Venom: The Last Dance

October 23rd, 2024

MOVIE: VENOM: THE LAST DANCE

STARRING: TOM HARDY, CHIWETEL EJIOFOR, JUNO TEMPLE, RHYS IFANS

DIRECTED BY: KELLY MARCEL

AMovieGuy.com’s RATING: 1 ½ STARS (Out of 4)

RATED: PG-13

RUN TIME: 109 MINUTES

The Venom trilogy will go down in cinematic history as…something. Sony has tried to milk every penny from their Spider-Man IP, casting Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock, the man with a monster inside him. The results are perplexing. Each film aims to portray Eddie and his gooey alter ego as a comic duo reminiscent of Abbott & Costello. Instead of “who’s on first” gags, we’re treated to head-chomping and ironic dance sequences. While I respect the ambitious attempt to make Venom more of a hero than a villain—crafting a narrative unlike other superhero films—I still find the trilogy to be a splattered mess. Venom: The Last Dance attempts to provide a final stamp on this goofy saga, but only leaves us confused with bad jokes, lackluster CGI, and a mindless plot.

The film opens with Knull (Andy Serkis), ominously seated on a blobby symbiote throne, flanked by insect-like creatures awaiting his command. In an act of pure laziness, Knull dispatches these monsters to Earth to hunt for Eddie (Hardy) and his symbiote. Complicating matters, General Rex Strickland (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and his army are on a mission to capture the last loose symbiote for Dr. Payne (Juno Temple) in her lab of dissection. This prompts Eddie to flee from his hiding place in Mexico, embarking on a chaotic journey that involves walking barefoot, hanging onto airplanes, and riding a Venom horse—all to keep his gooey companion out of the wrong hands.

Strangely, the Venom films have maintained a consistent narrative, centering around Eddie’s struggle with his symbiote. However, issues arise from disjointed editing, a screenplay by Hardy and director Kelly Marcel that neglects character development, and jokes that often fall flat. The absurdity elicits occasional chuckles but leaves viewers bewildered, especially in the third act when an army of Venoms attaches to a group of obscure side characters for a chaotic monster showdown. It’s frustrating that with each installment, Venom has been molded by the studio into a likable hero, despite his origins as a violent and terrifying antagonist to Spider-Man.

Venom: The Last Dance concludes with a sentimental attempt at emotional resonance, asking us to feel something for a series that has always been too bizarre to truly appreciate. The forced humor, reminiscent of Deadpool’s poop jokes, can only be appreciated in small doses. Ultimately, it feels like a failed experiment: a historically evil character thrust into the role of a hero, laden with forced comedic beats and a production plagued from the start. I wanted the Venom series to succeed, but The Last Dance is only the weakest entry.

VENOM: THE LAST DANCE IS PLAYING IN THEATERS FRIDAY OCTOBER 25TH, 2024.

1 ½ STARS

Written by: Leo Brady
leo@amovieguy.com