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  Kasady/Carnage vs. Brock/Venom: a comic book matchup for the ages... or so we'd hoped, up until we actually saw the film. [credit: Sony ]

My favorite parts of underwhelming films come when on-screen characters say the insulting things we, the audience, are all thinking. Out of all the modern comic book-iverse characters to hand these honors to, none relishes this duty better than Venom in his latest sequel, Let There Be Carnage .

"This guy makes zero sense," the CGI beast, voiced by Tom Hardy, blurts after one puzzling dialogue exchange. He's even harsher to his real-life co-star Woody Harrelson in a climactic kiss-off, exclaiming "Fuck this guy!" after an utterly tone-deaf confession.

That's mostly what Venom: Let There Be Carnage has going for it: a willingness to let Hardy off his leash and channel his id. Whether he's going for violence or compassion in his beast form, it's hilarious stuff. But the fun only reigns for about 30 minutes before the production loses momentum, all while failing to make up its mind on whether to deliver an overwrought plot or throw logic out the window.