VENOM: THE LAST DANCE review by Mark Walters – Tom Hardy is back for one last symbiotic adventure

VENOM: THE LAST DANCE review by Mark Walters – Tom Hardy is back for one last symbiotic adventure

VENOM: THE LAST DANCE is the third part of movie trilogy that began in 2018, based on the Marvel Comics anti-hero character that originated in Spider-Man comic books. Tom Hardy plays the title role of Venom and his human host, Eddie Brock – a reporter who finds himself unexpectedly becoming a “lethal protector” possessed by an alien symbiote in a world filled with villainous people, and sometimes super-powered adversaries.

In the newest outing of the VENOM franchise, we see Eddie Brock struggling to maintain his split personality, and is now because as being targeted by a powerful being called Knull (Andy Serkis), who is the god of a dark void in which the symbiotes turned on him at one point, and now he wants revenge, so he’s sending powerful alien creatures to hunt down the “Codex”, which is contained within Venom/Eddie. This starts an adventure that will take Brock on a whirlwind journey across the globe, also being pursued by a military force that is hoping to harvest various symbiotes that landed on Earth, for unknown use later, although they’re not even really sure how to control them or why they’re here. Eventually, Eddie finds himself meeting up with this task force, and Venom finds himself having to protect Eddie and others from Knull’s attacking creatures, all culminating to a big spectacular finale set in Area 51 in the Nevada desert. Along the way we meet some eclectic new characters played by Rhys Ifans and Alanna Ubach, plus new cast members including Chiwetel Ejiofor and Juno Temple, all mixed up in a somewhat jumbled and oddly-paced script.

While the VENOM movies have not exactly been high art or even what most would call smart superhero fare, they do seem to be somewhat pleasing for the target audience. I enjoyed the first movie for what it was, a sort of big dumb 1990s-style action flick, except the second film (which introduced “Carnage”, made popular in the comic books) was a rather unfortunate mess, and just didn’t seem to deliver much in the way of memorable moments. VENOM: THE LAST DANCE is a bit better than the second sequel, although it still feels like it’s lacking… something. Tom Hardy does his best in the title role, but there are moments in this new film where it feels like he’s holding back, or perhaps the writer/director Kelly Marcel (who also wrote the first two, this third outing is her directorial debut) is holding the character back from what it could be. You can tell they’re trying to make the Eddie and Venom “buddy” dynamic fun and comedic, but at times it just feels like it’s trying too hard and not finding the right rhythm. A lot of the characters that are introduced in the film don’t really seem well-developed, they’re just sort of lingering there and waiting for depth that never comes, with the exception of the hippy family Eddie meets played wonderfully by Rhys Ifans and Alanna Ubach – those characters are actually a lot of fun, and probably some of the best parts of this new movie. You also get to see the return of Mrs. Chen (Peggy Lu) from the first and second, and her one scene adds some much-needed comic relief to the story, and a rather memorable moment for Venom in his pure form.

There’s a big section of the film that kind of drags getting to the big finale, which is indeed spectacular, although like a lot of the other parts of the production feels somewhat chaotic. By the time we get to the big finish, which is filled with action and explosions, it feels like too little too late in a film that is just all over the place. In many ways VENOM: THE LAST DANCE seems like the first draft of a script that never got any further passes… in most cases with Hollywood movies, script go through several drafts before reaching their final version that ends up being filmed, but this movie doesn’t feel like it ever had a second or third or further pass on the script… it’s as if they just filmed whatever the first thing they came up with. All that said, it’s still somewhat entertaining and fun, kind of like the first movie but not as cohesive.

I’m not sure if there’s anywhere else these films can go from here, and it’s been said that Tom Hardy is done playing the role, plus the fact that they are touting this is the final chapter in a trilogy. So if this is to be the ending of this iteration of Venom, I guess you could say it goes out on a semi-satisfactory note. It’s not terrible and it’s certainly not as bad as the last film, but it does feel like it’s missing a little bit of punch, and doesn’t quite stick the landing. The ending is surprisingly emotional and kind of sad, which almost feels out of place for this franchise, but managed to get some of the audience members genuinely choked up. There are two different post-credit stingers, so make sure and stick around until the very end, although I should note that while being a comic book aficionado, even I’m not even really sure what those two scenes were trying to set up for future events. If you enjoyed the first movie, or the first two, chances are you’ll like VENOM: THE LAST DANCE enough to forgive its shortcomings.

VENOM: THE LAST DANCE opens in theaters October 25, 2024

Be Sociable, Share!

About the Author

Born and raised in Dallas, Mark has been a movie critic since 1994, with reviews featured in print, radio and National TV. In 2001 he started the Entertainment section of the Herorealm website, where he contributed film reviews and celebrity interviews until 2004. After three years of service there, he started Bigfanboy.com, which has become one of the Dallas film community's leading information websites. Bigfanboy hosts several movie screenings in the Texas area, and works closely with film and TV studios and promotional partners to host exciting events and contests. The site also features a variety of rare celebrity and filmmaker interviews, and Bigfanboy.com regularly covers the film festival circuit as well. In addition to Hollywood reporting, Mark has worked for many years as an advertising and sci-fi/comic book artist. Clients have included Lucasfilm Ltd., Topps Trading Cards, The Dallas Mavericks and The Dallas Stars. From 2002 until 2015 he managed the Dallas Comic Con, Sci-Fi Expo and Fan Days events in the DFW area. He currently catalogs rare comic books and movie memorabilia for Heritage Auctions, and runs the Dallas Comic Show conventions, but remains an avid moviegoer and cinema buff.