is won, the movie does not stick around.
What a delight to leave a movie and still have time in the day. It is no masterpiece, but Venom 2 has a b-movie zippiness elevates it above the bloated CG dreck of most big budget blockbusters.
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