Today, we take a look at two films that suffered rough sailing from critics, but have found their respective audiences. One is a hit in cinemas - Venom: Let There Be Carnage; while the second found new life as streaming content - The Last Duel. What they have in common is crazy bad hairstyles on name actors.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage (in cinemas, Dec. 8) - Panned by critics, the first Venom proved to surprise all pundits, ending up a smash box-office success globally. So in true Hollywood fashion, Sony Columbia had to come up with a sequel - one that opened in the USA a few months ago, and has been duplicating the first film’s success in every market it has been released, despite all the negative press. To be fair, the reviews have actually been kinder for this sequel, with directing by Andy Serkis, a much shorter running time (a little over 90 minutes), and far less explaining going on. It seems like the producers and Tom Hardy (who again plays Eddie Brock) realized that the goofier and sillier the film could be, the more we pepper the film with action sequences, and introduce a new symbiote - Carnage; the audience would come in droves.
There’s an inane prologue that introduces us to crazed criminal Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson, with an extremely silly hairpiece), and establishes his relationship with the mutant banshee Shriek/Frances (Naomie Harris). Girlfriend Anne (Michelle Williams) is even back, though underused. There are enough plot twists, like Venom separating from host Eddie, to keep things humming - if you’re actually following the plot. The mayhem instigated by Cletus as host to Carnage is, of course, a running theme of this outing; and with Woody on board as Cletus, one can imagine how crazy this gets. Ultimately, we know where this film is heading (no spoiler here, as you’d have to be brain-dead to not see this coming) - the Venom-Carnage battle. Think of it as this film’s version of Kong vs. Godzilla; and thankfully, we don’t have to sit through two hours of exposition to reach this climax.
The Last Duel (Video On Demand) - Directed by Ridley Scott, this period drama fared miserably when it opened in cinemas, forcing Scott to fume about the digital world, his not taking the rejection lightly. Strangely enough, upon release on the streaming services, the film zoomed up the charts, vindicating Scott somewhat, although we’re still not sure why the turnaround popularity. A medieval drama with a feminist twist, the film boasts of a cast led by Matt Damon, Adam Driver, Jodie Comer, and Ben Affleck. Driver and Comer, we can imagine in a period drama that has to do with 14th century knights; but Damon and Affleck? And wait till you get a load of the hairstyles they’ve affixed to these two stars - I’d declare it unintentional comedy. Damon sports a bad mullet, while Affleck has gone peroxide blonde with a goatee.
Scott has given us Gladiator, so he knows how to give us films about chivalry, honor, and bloody battling. Structurally, after the introduction, the film is divided into three parts - three versions of the same story, depending on who is authoring the version. Premise is two knights who enjoy a strong bond, but the wife of one claims the other knight raped and violated her. From there we go on a journey that includes the notion of a wife/woman as chattel or property, the hurt caused by patronage of and favoring the undeserving, and fickle nature of rulers and the landed. It’s shot in stunning grays, and while there is something here, it’s a far cry from Scott’s better films. House of Gucci this year, is also directed by Ridley Scott; so he’s been a busy director despite the pandemic.