Eddie and Venom, on the run, face pursuit from both worlds. As circumstances tighten, they’re compelled to make a heart-wrenching choice that could mark the end of their symbiotic partnership.
Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) is on the run with the symbiote alien named Venom. Together, they must avoid the other otherworldly aliens and the military trying to capture them.
“Venom” is the first Sony Spider-Man spinoff franchise that does not feature our favorite webhead. There’s now been “Morbius” and “Madame Web,” neither of which garnered critical or box office acclaim. Later this year, “Kraven the Hunter” will be released, and there seems to be little hype around that film. With this being the end of the “Venom” trilogy, I don’t think these live-action Spider-Man villain spin-offs will continue for much longer.
I should disclose that I never saw the second film, “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” but I was able to follow the plot of this third installment well enough. I must also admit that I am feeling superhero fatigue, and “Venom: The Last Dance” is not a film that changed my tune.
I do enjoy Tom Hardy as Eddie and Venom. They are a chaotic duo that provides some levity with the absurd antics of an alien who likes to eat people. However, I have not been a fan of the plot surrounding them for either of the Venom films I’ve seen. However, I do admire the campiness of the “Venom” films, but that isn’t enough to carry a trilogy.
Here, some guy on a different planet sends his army of aliens after Venom and Eddie. Eddie and Venom have a MacGuffin named the Codex inside of them that can only be seen if Venom is entirely transformed. This codex will get this guy out of his intergalactic prison. The military and scientists are also after the duo as they want to study symbiotes more closely.
The supporting players in this film are pretty lifeless. Namely Juno Temple as Dr. Payne and Chiwetel Ejiofor as Colonel Strickland. These are incredibly one-note characters that offer nothing to the film. Rhys Ifans at least plays a colorful character who embarks with his family to see an alien at Area 51, which helps alleviate the dullness of the other humans. The film also opens the door for more symbiote films that I don’t believe anyone would be interested in.
I feel like the studio never knew what to do with the character of Venom. He is supposed to be a villain, but since this franchise is named after him and Spider-Man never shows up, he becomes a pseudo-hero. Of course, Venom still likes to eat people, though. Honestly, Venom feels like a toddler to me. The more he’s been alive on earth, the more he’s learned right from wrong, but he still likes to throw tantrums when things don’t go his way.
While “Venom: The Last Dance” still has some campiness, this film is very paint-by-numbers. It feels like no one gave it their all; it’s just another movie on the superhero conveyor belt. Tom Hardy is still fun to watch, though.
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