Man’s best friend is back
Three years after the release of Venom: Let There Be Carnage, the follow up title Venom: The Last Dance arrived, debuting on October 25. This new installment of Sony’s recent trend of making Spider-Man movies without Spider-Man, plays as the finale for the Venom movies.
Venom, for any of the non-nerdy readers, is a symbiotic alien that first played the role of an antagonist for Spider-Man back during his first appearance in the late 1980s. Over the years, however, the chocolate-loving symbiote developed a positive relationship with the human race and in both comics and movies, we see him branch off from the villainous role.
Venom: The Last Dance is another team-up movie between troubled ex-journalist Eddie Brock and the alien symbiote himself, as they road trip from their vacation spot in Mexico to the Big Apple itself: New York City.
Plot Summary
The movie throws in a classic (and a bit overdone) nod to the Disney-led Marvel Cinematic Universe as Eddie Brock is learning about the terrors of Thanos from a bartender. Then, in an instant, is whisked away back to the Sony-verse where the events of the movie begin to take place.
The first scene takes us to a dark, grimy planet infested by a race of aliens known as the Xenophage. At the center of this chaos is a throne, which seals away Knull, the creator of both the symbiotes and the Xenophages. Knull orders his monstrous minions to search for the “codex,” the only key that can free him, and to eliminate anyone who possesses it. Unfortunately for Eddie Brock, the key Knull seeks is contained within Venom himself.
To escape imminent danger, Eddie and Venom flee from the Xenophages and embark on a journey to New York, hoping to clear their names and start anew. Along the way, they encounter familiar faces, new allies, and formidable obstacles, including aliens and the U.S. military.
Analysis
From the introduction to the climatic ending of Venom: The Last Dance, I found myself in awe at how uncoordinated the film felt. Recent trends of labeling recent Marvel movies as “slop” doesn’t seem like an exaggerated Twitter buzz word anymore, as after the 1 hour and 50 minute run time, I found myself feeling like I consumed nothing of importance.
Tom Hardy once again plays Eddie Brock, a confused and unemployed mess of a man who’s got a lot on his mind (literally). With Hardy voicing Venom as well, the duo come across as the only really likable characters throughout the film as their interactions seemed have had the past two movies to build off of and create a good dynamic with.
The other characters in this movie however, failed to lure me in with interest in any way. It might be due to their lack of appearance in previous films or maybe the stale acting performances through the majority of them. In retrospect, it was probably the acting.
Many of the newly added characters, such as the empathetic Dr. Payne, felt underwhelming in their contributions to the story. Some scenes, set in a laboratory beneath the infamous Area 51, came across as reminiscent of low-budget CW shows, with several characters tragically suffering from poor writing. This, combined with obviously poor acting and a lack of character depth, made their interactions feel tiring and difficult to engage with.
When regarding the antagonistic force that drives the film along, I felt very disappointed. The last two films, although not the best, were still featured decent villains. Carnage, for example, had reason and intent that helped influence the tension between the protagonist and him. The Xenophages found themselves far below that end of the spectrum. With no emotion and distinct personality, the Xenophages got boring quick.
Thankfully, the real big bad swooping in should make things interesting, right? Well, of course not. All you’re going to get throughout the almost 2-hour runtime are brainless monsters running around playing catch and mouse with Venom. It all felt unmotivating to say the least.
Final Score (1.5 out of 5 Stars)
Venom: The Last Dance ultimately left viewers like me feeling unfulfilled and disconnected. Despite Tom Hardy’s commendable performance as Eddie Brock and his chemistry with Venom, the film struggles to maintain momentum. The supporting characters fail to captivate and the uninspired acting only puts salt on the wound.
The absence of a compelling antagonist further emphasizes the film’s shortcomings as the Xenophages lack the depth and personality necessary to create meaningful conflict. What should have been an exhilarating climax instead devolves into mindless chaos, leaving audiences craving the emotional stakes that were present in previous installments. Overall, the film’s rushed execution and uninspired elements contribute to a disappointing experience that reinforces the sentiment surrounding the decline of Sony Spider-Man spin-offs.
Featured Image: Sony Pictures
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