Movie Review: ‘Venom: The Last Dance’
Opening in theaters on October 25 is ‘Venom: The Last Dance,’ directed by Kelly Marcel and starring Tom Hardy, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Juno Temple, Rhys Ifans, Peggy Lu, Clarke Backo and Stephen Graham.
Related Article: ‘Venom 3’ Is ‘Venom: The Last Dance’ and Arrives Earlier Than Thought
Initial thoughts
Let’s be clear about one thing: When we say that ‘Venom: The Last Dance’ is the best of the three movies starring Tom Hardy as the voice of ex-reporter Eddie Brock and the alien symbiote that lives inside him, we’re talking. About a very few times. ‘Venom’ (2018) and ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ (2021) were truly painful to sit through, especially as the latter was an invisible mess. The Last Dance, written and directed by Kelly Marcel (from a story by Marcel and Hardy), is also silly – but it leans toward its ridiculousness from the start, which gives it a big advantage.
While this was never fully visible in the previous two movies, this time it seems like everyone is in on the joke – not just Hardy. With a plot so thin it’s practically transparent, ‘Venom: The Last Dance’ wants you to laugh at it from the start – which makes for a better time and even room for a smidgen of heart here and there.
Story and direction
“Story” is a decidedly loose term here. As explained to us at least twice during the film, the symbiotes (of the species Venom) have imprisoned their creator, a great man named Null, on the planet Klintar as he aims to destroy them as well as the rest. Universe (we’re kind of foggy about why, and what’s new). The only way to free Knull is if he can obtain a “codex” – which looks just like a glowing light – that appears on the symbiotes when they are fully activated within their host. Only Venom has the correct codex, so Null sends an army of strange aliens called Xenophages to find and kill our beloved symbiote and get Thingamazig.
Eddie and Venom, on the lam from the law and the government, are hiding out in Mexico, where we left them at the end of ‘Let There Be Carnage’. After a quick trip to the MCU universe we saw during that film’s post-credits scene (“I’m sick of this multiverse!” Venom echoes countless moviegoers when they return), they’re back in the Sony Spider-Verse when Knoll’s first tracker arrives ( Why they come one or two at a time is a mystery that can never be adequately explained). Xenophase begins chasing our friends, a task made difficult by Venom intentionally left with a voiceover for the first 30 minutes or so of the film.
Meanwhile, a secret government operation located in a facility beneath Area 51 led by Dr. Payne (Juno Temple) and General Strickland (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is tasked with collecting as many symbots as possible. They’ve already got Detective Mulligan (Stephen Graham), who was infected in the previous film, but they also want Venom. Between Strickland and his forces and Null’s Xenophage – who are finally clashing – it’s no wonder Eddie can’t keep a pair of shoes on his feet for more than five minutes.
This description gives the narrative more credit than it deserves. For its first half, ‘The Last Dance’ is a loosely connected string of beats, jokes and ideas, with Eddie and Venom bickering like an older married couple than ever (“I want to see a Broadway show!” symbiote as they visit New York. (discusses their sketchy plan to hide in the city). Their back-and-forth — with Hardy again literally talking to himself in an admittedly impressive comic performance — is as funny as ever, but a little more endearing. As the film starts from a place of absurdity and stays there, the half-formed collection of skits for a plot falls easily this time.
The rest of the film features Eddie/Venom turning a horse into a symbiote, taking a psychedelic trip with a hippie family in a psychedelic Volkswagen van led by one-time ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ super-villain Rhys Ifans. in Vegas which serves no other purpose than to allow Venom to participate in a dance sequence. All of this leads to an extended climax where the plot strands, such as they are, unravel in an orgy of CG mayhem.
Marcel, making his directorial debut after years of toiling as a screenwriter, opens up the action more than in previous films, dropping Eddie in the Southwest and giving us occasional beautiful vistas. But the entire third act takes place in darkness. , the sleek military setting, recalls the small-scale feel of the first two films, and has a solid sense of place during action scenes, with the third act’s predominance of CG-generated monsters turning most climaxes into sludge.
Yes, there’s a bit of heart involved as Eddie and Venom potentially face the end of their marriage – sorry, we mean parasitic relationship – but none of that matters. Whatever entertainment value ‘Venom: The Last Dance’ has, rests on the fact that it revels in its own silliness this time around, and is all the better for it…as far as it goes.
the cast
This is the Tom Hardy show through and through. Juno Temple and Chiwetel Ejiofor are accomplished actors, but their characters rarely evolve beyond “stock scientist” and “stock soldier.” Rhys Ifans’ Martin is the only other character who gets some significant runway, but even his character – with his ever-suffering wife and annoying kids – contributes nothing meaningful to the story.
Hardy, on the other hand, dominates the screen, and while Eddie isn’t the most articulate guy on the planet (although he’s a regular chatty Cathy compared to Hardy’s chattering, motorcycle club leader in ‘The Bikeriders’), he’s clearly just letting rip here and having the time of his life. Whether any of this makes sense without thinking about deductions. His throw-it-all-at-the-wall act across the three ‘Venom’ films might be the strangest sustained performance of any actor’s career.
final thought
As we said at the outset, ‘Venom: The Last Dance’ isn’t a good film – but it’s a slightly more satisfying experience than its predecessors. Maybe it’s the crazy, old-school British comedy feel that Marcel and Hardy somehow filter into their twisted superhero movie, or maybe it’s Eddie’s surprising admission that Venom is “his best friend” but it feels a little too bearable.
Three movies are enough to say. ‘The Last Dance’ brings Eddie and Venom’s journey to a conclusion, though the post-credits scenes definitely leave room for more. But Sony’s universe has long been empty of Spider-Man villain movies without a Spider-Man, and the ‘Venom’ franchise should be out now which will probably hit it for the highest note. Let it really be the last dance.
‘Venom: The Last Dance’ is rated 5.5 out of 10 stars.
“‘Til death they part.”
Showtimes and tickets
Eddie and Venom are on the run. With both of their worlds hunted and the net closed, the pair are forced into a devastating decision that will bring the curtain… Read the plot
What is the plot of ‘Venom: The Last Dance’?
Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) and his alien symbiote Venom are on the run – not just from government authorities and law enforcement, but from Venom’s creator, a powerful entity known as Knull.
Who is in the cast of ‘Venom: The Last Dance’?
- Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock/Venom
- Chiwetel Ejiofor as General Rex Strickland
- Dr. Payne at the Juno Temple
- Rhys Ifans as Martin
- Peggy Lu as Mrs. Chen
- Stephen Graham as Patrick Mulligan/Toxin