Venom: Let There Be Carnage: What Fans Are Saying About The Tom Hardy Sequel

The superhero genre has been raging with big hits in the past decade, but one of the most offbeat of them all has been 2018’s Venom. The Sony movie introduced a fan-favorite Spider-Man villain without Peter Parker himself. It was a risk, but it proved to pay off when the movie became one of the highest-grossing worldwide hits of the year. Three years later, a sequel has been released, once again starring Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock and his alien symbiote partner-in-crime, and this time Lord of the RingsAndy Serkis was in the director’s chair. Let’s see what fans thought of the sequel. 

Venom: Let There Be Carnage builds upon the shocking post-credit sequence of the original, which had Woody Harrelson taking on Cletus Kasady, also known as Carnage by comic book fans. In the sequel that made a ton of money over its first weekend, Eddie Brock and Venom deal with some growing pains in their relationship as Cletus becomes Carnage and wreaks havoc on the city. 

The first Venom famously was panned by critics and embraced by fans, whereas Let There Be Carnage divided critics and was once again cheered on by audiences overall. You can read CinemaBlend’s review by Eric Eisenberg, who said the movie was “better” than the original film, but “not by much.” Reviews aside, the Venom sequel was given the same CinemaScore as the original film, a B+. So it looks like fans liked Venom just about as much as Let There Be Carnage. That being said, let’s get into the more specific things fans said about the sequel online since its release. 

Venom with mouth wide open in Let There Be Carnage

(Image credit: Sony)

Let There Be Carnage Is A Solid Venom Sequel

In line with what CinemaScore told us, a lot of people really enjoyed the second Venom outing. While the movie is definitely different from other superhero movies, like Black Widow or Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, that very much take their characters more seriously, fans understand and love what Let There Be Carnage is going for. It’s supposed to be kind of wild and offbeat, and that’s why a lot of people embraced it: 

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Unlike many comic book movies, Let There Be Carnage is also a tight 97 minutes, as opposed to the 2018 film being almost two hours, contributing to one fan on Twitter calling it “never ever boring.” He also called it a rom-com, which we’ll get to, but that speaks to Eddie Brock and Venom’s chemistry, along with loving how in line it is with his love for the ‘90s comics. This sounds like a very happy fan. Here’s another positive reaction: 

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The sequel's been named by many as being better than the first one, and people really dug Harrelson as Carnage. Following the first movie, the creative team could really examine the storyline more and improve upon it. When it comes to sequels, that’s rare, but something that the Venom franchise was able to break through and deliver with fans. Additionally, on Letterboxd, one fan that goes by Siegel reviewed it with these words: 

Bonkers hysterical and surprisingly wholesome in equal measure without ever overstepping its boundary of being mindless entertainment. Any hint of hesitation to go full crazy in the first movie is gone now, as Andy Serkis takes the wheel and doubles down hard. The relationship between Eddie and Venom in particular is handled far more confidently, depicting each as fully individual beings connected by choice. Woody Harrelson's gleefully maniacal performance is a highlight, but it's Tom Hardy's one-man show between Eddie and Venom that solidifies the pair among the great buddy-cop comedy duos. There's no better theater experience than laughing together with a crowd, and Venom once again delivers 90 minutes of well-earned cheer.

Let There Be Carnage had a lot of people cheering along for it, but let’s get into some more reasons why that is, with one core aspect being the relationship between Eddie and Venom. 

Venom: Let There Be Carnage Tom Hardy Poster

(Image credit: Sony Pictures)

Fans Are Rooting For Eddie And Venom’s Relationship

Venom: Let There Be Carnage leans a lot more into Eddie and Venom’s relationship, which begins on the rocks when Eddie won’t let his alien symbiote roommate eat people. As the movie progresses, the pair learn that they are a true “match” for one another, and quite literally watch the sunset as the credit card closes. While looking online for reactions, I’ve come to learn that a lot of people really like the idea of Eddie and Venom being an actual odd couple, with one fan sharing this reaction: 

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There’s also a large segment of Venom audiences who are calling Let There Be Carnage not only a love story, but an interesting bit of queer representation as well. Andy Serkis himself called Eddie and Venom’s pairing a “love affair” and spoke of wanting the alien’s scene in the nightclub to be an LGBTQ+ atmosphere. As another fan reacted: 

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In the movie, Venom says he’s “coming out of the Eddie closet” in the scene and gives an empowering speech about accepting who he is. It really connected with people from the queer community and they’re even making art about it. Here’s a more tame side of the “Symbrock” fandom: 

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Venom: Let There Be Carnage not only pleased the comic book fans, but it also delivered big after the main story was over. Let’s end things by going over post-credit scene reactions. 

Woody Harrelson as Cletus Kasady in Venom: Let There Be Carnage

(Image credit: Sony)

The Post-Credit Scene Blew The Fandom’s Mind 

Just in case you’ve yet to see Venom: Let There Be Carnage, we’ll spare the actual details of the post-credit sequence, but fans have been taking to Twitter since the movie’s release to share their reactions to the post-credit sequence and a lot of them are super impressed with what is means for the future of the Venom franchise. As one fan shared: 

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Some people don’t necessarily care about Venom, but went to see the movie to see the post-credit sequence for themselves, because it makes for an awesome experience in a theater. It’s safe to say Eddie Brock and Venom will not be the same following what happens after the title card hits: 

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For a breakdown of the sequence in question, head to our explanation of what happened and what theories we have about it as well. We’ll end with this perfect reaction of the scene:  

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Venom: Let There Be Carnage is definitely a wildcard of a movie you’ll have to experience yourself, but overall, a lot of fans really enjoyed the sequel. We’ll keep you updated here on CinemaBlend with more fan reactions to big movies every week. 

Sarah El-Mahmoud
Staff Writer

Sarah El-Mahmoud has been with CinemaBlend since 2018 after graduating from Cal State Fullerton with a degree in Journalism. In college, she was the Managing Editor of the award-winning college paper, The Daily Titan, where she specialized in writing/editing long-form features, profiles and arts & entertainment coverage, including her first run-in with movie reporting, with a phone interview with Guillermo del Toro for Best Picture winner, The Shape of Water. Now she's into covering YA television and movies, and plenty of horror. Word webslinger. All her writing should be read in Sarah Connor’s Terminator 2 voice over.