Venom: The Last Dance Review

The Venom films have never been considered top-tier Marvel films by any standards. Still, it hasn’t stopped fans from enjoying what these movies had to offer with the main attraction being the dynamic between Eddie Brock and Venom. In the third and final installment Venom: The Last Dance, the film embraces the silly parts of these films and the emotional connection with our two main characters led by the entertaining Tom Hardy. After viewing what is possibly the final chapter of this trilogy, it is safe to say that this is by far one of the strongest entries with the symbiote anti-hero. Despite not having much structure when it comes to story, Venom: The Last Dance is deeply committed to delivering a fun and action-packed finale showcasing why Venom is a great character on screen.

After the events of Let There Be Carnage, the latest movie has Eddie and Venom on the run from the government as they hide out in Mexico. Eddie is wanted for the murder of police officer Patrick Mulligan (Stephen Graham) even though he is being held in a secret government base to study the symbiote within. As this is taking place, there is also a powerful being out in the universe named Knull who is also imprisoned on his planet called Klyntar, the homeworld of the symbiotes. Discovering that Venom and Eddie have perfect symbiosis creating the codex, the cosmic deity sends his alien hunters to capture them to free him from his prison. With both of their worlds hunting for them, Eddie and Venom must rely on each other to stay alive.

Being that this is the directorial debut of Kelly Marcel, who wrote the first two Venom films, she does seem to understand the relationship between Venom and Eddie as the heart of the film. The story was developed alongside Tom Hardy, who also serves as a producer in the film, offering the duo’s most emotional story yet. The screenplay is all over the place as it’s filled with plot holes, underdeveloped characters, and too much exposition to fully grasp what is going on. It does seem like the film is bigger in scope as it goes deep into the symbiote lore, but at the same time, it doesn’t spend enough time to explore that. The film does showcase how much of an understanding these two main characters have with each other as they’ve grown to accept each other as equals.

When it comes to our cast in this film, some serve their purpose for the story but not enough is given to allow them time to grow. We do see Juno Temple and Chiwetel Ejiofor working with the government base to contain these alien creatures, but there’s not much we know about them to care about. They’re simply in the story to bring the film together to build up to the huge climax. We get some backstory with Temple’s scientist character, but it doesn’t go beyond that to invest time with her. Even having Rhys Ifans in the film playing a hippie out with his family didn’t serve any purpose until the very end to give Venom and Eddie an emotional arc during their road trip, which is one of the film’s key strengths.

Venom: The Last Dance is very emotionally invested with the relationship between a human and an alien like the last two films. While not all the humor lands well with Venom and Eddie, their bond is what makes these movies fun to watch. Tom Hardy does a great job playing two different versions of himself on screen. When you see how many heroic deeds these two pull off, it’s good to see that some of these silly moments aren’t what brings the movie down but are filled with humor and heart. Hardy is fully committed to this performance and it pays off, feeling more relaxed in this dual role of the straight man and the adrenaline-addicted alien he’s attached to.

The film looks bigger in scope than the last two installments, making this the most visually stunning one to date. Being that this is more of a road trip film, Venom: The Last Dance showcases some amazing shots of San Francisco and Las Vegas. Even the opening with Knull feels like something straight out of a video game. The final battle sequence with all the symbiotes shows a lot of variety on screen as they fight against the Xenophage, these alien-looking creatures that look deadly at first glance. It is fun to see Venom also taking different forms with other animals, like the horse he inhabits to help Eddie escape the authorities.

At the end of the day, Venom: The Last Dance is truly a movie made for the fans who enjoyed what the trilogy had to offer. The story has its flaws, but the film knows that and embraces the silliness that comes with this franchise. Tom Hardy makes the movie enjoyable thanks to the double-duty performance he pulls. It is by no means a perfect comic book film, but The Last Dance has allowed itself to finally understand what kind of feature it wants to be. It is a worthy send-off that never loses focus on what truly matters, which is the emotional journey of Eddie and Venom as it comes to a close.

Venom: The Last Dance is now out in theaters everywhere.

–

All Ages of Geek is a fully independent media platform, brought to life and sustained by the dedication of two sisters and the generous support of our community through donations. We’re passionate about creating content that resonates with our audience, and we’re excited to share our latest project with you—an upcoming game developed with our unique vision and creativity. Explore our other content and see how you can support our journey. Your engagement and contributions make a significant difference. Thank you for being part of our story.