The symbiote's many powers will be on display in Venom: Let There Be Carnage, and it's going to need them as he battles with Carnage, whose background as a serial killer makes him an even darker figure than his creator. However, Venom will face an arguably nastier opponent this weekend. As fearsome as Cletus Kasady is, movie critics might have even more animosity towards Eddie Brock and his companion. But as hard as they might be on the anti-hero, he might have the exact power he needs to endure it.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage's early reviews doubled its predecessor's Tomatometer score. Unfortunately, that's not saying much. Venom's average rating among critics was 30 percent, which is a lower score than the likes of X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Jonah Hex. The site summarizes the critical consensus for the movie as "like the comics character in all the wrong ways -- chaotic, noisy and in desperate need of a stronger attachment to Spider-Man."

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Venom: Let There Be Carnage

Surprisingly, Let There Be Carnage's early reviews put its Tomatometer score at a more respectable 60 percent. In fact, it currently has more positive reviews than negative ones, with a 59-40 split. The early critical consensus praises the movie for embracing Venom and Eddie Brock's "odd couple chemistry" from the original. And while some of the positive reactions have a backhanded quality to them, they're still a step up.

The margin gets slimmer when reviews are filtered by top critics, though, with the current split seeing 14 fresh reviews to 13 rotten. Let There Be Carnage is currently sporting a decent average, but it's not a great sign that its score lowered as reviews rolled in, especially from larger outlets. While it hasn't been as panned as Venom, it's not an encouraging sign for anyone hoping for a radically different second Venom adventure. However, the creative team behind the sequel probably isn't losing too much sleep over it, and that's not just because Tom Hardy has been here before.

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Carnage in Venom: Let There Be Carnage

As Hardy has acknowledged, Venom was embraced by audiences. At 81 prcent fresh, its audience review score is significantly higher than its critical average. While disparities between critics and audiences are nothing new, even with off-kilter Marvel Comics adaptations, this is still a strikingly significant gap. Venom clearly resonated with audiences in a way that eluded critics, and that carried it to $856 million at the worldwide box office.

The follow-up is expected to open domestically with a $60 million weekend, and while that falls short of Venom's $80 million tally, it's still an impressive number during the pandemic era. And its early audience review score is actually outperforming Venom's average, boasting an 86 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics might be lukewarm about the continued adventures of Eddie Brock and his symbiote, but it's still clicking with advance screening audiences. That means, as impressive as his ability to withstand damage in-universe is, being review-proof might be Venom's greatest superpower.

To see why the character continues to resonate with audiences, Venom: Let There Be Carnage is in theaters now. 

KEEP READING: A Venom: Let There Be Carnage Guide - News, Reviews, Theories And Rumors