Why you need to Pre-order Venom: Let There Be Carnage today!

Marvel and Sony Pictures blew audiences away in 2018 with their big-screen adaptation of one of Spider-Man’s most iconic villains from his impressive rogue’s gallery. The film grossed over $800 million worldwide at the box office so it was only a matter of time before we got a sequel and in 2021, we got exactly that with  ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’. The film sees 3 time Academy Award-nominated actor Woody Harrelson bring the iconic villain Carnage to the big-screen, to face off against our titular anti-hero ‘Venom’. The film this time was directed by motion-capture extraordinaire Andy Serkis (Gollum, Caesar and King Kong). The film is headed to DVD, Blu-Ray, and 4K UHD on February 16th, 2022, so today I am here to tell you why you should pre-order the film to receive a bonus, limited edition art card exclusive to Sanity. So, without further ado here are the five reasons why I think you should pick this film up, and don’t worry, no spoilers ahead.

The performances – The film sees Tom Hardy reprise his role as Eddie Brock and Venom in this sequel. He revolutionized the character in 2018 and now with the sequel ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’, he has put on his writing hat, assisting with penning both the script and story. Tom Hardy also improvises a lot of his dialogue as Eddie, which is neat. Hardy is great as the character, he provides a lot of laughs as the character, with audiences really enjoying this portrayal. He plays both parts well, with the contrast between Venom and Eddie Brock being noticeable on the screen which is a huge testament to his performance. Woody Harrelson is also amazing as Cletus Kasady and Carnage. He is menacing and quite unnerving and terrifying when he is on-screen. Harrelson is clearly having a lot of fun with the character as well, doing a great job of bringing him to life. He is a worthy on-screen counterpart to Tom Hardy’s Venom.

The action – Bringing on director Andy Serkis was a stroke of genius from Sony and producer Amy Pascal. Whilst he is quite inexperienced in the director’s chair, only directing the 2018 film ‘Mowgli’ for Netflix, which is a motion-capture, effects-heavy, and much darker adaptation of the classic ‘Jungle Book’ story, he brings a lot of experience from in front of the camera to the directing role. The action set pieces here are incredible. The effects feel very real and are used appropriately to create some truly exciting set-pieces. The third act sequence in the church ranks among one of my favourite comic book action set-pieces in recent memory. Its visually engaging and visually different from the 2018 fiulm, which went for a much darker colour pallet. I really loved the action set-pieces here and the look of this film and I just know they will look incredible when the film releases on 4K UHD and Blu-Ray.

The Characters – I have touched on the acting prowess of both Hardy and Harrelson, but another strong part of this story is the incredible writing on display here bringing these two iconic villains to the big screen. The characters feel fleshed out and well realised Cletus Kasady is a cold-blooded murderer, and you really feel that on-screen. There is a lot of history with his character and as a huge Spider-Man fan, I was immensely satisfied with how they bought him to the big screen. This is a testament to Harrelson, Andy Serkis behind the camera, and the writing talents of Kelly Marcel and Tom Hardy. Venom as well has a lot of depth. He is a sentient symbiote and you really feel his vulnerability and insecurities. The film spends a lot of time making you care for Venom, so if the franchise ever does collide with the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Spider-Man (played by Tom Holland), it is going to be really hard to hate him because he has been made to be so damn likeable. The characters are easily one of the best aspects of the film.

The visuals – I touched on the action set-pieces, but one of the best parts of this film is easily the stunning visuals. The colours here are gorgeous with the vibrant reds being brought to the screen with Carnage. As mentioned, the last film was very dark not in tone but with the film’s presentation, which was a common complaint among critics and moviegoers alike, and this time around, Andy Serkis has focused on showing these characters with great lighting and letting the special effects work their magic on-screen. The amazing fight sequences between Venom and Carnage are extraordinary and as a Spider-Man fan, it was something I thought that I would never see brought to life on the big screen. The visuals make this a must-have on physical media and you can remember that by receiving the limited-edition art card for pre-ordering the film!

The Sound – The sound of this film is incredible. Both the diegetic and non-diegetic elements. As sound acts as a weakness for both symbiotes, it is used appropriately to amp up (no pun intended) the stakes and adds an extra layer of depth to the action set pieces when this plot element is used in the film. The sound design of the symbiotes is great too, it is such an iconic sound at this point and something that fans will definitely be happy with. The musical score is also great, with composer Marco Beltrami (World War Z, Knowing, Blade 2 & I, Robot) going quite big with this score. Every musical beat feels epic in scale and adds to the impact of the scene. He does a great job here! Eminem also returns with a new song for the film with ‘Last One Standing’ (featuring Skylar Grey, Polo G & Mozzy) which is a certified tune!  A great song for the film that could see an Oscar nomination come February!

“Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ is a lot of fun and one of the better comic book films of 2021. It is exciting and filled with great visuals. A must-have for movie fans collections. Pre-order Venom: Let There Be Carnage on DVD, Blu-Ray, and 4K UHD today from your local Sanity or from the comfort of your own home online today to receive your exclusive, limited edition art card when the film releases on February 16th, 2022. 

Buy Venom and Venom: Let There Be Carnage on DVD, Blu-ray & 4K UHD here.

Christopher Pattison wrote this blog post for Sanity. See more from Chris here