The first reviews for the Tom Hardy-fronted Marvel sequel Venom: Let There Be Carnage have come in, and the results are mixed.

• READ MORE: Venom 2: release date, plot details, cast and everything we know so far

The film, which is co-written by Hardy and directed by Andy Serkis, sees Hardy’s antihero and alien symbiote Venom square off against a new villain, Woody Harrelson’s serial killer Cletus Kasady.

In its two-star review, The Guardian labelled the film “an admirably light-hearted but utterly disposable sequel.”

Variety has called the sequel an “incomprehensible follow-up”, and described its tone as “a cross between an ’80s mismatched-buddy movie (where both characters share the same body) and off-the-wall Jim Carrey comedy The Mask.”

IGN hailed the film a success, calling it a “a fun and action-packed sequel that highlights Venom as his own character.”

The review also gives credit to Serkis’ direction. “This really is a bizarre hybrid of monster and murder movie, but Serkis efficiently balances various tones, visual spectacles, and humorous performances to surprisingly make it work,” it says.

Meanwhile, Rolling Stone called the film “another dirtbag delight” and “an actual B-movie, hardly as brainless as it seemed to be but oh-so-very willing and able to seem to be, a piece of throwaway fun that I refuse to throw away.”

“Those who were fans of the antics will find Venom: Let There Be Carnage a very funny ride, with plenty of well-delivered one-liners to cause at least a chuckle, if not a guffaw,” said Digital Spy.

Elsewhere, Eminem‘s new song with Skylar Grey – which also features Polo G and Mozzy – for the Venom 2 soundtrack has been released.

Eminem previously contributed his ‘Kamikaze’ track ‘Venom’ to the 2018 film of the same name.