-Written by Kyle Bain.
Knull (Andy Serkis), creator of the symbiotes, yearns for the opportunity to escape his prison–and he’s finally found a way out. He now has his eye on Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) and his counterpart Venom (also Hardy), and by stealing the mysterious item known as the Codex he can escape that prison. Venom: The Last Dance is likely just that, Eddie and Venom’s last go around with one another.
The first two installments in the Venom franchise were decent, honestly a bit better than I anticipated–but they weren’t as good as their contemporaries that existed as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The fact of the matter is that when something is released can be of great importance. Trying to compete with the massive success of another superhero universe hindered Venom and Venom: Let There Be Carnage’s success–and for the first time, since the slight slip in success of the MCU, Venom: The Last Dance had a chance to thrive if done correctly. Sadly, I’m not sure that this threequel has enough to consider it a success, or even to consider it effective at all.
Venom: The Last Dance is a freakin’ mess, struggling in more ways that one. First is the comedy, as it just doesn’t work. Writers Kelly Marcel and Hardy appear to simply try too hard, creating comedy that doesn’t land and ultimately comes off as silly. There are some relatively deep moments in Venom: The Last Dance, and one major emotional moment that works in the end (but I’ll get to that later), but most of these moments fall flat as a result of the exaggerated, over-the-top comedy. Silly, childish, unnecessary, and out of place are the best ways to describe the comedy here, and I wish that this duo had dialed it back a bit, leaving more room for hard-hitting emotion, but that just didn’t happen throughout the majority of the film.
Additionally, what could have been one of the coolest, most effective action sequences of this trilogy falls sort of flat for me. The action was cool, and the abundance of symbiotes was intriguing, but I feel that Venom: The Last Dance falls victim to the fact that these characters are so large, and with that it became challenging to capture these magnificent sequences effectively. Seemingly poorly choreographed, and brought to life with a similar lack of gusto, the final act of the film just didn’t work. I wish there was more seen on screen, but things felt jumbled and far-too crowded. Venom: The Last Dance is, again, a mess–and the final action sequence is the epitome of that.
I found so much fault in this film, so many issues that hindered the film, and the convenience of all of the things taking place throughout the course of the film isn’t any different. So many convenient plot devices are placed throughout this film. Random characters appear in the most convenient (unnecessary) places, and the plot is driven forward as a result. I found myself rolling my eyes, annoyed by the instances of convenience strewn throughout Venom: The Last Dance.
There’s a lot of bad here, a lot of issue I took with Venom: The Last Dance, but there is some good that exists as well. The thing that stands out the most is the final scene between Venom and Eddie; a touching tribute to their relationship and their overall arc since Venom. The two characters are enjoyable, and while they do sort of become one, there is enough mutual exclusivity that allows them each to stand on their own after so much time together. Venom: The Last Dance does work to strengthen their bond even further, while pointing out the fact that they two do, in fact, operate separate from one another. The final scene between the two is a culmination of these two characters from over the course of three films. Nearly brought to tears, this is the most connected that I’ve ever felt to this trilogy, to this Spider-Man villains universe. And as the film fades to black with Maroon 5’s “Memories” playing, emotions are brought right to the surface, effectively ending the story between the anti-hero duo (at least for now).
Something else that works for Venom: The Last Dance is Knull–a mysterious character that has little screen time, but enough to make him relevant and somewhat tantalizing. Knull is not a character that I was all familiar with prior to Venom: The Last Dance, and, really, not a lot of information is provided throughout the course of this film. However, Knull exists in a dark place, physically dark–effectively expressing to viewers the power and hate that he possesses, and that somewhere down the line he will likely be a problem. I do wish that Knull had more screentime, however, the minimal screentime and the mystery that surrounds him throughout makes me want more of the character down the line. Again, with Venom: The Last Dance lacking intensity throughout its majority, Knull adds some much-needed dramatic depth.
There are some challenging moments to get through in Venom: The Last Dance, really not able to hold my attention throughout its entirety. It’s likely the worst of the three films, though it does possess stronger emotional moments than either of its predecessors–which honestly will allow it to thrive in the minds of many of its viewers. There’s a lot to dislike about this film, however, there are strong moments, with intriguing characters, that allow the film work from time to time. When all was said and done, however, I still think I needed more from the film. It needs a better story, more effective comedy, better choreography, etc.–and I’m hoping that a future in the MCU will allow for Venom to be fully realized one day. Venom: The Last Dance doesn’t suck, but it misses the mark.
Directed by Kelly Marcel.
Written by Kelly Marcel & Tom Hardy.
Starring Tom Hardy, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Juno Temple, Rhys Ifans, Stephen Graham, Peggy Lu, Clark Backo, Alanna Ubach, Cristo Fernández, etc.
6.5/10 = WATCH IT FOR FREE
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