Venom: The Last Dance Review

As Venom and Eddie lay low in Mexico, they realize that an international call for Eddie’s arrest has been made. Since they are no longer safe south of the border, Venom and Eddie decide to head to New York for a chance to clear Eddie’s name. But in the process of coming out of hiding, they get sloppy and soon find themselves spotted by the U.S. Government.

A special task force led by Rex Strickland is soon hot on their trail. Strickland and his colleague Dr. Payne have been catching all the known alien symbiotes and imprisoning them at Area 51. But as they begin communicating with the aliens, they realize the symbiotes have been fleeing a bigger menace.

Venom: The Last Dance Review

The alien symbiotes have been hiding on Earth after imprisoning Knull, their creator, on another planet. However, Knull has begun to break free and is sending alien monsters all over the galaxy, searching for the one thing that can fully set him free – the Codex.

And it just so happens that Venom is in possession of it. Finding themselves in the crosshairs of both Strickland and Knull, Eddie and Venom must work together to not only stay alive but save the world.

Mrs. Chen (Peggy Lu) is suprised to see Eddie (Tom Hardy)

If you liked the previous two Venom movies, it’s more of the same here. Venom acts like a hyperactive teenager. Eddie stumbles around as Venom’s puppet. The two bicker and repeatedly get into trouble. It’s a comedy bit that worked in the first two films and is continued here.

The world is expanded a little bit by introducing several new symbiotes and Knull, the big baddie of the symbiote world, played by Andy Serkis (director of Venom: Let There Be Carnage). The only problem is there is very little screentime of either of them. There’s only a slight promise of more hinging upon the box office of Venom: The Last Dance.

Chiwetel Ejiofor, Juno Temple and Clark Backo in Venom: The Last Dance.

We do see some more of Venom’s powers as he merges with a horse and other odd animals for a memorable fight scene. The film also addresses the post-credits scene in Spider-Man: No Way Home and the many questions it created.

Like the previous two films, Venom: The Last Dance is a bit of a mess. There are things that work well and things that really don’t work at all combined with a lot of filler.

Venom

The movie hits the ground running by showing Knull, who delivers a lot of exposition in very short order. It’s a lot to take in while people are still looking for their seats in the theater. The audience is also introduced to a hippie family that happens to cross paths with Eddie and Venom repeatedly, a convenient coincidence that’s just a little too convenient.

The casting in the film is strange. Oddly, Rhys Ifans returns to the Spider-Man universe as the hippie dad after playing The Lizard in The Amazing Spider-Man. They either love working with him, or he has blackmail on Sony. Chiwetel Ejiofor also plays Rex Strickland after his memorable role as Baron Mordo in Doctor Strange. He’s great, but wasn’t there someone else to cast?

Rhys Ifans and Tom Hardy

And director Kelly Marcel must really love Ted Lasso as we get both Juno Temple as Dr. Payne and Cristo Fernández as Bartender. Neither really gets to do much in their respective roles, but that’s more of a fault of the script than them.

Even the end credits are odd. While they take an excessively long time to roll to get to the inevitable bonus scene, a country music song is played that seems to have no connection to the film whatsoever. I can only assume it was a Sony artist who they shoehorned in.

Juno Temple and Chiwetel Ejiofor

Venom: The Last Dance ends on an uncertain note where they could end it or continue it, clearly depending on the box office and the willingness of Tom Hardy to return. But it may leave fans a bit unsatisfied as, like with the previous Venom movies, the promise of what’s to come is more interesting than the movie they just saw.

If you saw the previous two Venom movies, then go ahead and check out Venom: The Last Dance on the big screen. You know what’s coming, and you’re willingly subjecting yourself to more of the same. But if you haven’t seen them, you’re not missing much.

Courtesy of Sony Pictures

VENOM: THE LAST DANCE REVIEW RATING: 5.5 OUT OF 10

Sony Pictures will release the film in theaters on Friday, October 25, 2024. It is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, bloody images, and strong language.

Venom: The Last Dance review