“Venom: Let There Be Carnage” is that rare combination of a funny and violent, action-filled movie. The sequel to 2018’s “Venom” brings back the familiar characters while adding new villains and a twist to create another symbiote. The result is a wonderful comic-book movie.

Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy), impulsive journalist, has a job again. He shares his apartment with 2 chickens and his symbiote, Venom (Hardy’s voice). They squabble often. Venom wants to eat real humans, which grosses Eddie out. Venom needs phenethylamine, found in chocolate and brains, to survive. He often has to eat live chickens to get his fix, but he will not eat the ones in the apartment.

Anne Weying (Michelle Williams), Eddie’s ex-fiancee, calls to arrange a meeting in a restaurant. There she reveals to him that she is now engaged to Doctor Dan (Reid Scott). Venom is not pleased as he has a crush on Anne.

In a flashback at a reformatory, we see a young Cletus Kasady talking through a wall to his friend, Frances Barrison, who is going to be taken away to a more secure facility. She has the power to emit a piercing shriek to protect herself. As she is loaded into the van with police, she screams and ends up falling out of the van.

Back in the present, Detective Mulligan (Stephen Graham) leads Eddie into a prison to talk to a now adult Cletus (Woody Harrelson), a serial killer. While Cletus asks Eddie to print a short poem, Venom memorizes various scrawls on the cell walls.

When Eddie gets home, he and mostly Venom decipher the coded drawings and figure out where the bodies of Cletus’s victims are buried. The governor decides to remove the moratorium on execution so that Cletus can die for his crimes.

Meanwhile, in another facility, we see that Frances (Naomie Harris) has been living for years in a clear protected cell where her noise cannot affect anyone. She sees in a newspaper handed to her that Cletus has been sentenced to death.

In another visit by Eddie to Cletus in his cell, Venom becomes enraged and starts to thrash Cletus himself. Cletus bites down on one of Venom’s tentacles. When Cletus withdraws the liquid from his mouth, he realizes that he did not draw blood from Venom but some other fluid.

Venom and Eddie have a fight that causes Venom to ditch his symbiotic relationship. He goes to find new hosts, and starts to live it up at a masquerade party.

As Cletus is being executed by lethal injection, the introduction of the panoply of drugs to achieve that end causes him to writhe and experience strange physical reactions. Soon he is in a symbiotic relationship with Carnage, a bright red creature. Cletus/Carnage escape the prison.

Soon Cletus arrives at the facility where Frances is being held. With the help of Carnage, he liberates her and they go on a wild spree. Soon a plot emerges: Cletus wants revenge on Eddie; Frances wants revenge on Mulligan, who as a younger man shot her as she fell out of the van; and Carnage wants to take on his “dad,” Venom. Will they kill their enemies? Will Eddie and Venom patch up their relationship?

Let me be clear that I have not experienced the Venom character in any other medium. So my comments are based solely on the two movies from Sony.

The number one appeal of this film is the repartee between Eddie and Venom. I could watch a whole movie containing nothing but their daily dialogue. Their interactions remind me of two BFF’s or a long-married couple.

Of course the irony is that they are very much alike. Eddie and Venom are both impulsive to the point of recklessness. Each can be stubborn. When the disagreement happens that causes their split, it is very believable.

The movie does a wonderful job balancing its light-hearted moments with the serious ones. In some ways, it seems a natural way to ease the tension of the story. Eddie has his mundane ups and downs of daily living which make him a relatable and likeable Everyman.

The production design on this film is first-rate, even at portraying the lived-in clutter of Eddie’s apartment. The scene at the cathedral where the wedding of Cletus and Frances is taking place is beautifully filmed in fiery hues. The lab where Frances is taken and the prison environment have a wonderful comic-book look to them.

The action scenes are violent in a big way. This is not a noir picture where individuals shoot other people. These are scenes of massive destruction on a large scale. But its tone is tempered by the unlikelihood of this happening in real life. It can be taken in without feeling personally threatening.

The casting is superb. Tom Hardy is the perfect choice as Eddie Brock. His American accent is spot-on. He is able to convey the full range of emotions, whether it is being funny, frustrated, angry or heart-broken. Again, his repartee with Venom is just brilliant writing.

Michelle Williams is great in what amounts to a small role. Her acting is effortless as always. She is there for Eddie and Venom when they need help. Although she cannot be with Eddie due to a trust issue from the first film, she portrays a strong character who is able to set boundaries when she needs to do so.

You could not have chosen two better actors to portray villains than Woody Harrelson as Cletus and Naomie Harris as Frances. In some ways, Woody’s portrayal harkens back to Oliver Stone’s “Natural Born Killers.” He is so versatile and chameleon-like in his acting roles. Here he shows a character who has his own internal logic, however distorted, and acts upon it. “Eerie” is the word to describe his performance.

Naomie Harris is able to chew some scenery with her role. She expertly conveys menace while also having a soft spot for Cletus. Her facial expressions are perfect for her character.

This film is just an enjoyable good time at the movies with a bucket of popcorn. It is true to its comic-book feel and look. I would not recommend this for young children or tweens, but it should be fine for teens.

Four out of 5 stars

Cast: Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Naomie Harris, Reid Scott, Stephen Graham and Woody Harrelson
Directed by: Andy Serkis
Screenplay by: Kelly Marcel
Story by: Tom Hardy & Kelly Marcel

Based on the Marvel Comics