'Venom: The Last Dance’ Review: SymBrock Face their Curtain Call in Another Typical Sony/Marvel Mess
As much as I hate Sony's pathetic Spider-Man universe, my perspective on the Venom series shifted due to the sincere romantic relationship built between Eddie Brock and Venom. The second installment, Let There Be Carnage, was a refreshing change of pace, making the titular anti-hero practically gay. The MCU couldn’t even get that right until this year's Agatha All Along. And that’s a miniseries! Also, the Venom flicks are just stupid campy fun.
This brings us to Venom: The Last Dance, the devastating finale of the series (wait, you can end a superhero franchise? In this economy?) focusing on the two codependent boyfriends on the run, having to break up. Before the heartbreak, I hoped to have more Let There Be Carnage-styled frivolity and fun. Sadly, In typical Sony/Marvel fashion, I got another horrendous mess. Also in typical Sony/Marvel fashion, I had a blast.
Image copyright (©) Courtesy of SONY
PG13: For intense sequences of violence and action, bloody images and strong language.
Runtime: 1 Hr and 49 Minutes
Production Companies: Marvel Entertainment, Arad Productions, Matt Tolmach Productions, Pascal Pictures, TSG Entertainment, Hutch Parker Entertainment, Hardy Son & Baker
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Director: Kelly Marcel
Writer: Kelly Marcel
Cast: Tom Hardy, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Juno Temple, Rhys Ifans, Stephen Graham, Peggy Lu, Clark Backo, Alanna Ubach, Andy Serkis
Release Date: October 25, 2024
Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) and Venom (Tom Hardy) are fugitives from the American government. While in Mexico, back in his universe, Eddie gets the idea of resetting life in NYC. But on their way back to 'Merica, the two are attacked by a monstrous spider-lizard creature that Venom recognizes. He informs Eddie that they are being hunted by Knull (Andy Serkis), an all-evil creator of the symbiote whose offspring betrayed him and imprisoned him in some dark terrain. Venom carries a MacGuffin that emits a tracking signal to the creatures whenever Venom takes full form. If obtained by them, it'll have the power to unleash Knull from his prison. Also, military operatives led by Rex Strickland (Chiwetel Ejiofor) are after them. With all these antagonistic forces stacked against them, it might be time for the curtain call for Eddie and Venom's relationship.
SymBrock is still innocent.
Writer/first-time director Kelly Marcel and co-story developer Tom Hardy know that Eddie and Venom’s odd-couple dynamic fuels the Venom series and they deliver on some SymBrock greatness again. Eddie's reluctant straight-man demeanor contrasts with Venom's eagerness to have a fun time, whether it be getting drunk in Mexico to the tune of The Champs' "Tequila" or sharing a dance with Mrs. Chen (Peggy Lu) in Vegas. They’re fresh, hilarious beats that lead to stellar comedy and joyous scenes. They even refer to each other as “Thelma and Louise” at one point. It’s so adorable. You can tell that Hardy and Marcel love these two characters and their relationship, which is still seen through Hardy’s performance.
I would argue The Last Dance refrains from the complete homosexual push of Let There Be Carnage, but then again, Venom, while in horse form during a silly sequence, says “Ride ‘em, cowboy” while Eddie is on top of him. That's the closest we got to seeing them fuck in these movies and probably the gayest thing that happened since, "I am out of the Eddie closet!" Needless to say, I love these boys and everything I have to say against this does not pertain to them. They are innocent.
Who are you people?!
Whenever director/screenwriter Kelly Marcel centralizes the film to the titular lead and Eddie just being boyfriends on the run, we’re in good hands and have a good time. However, The Last Dance's story functions like an improv 101 class because it constantly goes “yes, and…” by adding new irrelevant characters, all of which are dull or unfunny, and equipped with their lame subplot that adds little weight to the overall story.
Much attention goes to Dr. Teddy Paine (Juno Temple) and Sadie Christmas (Clark Backo), scientists working at Area 51, where most of this film takes place, researching Venom's other symbiote brethren. Teddy bears a tragic background involving lightning killing her twin brother but is otherwise a flat character that the movie tries to tee up for spin-off potential. Sadie’s background is a lame joke regarding celebrating Christmas early. It’s obvious they’re tools for an ultimate symbiote tag team crossover for the climax, yet Marcel’s script and direction take the most excruciating, pointless, and boring route to get there. Through them and Rex Strickland, The Last Dance coats itself in the same shitty self-seriousness that turned fans off to that first film, operating on the script quality of Morbius.
If that weren't enough, Alanna Ubach and Rhys Ifans arrive as a hippie couple trying to visit Area 51 with their kids before it gets decommissioned, eventually getting wrapped up in Eddie/Venom’s madness. They're on the unfunny side, and, while the family is rather charming, it's so contrived how Marcel shoehorns them into the whole adventure.
The story’s pacing gets shoddier with each additional character tacked on. It felt as if Sony mandated Marcel to reach a nearly two-hour runtime and not the perfect 97 minutes that Let There Be Carnage was. By trying to fill the Michelle Williams void, The Last Dance loses most of the flavor that made the predecessors fun. All these characters detract from Eddie and Venom as if they’re actively trying to write them out of their movie.
Kelly Marcel ain't got the magic but she got the gore.
Taking a page from the Simon Kinberg (Dark Phoenix) book (if you write enough of these, they’ll give you the keys to the kingdom), Venom: The Last Dance marks writer Kelly Marcel's directorial debut. Unlike Andy Serkis and Ruben Fleischer – who helmed the previous two installments, respectively – this is by far the shoddiest direction these Venom movies have ever seen. There’s no consistency, and each action sequence becomes more confusing as the enemy placement changes. I know this is a Venom movie so these things shouldn’t matter, but the lack of basic blocking skills results in a major drop in quality.
That said, this is the goriest out of the three entries. It made me wonder how Sony got the MPA to hit that PG-13 rating because there's some bloodshed in The Last Dance. Knull's creatures are a legitimate threat, more so than the other symbiotic foes of the predecessor, as they function like a shredder machine. And you see a good deal of human blood dealt by them. Although I believe Marcel has considerable work to do before becoming a competent filmmaker for a studio blockbuster, she’s proficient in setting up stakes through body horror and gore.
Despite Tom Hardy's exceptional performance as the symbiotic boyfriend, Venom: The Last Dance lacks all the elements from the predecessor that made it fun. In typical Sony fashion, it's a mediocre finale to a rather lackluster superhero trilogy.
Rating: 2/5
