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Ah, I am really happy to still be kicking and breathing. As the saying goes, better late than never, and I've been painstakingly waiting a year for this. To deliver me proper Spidey-related screen drugs my system requires and craves. Just a quick reminder; I've thoroughly enjoyed the first Venom flick. For all its serviceable "go from point A to Point B" plotline and the workable antagonist (I still don't find Drake and Riot bad. They're there for a job and did it honorably...), it had the dark humor inherent to the titular protagonist and was not a superhero movie per say. It was a genuine anti-hero flick about 2 self-centered jerks that ended doing the right thing (stopping an alien invasion) for pretty selfish reasons (one for proving he was right all along and the other for staying on a planet where he'd be the cock of the block). Before we start with the main course, allow me to adress 2 elements:

"Grrr, Venom should have been dark, mentally tortured, brooding and totally like Upgrade you guys !"

Fuck that statement in the ass. People wanting a super serious Nolan-y Venom want Venom to be something he's actually not. YES, Venom is a serious threat to Spidey... but you never noticed how he actually behaves and talks in the Michelinie run ?! There has always been genuine and sincere cheese in it. Same thing with the 90's cartoon, Eddie was having the time of his life trolling and stalking Peter. His Lethal Protector days ? Dude has the time of his life gutting criminals, savagely breaking laws and having law forces after him while he had an Adam West Batman self-image. And he was still demented enough to be a threat ! That sweet balance is what makes me LOVE Venom. What happens when you remove said balance ? You get shit like how fucking Quesada, Mackie, Jenkins and Millar mistreated the character and spat on his fans' face. That character mistreatment and abuse right there even made the first movie seem like a foreign concept despite how it actually GOT the character.
By the by, I went and watched Upgrade. I mean, people kept drawing parallels with it and Venom so what the hey, let's see if that comparison is accurate. Not only does it NOT remind of Venom or any of the classic Eddie/symbiote dynamic, it feels like a grim 2000 AD story (think something like Hardware...). It is good...until the ASININE, UNGODLY RETARDED, PANTS-SHITTINGLY STUPID TWIST HAPPENS ! SERIOUFUCKINGSLY ?! THAT WAS THE MASTER PLANNER ALL ALONG ?! Fuck you, movie ! Fuck you for fucking up a good idea so moronically !

" Dat movie will suck cus it's PG-13 you guys !"

It's funny how this statement can be used by people who don't read comics. Or have a very skewed memory of said comics. Yeah, I know the titular antagonist here seems like someone that ONLY works under an R-rating, but publication history might say otherwise. Just keep that little tidbit in mind. My general take, by experience, is that R-rating at this point in our current times means Jack shit. In fact, it can be a favorable asset when it allows the movie to spread its wings and give the full experience as an adaptation or its own thing (the first 2 Blade movies, the Spawn cartoon and Faust are a good example of that). Otherwise, and this case seems to unfortunately happen a lot lately, an R-rating can ENSLAVE a movie and push it into low-hanging fruit territory in order to justify its vaunted edge.
I mean Deadpool ? Yeah, see the gore and revel in dick jokes and "we so meta comics is silly you guys" but never give Wade Wilson the truly mean-spirited, treacherous Bender-like personality that made the Merc With a Mouth a great character before 2008. In fact, the best thing from those movies are Ajax and Cable, and the latter should've been the heroic antagonist...
Hellboy 2019 ? The gore is excessive in places and the vulgar language really hurt it... and I say this as someone who does NOT hate this movie ! It really had potential, but it is clear the R-rating was more of an excuse to make it crass. Which is baffling as the comics go more for the gloom than the gore.
Logan ? Honestly, much as I like Hugh Jackman as an actor, Movie Wolverine is an insufferable twat. The initial trilogy, if it ain't about Mags and Xavier, it's all about him being the jackass we're supposed to root for. And in the dumpster fire that is Origins, while he is almost palatable, when Gambit tries to help him despite the amnesia and tells him "The children are safe",dude does not even try to follow up on that as he is a colossal dumbfuck. And HE IS THE ONE TO SURVIVE ? Oh, he popped his claw ! Berserkah rage ! Fuck that. You know, let's be crazy. If you asked to do Logan as an R-rated movie, I'd probably have him dead and only appear in the reminescences of an adult Jubilee who'd be the one protecting kid X-23 and being on the run from the Reavers and Albert the android. I'd even wager that this similar plot with Jubes would actually work better. Why ? Cus if the protagonist has to bite it, might as well be someone I give a fuck about, not the ones (include Prof X in that statement) I wanted offed and tossed in the garbage 4 flicks ago !
Gunn's Suicide Squad ? Already discussed it and it gets worse anytime I think about it... fuck this movie. I can't think about it again without cringing. We could've had Starro fighting L.E.G.I.O.N as the malevolent badass he is but I suppose being tippy-toing rat chow is the best we can get.

With that out of the way and as a certain red psycho would say "Let's get this party STARTED !"

********************************************************************************************* SPOILERS ********************************************************************************************************

PROS :

+ Tom Hardy's Eddie Brock is mostly lifted from the 90's cartoon this time around and it is glorious ! Dude's still not a hero (nor is he even intended to be), is still self-centered and rather full of himself despite coasting on the successful investigation of his alien roommate. Yes, there is the dispute (I still want a gif from that particular middle finger) and all the hilarity that ensues from it and the reconciliation and the genuinely heartwarming epilogue that results from it. And with the sense of duty and responsibility intrinsic to his character (classic and movie), the dude decides to chill while the Symbiote is living its life outside... that is until he realizes that a certain serial killer has painted a bullseye on his head. Again, they consistently make his primary motive rather selfish.
By the end of the movie, Eddie evolves from his 90's cartoon self to his 90's solo comics iteration as he duly decides to be the Don Quijote to the symbiote's Sancho Pansa and I wouldn't have it otherwise !

+ The Venom symbiote kinda does its own thing as it did in the previous flick. As previously stated, it kind of already has the main Venom personality and it is pretty much the same here. Well, it has certainly grown more restless, more capricious and more eccentric over time ("I can't ! Sonny and Cher are best friends..."), it is hellbent on having its Lethal Protector respected and upheld in the streets dammit ! In all honesty, though ? THIS is the characterization the symbiote should have had in the comics back in the 00's if they really wanted a different spin on it. Not the edgelord/gaslighting/crawling in my skin/DA CANCER horseshit pushed by Mackie, Quesada, Millar, Jenkins and Cates. People say the Venom movies disrespect and ruin the character ? They can eat shit. Because they must have the memory capacity of a cooked shrimp. I, on the other hand, remember how the 00's editorial direction really fucked up the character. Because, for all the good runs Marvel had at the beginning of that decade, others firmly planted the seeds of what would give us the utter final cancer stage that is Civil War; where it seems they got ashamed to be fun and get more "realistic", uselessly cynical and insecure about their world... Venom and Eddie REALLY got the short end of the stick there, with authors doing whatever the fuck they could scramble, and then they unceremoniously separate them, have Eddie slit his wrists and we got Gargan as Jobbernom and the shitstain that is Dark Origins. Anti-Venom was a decent saving throw but it was mostly Lethal Protector with White Mage powers and, again, the basis for it was all wrong.
SO NO, I think Movie Venom's personna is not only cool but something I'd rather have seen in comics about 20 year ago.Better that than never I suppose. And I really like how the symbiote is portrayed: it is colorful, vibrant, dynamic, still very hazardous and most importantly ENTERTAINING ! While I do find the Venom Symbiote's speech at the rave party pretty cute, the funniest part is that it still left a trail of comatose, emptied of nutrients hosts to simply get there. Illustrating that it is still kind of a jerk despite some altruistic streaks and the capacity for empathy... Also, Perfect Lethal Protector theme here www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zl0yXk… . Now if Marvel could pull their thumbs from their butts and give a proper Spidey fighting game, that theme would fit greatly...

+ Why is Annie better handled here than in the comics, I'll never know. In fact, these 2 movies used her far better than how even the Raimi movies did MJ...even the good ones fell short in that regard...

+ Dr Dan is actually damn badass this time around ! I found him to be a nice surprise in the first film but here, dude even gets a shining moment proper !

+ Pat Mulligan is a nice surprise. In fact, I prefer this version to his comics counterpart. Comics Mulligan who was really made during a nap and even the name was hardly the byproduct of well-crafted imagination (right, Peter Milligan ?), felt kinda blah. Hell he got 2 mini-series which, while well-drawn, piss all over Eddie's characterization (yeah, Venom teams-up with Carnage just to take down Toxin? Sure, just pull the other one...) and ends up leading to fuck-all. Comics Mulligan was a footnote in the same way Hybrid was. Who ? EXACTLY !
Stephen Graham's hard-boiled detective though felt more distinctive. His past accident against Frances, his dislike and distrust of Brock (for good fucking reason BTW !)... you know ? I WISH we got more scenes with him and his team of cops. Both in terms of investigation and action.

+ Do you have any idea how long it's been for me to genuinely love a villain leitmotiv in a Comics-based movie ? This Villain theme www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSraxk… is up there with "Waltz To the Death" from Batman 89. Again, great work !

+ Frances "Shriek" Barrison ... HOHOHO, We got another Spidey villain, and a lady to boot ? Why that makes me jubilant ! I really liked her along with her relation to Cletus. Naomie Harris did a great job portraying Shriek as a tragic monster, both with her mental unbalances and absolute cruelty. She's pretty close to Frances' portrayal in the fairly overlooked "Shrieking" arc. I felt bad for her at times and I liked her power. Naomie Harris played her well. I was at first surprised to learn that she'd be included, but now I see her as a VITAL component of the plot, namely , without her Venom would be utterly fucked ! There were only 2 factors that granted Eddie victory and one of them was Frances' super sonic scream (we'll get to the other later).
Granted, they did not give Shriek all of her abilities (otherwise, you'd be back to square one to give Venom a plausible victory), but one could argue the movie did not have the time to properly explore all of them as she mostly lived in incarcerated isolation. In the comics, her sonic powers may lack the raw might of the movie supersonic scream but they are more precise and easier to direct. She's also capable of levitating (see what I mean? If Movie Frances could fly all she'd need to do is more or less snipe Venom and Eddie while Carnage goes farther and BAM, VICTORY !) and possesses the dark empathy trick (During Maximum Carnage, she used this power to make people go ballistic, going for acts of attempted murder, infanticide, vandalism, and general mayhem. Would've been great to see it in the movie... but I suppose they thought it would overcomplicate things so they left it out...).
Now I know you'll ask me; how come I criticized Movie Domino but I am absolutely fine with Movie Shriek despite her lack of make-up ? Simple. While I like Zazie Beetz as an actress, she was not even playing Domino but discount Foxxy Cleopatra. Naomie Harris, while I WOULD have given a more sickly appearance like she had as Tia Dalma and with more visible blood vessels, gave me a Shriek I could totally recognize. Is it me or did she perfect the role of twisted monster's bride with access to her beau's weakness ? Wonder who's next after Davy Jones and Carnage... SPEAKING OF WHICH !

+ The Man of the hour and in Red; Cletus Kasady ! I can say without doubt that Woody Harrelson can totally take his seat along with Dafoe's Norman Osborn and Alfred Molina's Doc Ock performances among my favorite live protrayals of Spidey villains ! Is it how I would have adapted Carnage ? No. Is it a fine portrayal of our fine red-blooded wackjob ? YES, and it is glorious.
The changes they've made are in service to the story and medium (it's a movie after all and all the other villains I've cited went through that adaptational treatment) and I am mostly fine with them. To explain my point, we need to talk comics oncen again...
See, Comics Carnage at his best is the anti-thesis to Adult SPIDER-MAN. He is not supposed to be used often as he is a BOSS type villain (the BOSS villain of Michelinie's run in fact...) and ideally is the polar opposite of Spider-Man. One wants preservation of life, is mature and has loving family, the other relishes termination of life, is immature and desires family. Cletus is also playful to a fault and excessively arrogant, which usually leads to his arrest and failure in his initial run. The best way to describe him would be if Child Play's Chucky was mixed with the xenomorph.
The Carnage symbiote itself, in its classic iteration, is a mere extension of Cletus as it gestated in his blood and simply copied his personality and murderous tendencies (hence why wearing the Carnage symbiote is equivalent to having Kasady is one's head).
As a Venom antagonist though ? It's fun to have them battle but it really happened twice and in rather cartoony fashions. And even then, there is a certain power imbalance.
Granted, Carnage also suffered with the 00's Marvel regime (OK, seriously ? Cletus Kasady, Jean Grey, Wanda Maximoff ... Did Marvel have it in for redheads or the color red in general ?!). Instead of putting a moratorium on Cletus and keep him away so that his return would mean a big fucking deal, that shithead Bendis unceremoniously had the fucking Sentry tear him in half in the Earth's atmosphere (because destroying the Avengers was not enough I guess...). Thankfully, his 2012 return gave us a Carnage doing his own thing on his own corner of the Marvel Universe and a string of fun mini-series, though I stop at Conway/Perkins' maxi-series, it's the perfect end point.
Now, if they used Comics Carnage as he is, it would be like a Wile E Coyote cartoon but with the Road Runner replaced with the Indoraptor ! Venom would go after him, only to get his ass kicked till Carnage decides to off him... which does not really occur since Cletus hardly takes Eddie or Peter seriously.
Onto Movie Cletus now. The man oozes with horror even before he acquires the symbiote's spawn. Woody Harrelson's take has his Kasady mask his savagery with an eerie politeness. I love the mini-cartoon where he reveals his childhood to Eddie through a post-card as well the main difference for this version of Cletus; he has known Frances way back when they were both kids and has fell in love with her ever since. Thankfully, the movie makes no bones about the fact that he's an unrepentant serial killer that disposes of people as if they were flies to swat, so even having a person to love does not diminish his monstrosity one bit. Things are made more personal with Eddie to keep matters focused and have him target Brock for revenge. He also keeps his temper in check a lot better than his comics version, especially when it comes to meeting his end. Though do not think he is harmless without his symbiote as he overpowered Eddie when both aliens were knocked out.
The Carnage Symbiote now, and THIS is what surprised me the most, has its own persona. Carnage is surprisingly TALLER than Venom (Like Don Quixote Doflamingo TALL!), comes off as more stern and lets his blades do the talking (he's a playful chatterbox in the comics) as he set out to be the only cock in the block after offing daddy dearest, and sounds like Diablo of all things !!! For the most part, it is absolutely in-synch with Cletus and they are of one sadistic bloodthirsty mind... except where Shriek's powers are concerned. Once Carnage feels it's 100% done with her, Cletus protests and said dispute prevents it from finishing Frances off. The Carnage Symbiote seems to function like the comics Mask now that I think about it. This does not bother as they try to make him more fitting as a Venom anatgonist.
And this is where we get to the 2nd factor leading to his defeat...COMPLETE ARROGANCE ! This is a trait he totally shares with his comics self; Carnage/Cletus is too drunk on his power and full of himself !
Instead of finishing Eddie and Venom after beating them soundly (did I mention they maintained his SNK-boss syndrome from the comics ? Cus they sure as hell did ! Fucker no-sold Venom's best attacks and still went at it. Even had time for an energy snack !), Carnage decides to twirl his mustache and kill Anne to have Eddie suffer and show Venom how powerless he is. Talk about snatching defeat from the jaws of victory ! A proud tradition of old school villains XD
As for the R-rating, sorry to disappoint you but comics Carnage is no more graphic than a Jurassic Park movie. The gore with him is a really recent trend. You may now tell people to stop cursing at Movie Carnage for the rating. Like it or not it is comic accurate to Michelinie's run and it is the type of violence I wish we'd have if my Spidey ever gets another shot at animation.

+ To think Movie Venom got to do what Comics Venom dreamt of doing since 1994...

CONS :

- Unfortunately, we will not see Venom skateboarding or disguise himself as a nun. That is totally bogus my dude...

- A shame they couldn't do more with the criminals freed by Carnage...

- Timeframe is indeed too short. This movie deserved 20 more minutes, some with Detective Mulligan and most of it with Carnage/Cletus and Shriek GTA-ing through the city ! Let those crazy kids have their fun ! Have Cletus go after twinkies ! Huh... now I can imagine a better version of Zombieland !

- That Post-credit scene can go fuck itself. No, I am not looking forward this confrontation. Give me a Spider-man deserving of those villains and then we'll talk ! Bitch barely survived against the Vulture who was not even interested in fighting him and got pretty much punked by Mysterio. So unless Venom crushes him with an anvil Tex Avery style, I could not care less...

All in all ? I had a blast with this movie ! I thank the actors and Andy Serkis for delivering this movie. It should've been a shorter review, but it ended being a declaration of love.
It is cheesy, SINCERE, not at all ashamed of the comics it took elements from (unlike Shang Chi ... we will talk about THAT !) and did fairly well despite the lore restriction it had to contend with. The Venom duet took the Spidey cojones that the MCU threw away and used them to good effect. Another fine addition to my collection... now to wait for Morbius I will take a look at an alternate version www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIr8kC…
Oh and again, if we ever get married Spidey again, this theme goes perfectly with the DeMatteis/Michelinie era www.youtube.com/watch?v=825_ks…

Description
Ah, I am really happy to still be kicking and breathing. As the saying goes, better late than never, and I've been painstakingly waiting a year for this. To deliver me proper Spidey-related screen drugs my system requires and craves. Just a quick reminder; I've thoroughly enjoyed the first Venom flick. For all its serviceable "go from point A to Point B" plotline and the workable antagonist (I still don't find Drake and Riot bad. They're there for a job and did it honorably...), it had the dark humor inherent to the titular protagonist and was not a superhero movie per say. It was a genuine anti-hero flick about 2 self-centered jerks that ended doing the right thing (stopping an alien invasion) for pretty selfish reasons (one for proving he was right all along and the other for staying on a planet where he'd be the cock of the block). Before we start with the main course, allow me to adress 2 elements:

"Grrr, Venom should have been dark, mentally tortured, brooding and totally like Upgrade you guys !"

Fuck that statement in the ass. People wanting a super serious Nolan-y Venom want Venom to be something he's actually not. YES, Venom is a serious threat to Spidey... but you never noticed how he actually behaves and talks in the Michelinie run ?! There has always been genuine and sincere cheese in it. Same thing with the 90's cartoon, Eddie was having the time of his life trolling and stalking Peter. His Lethal Protector days ? Dude has the time of his life gutting criminals, savagely breaking laws and having law forces after him while he had an Adam West Batman self-image. And he was still demented enough to be a threat ! That sweet balance is what makes me LOVE Venom. What happens when you remove said balance ? You get shit like how fucking Quesada, Mackie, Jenkins and Millar mistreated the character and spat on his fans' face. That character mistreatment and abuse right there even made the first movie seem like a foreign concept despite how it actually GOT the character.
By the by, I went and watched Upgrade. I mean, people kept drawing parallels with it and Venom so what the hey, let's see if that comparison is accurate. Not only does it NOT remind of Venom or any of the classic Eddie/symbiote dynamic, it feels like a grim 2000 AD story (think something like Hardware...). It is good...until the ASININE, UNGODLY RETARDED, PANTS-SHITTINGLY STUPID TWIST HAPPENS ! SERIOUFUCKINGSLY ?! THAT WAS THE MASTER PLANNER ALL ALONG ?! Fuck you, movie ! Fuck you for fucking up a good idea so moronically !

" Dat movie will suck cus it's PG-13 you guys !"

It's funny how this statement can be used by people who don't read comics. Or have a very skewed memory of said comics. Yeah, I know the titular antagonist here seems like someone that ONLY works under an R-rating, but publication history might say otherwise. Just keep that little tidbit in mind. My general take, by experience, is that R-rating at this point in our current times means Jack shit. In fact, it can be a favorable asset when it allows the movie to spread its wings and give the full experience as an adaptation or its own thing (the first 2 Blade movies, the Spawn cartoon and Faust are a good example of that). Otherwise, and this case seems to unfortunately happen a lot lately, an R-rating can ENSLAVE a movie and push it into low-hanging fruit territory in order to justify its vaunted edge.
I mean Deadpool ? Yeah, see the gore and revel in dick jokes and "we so meta comics is silly you guys" but never give Wade Wilson the truly mean-spirited, treacherous Bender-like personality that made the Merc With a Mouth a great character before 2008. In fact, the best thing from those movies are Ajax and Cable, and the latter should've been the heroic antagonist...
Hellboy 2019 ? The gore is excessive in places and the vulgar language really hurt it... and I say this as someone who does NOT hate this movie ! It really had potential, but it is clear the R-rating was more of an excuse to make it crass. Which is baffling as the comics go more for the gloom than the gore.
Logan ? Honestly, much as I like Hugh Jackman as an actor, Movie Wolverine is an insufferable twat. The initial trilogy, if it ain't about Mags and Xavier, it's all about him being the jackass we're supposed to root for. And in the dumpster fire that is Origins, while he is almost palatable, when Gambit tries to help him despite the amnesia and tells him "The children are safe",dude does not even try to follow up on that as he is a colossal dumbfuck. And HE IS THE ONE TO SURVIVE ? Oh, he popped his claw ! Berserkah rage ! Fuck that. You know, let's be crazy. If you asked to do Logan as an R-rated movie, I'd probably have him dead and only appear in the reminescences of an adult Jubilee who'd be the one protecting kid X-23 and being on the run from the Reavers and Albert the android. I'd even wager that this similar plot with Jubes would actually work better. Why ? Cus if the protagonist has to bite it, might as well be someone I give a fuck about, not the ones (include Prof X in that statement) I wanted offed and tossed in the garbage 4 flicks ago !
Gunn's Suicide Squad ? Already discussed it and it gets worse anytime I think about it... fuck this movie. I can't think about it again without cringing. We could've had Starro fighting L.E.G.I.O.N as the malevolent badass he is but I suppose being tippy-toing rat chow is the best we can get.

With that out of the way and as a certain red psycho would say "Let's get this party STARTED !"

********************************************************************************************* SPOILERS ********************************************************************************************************

PROS :

+ Tom Hardy's Eddie Brock is mostly lifted from the 90's cartoon this time around and it is glorious ! Dude's still not a hero (nor is he even intended to be), is still self-centered and rather full of himself despite coasting on the successful investigation of his alien roommate. Yes, there is the dispute (I still want a gif from that particular middle finger) and all the hilarity that ensues from it and the reconciliation and the genuinely heartwarming epilogue that results from it. And with the sense of duty and responsibility intrinsic to his character (classic and movie), the dude decides to chill while the Symbiote is living its life outside... that is until he realizes that a certain serial killer has painted a bullseye on his head. Again, they consistently make his primary motive rather selfish.
By the end of the movie, Eddie evolves from his 90's cartoon self to his 90's solo comics iteration as he duly decides to be the Don Quijote to the symbiote's Sancho Pansa and I wouldn't have it otherwise !

+ The Venom symbiote kinda does its own thing as it did in the previous flick. As previously stated, it kind of already has the main Venom personality and it is pretty much the same here. Well, it has certainly grown more restless, more capricious and more eccentric over time ("I can't ! Sonny and Cher are best friends..."), it is hellbent on having its Lethal Protector respected and upheld in the streets dammit ! In all honesty, though ? THIS is the characterization the symbiote should have had in the comics back in the 00's if they really wanted a different spin on it. Not the edgelord/gaslighting/crawling in my skin/DA CANCER horseshit pushed by Mackie, Quesada, Millar, Jenkins and Cates. People say the Venom movies disrespect and ruin the character ? They can eat shit. Because they must have the memory capacity of a cooked shrimp. I, on the other hand, remember how the 00's editorial direction really fucked up the character. Because, for all the good runs Marvel had at the beginning of that decade, others firmly planted the seeds of what would give us the utter final cancer stage that is Civil War; where it seems they got ashamed to be fun and get more "realistic", uselessly cynical and insecure about their world... Venom and Eddie REALLY got the short end of the stick there, with authors doing whatever the fuck they could scramble, and then they unceremoniously separate them, have Eddie slit his wrists and we got Gargan as Jobbernom and the shitstain that is Dark Origins. Anti-Venom was a decent saving throw but it was mostly Lethal Protector with White Mage powers and, again, the basis for it was all wrong.
SO NO, I think Movie Venom's personna is not only cool but something I'd rather have seen in comics about 20 year ago.Better that than never I suppose. And I really like how the symbiote is portrayed: it is colorful, vibrant, dynamic, still very hazardous and most importantly ENTERTAINING ! While I do find the Venom Symbiote's speech at the rave party pretty cute, the funniest part is that it still left a trail of comatose, emptied of nutrients hosts to simply get there. Illustrating that it is still kind of a jerk despite some altruistic streaks and the capacity for empathy... Also, Perfect Lethal Protector theme here www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zl0yXk… . Now if Marvel could pull their thumbs from their butts and give a proper Spidey fighting game, that theme would fit greatly...

+ Why is Annie better handled here than in the comics, I'll never know. In fact, these 2 movies used her far better than how even the Raimi movies did MJ...even the good ones fell short in that regard...

+ Dr Dan is actually damn badass this time around ! I found him to be a nice surprise in the first film but here, dude even gets a shining moment proper !

+ Pat Mulligan is a nice surprise. In fact, I prefer this version to his comics counterpart. Comics Mulligan who was really made during a nap and even the name was hardly the byproduct of well-crafted imagination (right, Peter Milligan ?), felt kinda blah. Hell he got 2 mini-series which, while well-drawn, piss all over Eddie's characterization (yeah, Venom teams-up with Carnage just to take down Toxin? Sure, just pull the other one...) and ends up leading to fuck-all. Comics Mulligan was a footnote in the same way Hybrid was. Who ? EXACTLY !
Stephen Graham's hard-boiled detective though felt more distinctive. His past accident against Frances, his dislike and distrust of Brock (for good fucking reason BTW !)... you know ? I WISH we got more scenes with him and his team of cops. Both in terms of investigation and action.

+ Do you have any idea how long it's been for me to genuinely love a villain leitmotiv in a Comics-based movie ? This Villain theme www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSraxk… is up there with "Waltz To the Death" from Batman 89. Again, great work !

+ Frances "Shriek" Barrison ... HOHOHO, We got another Spidey villain, and a lady to boot ? Why that makes me jubilant ! I really liked her along with her relation to Cletus. Naomie Harris did a great job portraying Shriek as a tragic monster, both with her mental unbalances and absolute cruelty. She's pretty close to Frances' portrayal in the fairly overlooked "Shrieking" arc. I felt bad for her at times and I liked her power. Naomie Harris played her well. I was at first surprised to learn that she'd be included, but now I see her as a VITAL component of the plot, namely , without her Venom would be utterly fucked ! There were only 2 factors that granted Eddie victory and one of them was Frances' super sonic scream (we'll get to the other later).
Granted, they did not give Shriek all of her abilities (otherwise, you'd be back to square one to give Venom a plausible victory), but one could argue the movie did not have the time to properly explore all of them as she mostly lived in incarcerated isolation. In the comics, her sonic powers may lack the raw might of the movie supersonic scream but they are more precise and easier to direct. She's also capable of levitating (see what I mean? If Movie Frances could fly all she'd need to do is more or less snipe Venom and Eddie while Carnage goes farther and BAM, VICTORY !) and possesses the dark empathy trick (During Maximum Carnage, she used this power to make people go ballistic, going for acts of attempted murder, infanticide, vandalism, and general mayhem. Would've been great to see it in the movie... but I suppose they thought it would overcomplicate things so they left it out...).
Now I know you'll ask me; how come I criticized Movie Domino but I am absolutely fine with Movie Shriek despite her lack of make-up ? Simple. While I like Zazie Beetz as an actress, she was not even playing Domino but discount Foxxy Cleopatra. Naomie Harris, while I WOULD have given a more sickly appearance like she had as Tia Dalma and with more visible blood vessels, gave me a Shriek I could totally recognize. Is it me or did she perfect the role of twisted monster's bride with access to her beau's weakness ? Wonder who's next after Davy Jones and Carnage... SPEAKING OF WHICH !

+ The Man of the hour and in Red; Cletus Kasady ! I can say without doubt that Woody Harrelson can totally take his seat along with Dafoe's Norman Osborn and Alfred Molina's Doc Ock performances among my favorite live protrayals of Spidey villains ! Is it how I would have adapted Carnage ? No. Is it a fine portrayal of our fine red-blooded wackjob ? YES, and it is glorious.
The changes they've made are in service to the story and medium (it's a movie after all and all the other villains I've cited went through that adaptational treatment) and I am mostly fine with them. To explain my point, we need to talk comics oncen again...
See, Comics Carnage at his best is the anti-thesis to Adult SPIDER-MAN. He is not supposed to be used often as he is a BOSS type villain (the BOSS villain of Michelinie's run in fact...) and ideally is the polar opposite of Spider-Man. One wants preservation of life, is mature and has loving family, the other relishes termination of life, is immature and desires family. Cletus is also playful to a fault and excessively arrogant, which usually leads to his arrest and failure in his initial run. The best way to describe him would be if Child Play's Chucky was mixed with the xenomorph.
The Carnage symbiote itself, in its classic iteration, is a mere extension of Cletus as it gestated in his blood and simply copied his personality and murderous tendencies (hence why wearing the Carnage symbiote is equivalent to having Kasady is one's head).
As a Venom antagonist though ? It's fun to have them battle but it really happened twice and in rather cartoony fashions. And even then, there is a certain power imbalance.
Granted, Carnage also suffered with the 00's Marvel regime (OK, seriously ? Cletus Kasady, Jean Grey, Wanda Maximoff ... Did Marvel have it in for redheads or the color red in general ?!). Instead of putting a moratorium on Cletus and keep him away so that his return would mean a big fucking deal, that shithead Bendis unceremoniously had the fucking Sentry tear him in half in the Earth's atmosphere (because destroying the Avengers was not enough I guess...). Thankfully, his 2012 return gave us a Carnage doing his own thing on his own corner of the Marvel Universe and a string of fun mini-series, though I stop at Conway/Perkins' maxi-series, it's the perfect end point.
Now, if they used Comics Carnage as he is, it would be like a Wile E Coyote cartoon but with the Road Runner replaced with the Indoraptor ! Venom would go after him, only to get his ass kicked till Carnage decides to off him... which does not really occur since Cletus hardly takes Eddie or Peter seriously.
Onto Movie Cletus now. The man oozes with horror even before he acquires the symbiote's spawn. Woody Harrelson's take has his Kasady mask his savagery with an eerie politeness. I love the mini-cartoon where he reveals his childhood to Eddie through a post-card as well the main difference for this version of Cletus; he has known Frances way back when they were both kids and has fell in love with her ever since. Thankfully, the movie makes no bones about the fact that he's an unrepentant serial killer that disposes of people as if they were flies to swat, so even having a person to love does not diminish his monstrosity one bit. Things are made more personal with Eddie to keep matters focused and have him target Brock for revenge. He also keeps his temper in check a lot better than his comics version, especially when it comes to meeting his end. Though do not think he is harmless without his symbiote as he overpowered Eddie when both aliens were knocked out.
The Carnage Symbiote now, and THIS is what surprised me the most, has its own persona. Carnage is surprisingly TALLER than Venom (Like Don Quixote Doflamingo TALL!), comes off as more stern and lets his blades do the talking (he's a playful chatterbox in the comics) as he set out to be the only cock in the block after offing daddy dearest, and sounds like Diablo of all things !!! For the most part, it is absolutely in-synch with Cletus and they are of one sadistic bloodthirsty mind... except where Shriek's powers are concerned. Once Carnage feels it's 100% done with her, Cletus protests and said dispute prevents it from finishing Frances off. The Carnage Symbiote seems to function like the comics Mask now that I think about it. This does not bother as they try to make him more fitting as a Venom anatgonist.
And this is where we get to the 2nd factor leading to his defeat...COMPLETE ARROGANCE ! This is a trait he totally shares with his comics self; Carnage/Cletus is too drunk on his power and full of himself !
Instead of finishing Eddie and Venom after beating them soundly (did I mention they maintained his SNK-boss syndrome from the comics ? Cus they sure as hell did ! Fucker no-sold Venom's best attacks and still went at it. Even had time for an energy snack !), Carnage decides to twirl his mustache and kill Anne to have Eddie suffer and show Venom how powerless he is. Talk about snatching defeat from the jaws of victory ! A proud tradition of old school villains XD
As for the R-rating, sorry to disappoint you but comics Carnage is no more graphic than a Jurassic Park movie. The gore with him is a really recent trend. You may now tell people to stop cursing at Movie Carnage for the rating. Like it or not it is comic accurate to Michelinie's run and it is the type of violence I wish we'd have if my Spidey ever gets another shot at animation.

+ To think Movie Venom got to do what Comics Venom dreamt of doing since 1994...

CONS :

- Unfortunately, we will not see Venom skateboarding or disguise himself as a nun. That is totally bogus my dude...

- A shame they couldn't do more with the criminals freed by Carnage...

- Timeframe is indeed too short. This movie deserved 20 more minutes, some with Detective Mulligan and most of it with Carnage/Cletus and Shriek GTA-ing through the city ! Let those crazy kids have their fun ! Have Cletus go after twinkies ! Huh... now I can imagine a better version of Zombieland !

- That Post-credit scene can go fuck itself. No, I am not looking forward this confrontation. Give me a Spider-man deserving of those villains and then we'll talk ! Bitch barely survived against the Vulture who was not even interested in fighting him and got pretty much punked by Mysterio. So unless Venom crushes him with an anvil Tex Avery style, I could not care less...

All in all ? I had a blast with this movie ! I thank the actors and Andy Serkis for delivering this movie. It should've been a shorter review, but it ended being a declaration of love.
It is cheesy, SINCERE, not at all ashamed of the comics it took elements from (unlike Shang Chi ... we will talk about THAT !) and did fairly well despite the lore restriction it had to contend with. The Venom duet took the Spidey cojones that the MCU threw away and used them to good effect. Another fine addition to my collection... now to wait for Morbius I will take a look at an alternate version www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIr8kC…
Oh and again, if we ever get married Spidey again, this theme goes perfectly with the DeMatteis/Michelinie era www.youtube.com/watch?v=825_ks…