There is an unfortunate trend with sequel films that they very rarely outshine the first film in a series. Sadly, Venom: The Last Dance falls into this category. Whilst it is way better than the second film, it still falls short in the franchise overall. The frustrating thing about this third and final film in the Venom trilogy is that there was so much potential for greatness.
With the story by Tom Hardy and Kelly Marcel, and screenplay by Kelly Marcel, who also directs in her directorial debut, Venom: The Last Dance follows directly after the events of the very forgettable Venom: Let There Be Carnage. On the run and now fugitives, Eddie Brock and Venom are on a mission to clear their name. However, their journey is cut short when Venom’s creator Knull, sends an army from the Symbiote home-world to capture Venom. With the help of some of his fellow Symbiotes, Venom must hatch a plan to not only destroy the invading symbiote-hunting army but save Earth and Eddie Brock in the process.
Whilst this third film is the final in the three-part series of Venom’s story, I was sad that it was ending. There were moments in the film that I found myself emotional that it would be the last time Eddie and Venom team up. However, at the same time, I have felt tired and overwhelmed by the superhero film market in general.
I was expecting more from this film and sadly, it just misses the mark. There is a lot that happens in the plot that was not setup properly in either of the previous two films. And unless you read the comics, you will have no idea who the new villain Knull is. Yes, there is a short sequence at the start showing the character (mainly the top of his head for majority of the time), but there is very little context about who Knull really is.
The other part of the film that annoyed me was the introduction of the knew Symbiotes that just happen to have arrived previously via a meteor that crashed to Earth. Although we know in the first film that the symbiotes arrived via the crashed Life Foundation Spaceship, and Carnage was born from Venom himself, there was no reference at all to additional Symbiotes. They just happen to conveniently also be there this time around.
The setup of the new Symbiotes wasn’t the best and it took way too long for them to become a relevant part of the film’s plot. I would have loved to have seen more insight into each of the Symbiotes, let alone find out what their names were. But by the time they found hosts in the final act, the film was basically over. This left me feeling disappointed and wanting more. The film only has a run time of 1 hour and 50 mins. Most comic films being at least over 2.5 hours, there was so much more room and potential time to build and expand on these newer characters.
Speaking of new characters, there are quite a few in Venom: The Last Dance that we barely get to scratch the surface with and get to know. Rex Strickland portrayed by Chiwetel Ejiofor is a soldier from the secret military branch holding the other Symbiotes, tasked with the capture of Eddie and Venom. Ejiofor does have a great arc of soldier to saviour and does well in the role, but we get little insight into how he came to be and so he is left feeling a little one dimension despite Ejiofor’s talent and doing the best with what he had.
It was great to see Juno Temple as Dr. Teddy Payne, a scientist that is studying the captured Symbiotes. Dr. Payne is probably the one character that we get a decent look at for who she is and how she came to be, and Temple does a stellar job in portraying the broken nature of the character. However, I wanted to spend more time with her too. It felt like there was a lot of setup for a character that will next expand further as this is the final film in the Venom film series.
Everyone’s favourite voice actor Andy Serkis joined the cast to portray Knull, and whilst the moments were fleeting and somewhat disjointed, Serkis of course does a fantastic job in portraying the evil antagonist, in spite of the little screen time the character has.
Amongst all the darkness is a wonderful family of hippies on a mission to visit Area-51. Father Martin Moon and mother, Nova, portrayed by Rhys Ifans and Alanna Ubach respectively, along with their son and daughter, are a wonderful shining light. With their disarming likable charm, the family rub off on Eddie and Venom and bring some much-needed joy and comedy throughout.
Peggy Lu returns as the lovable and feisty Mrs. Chen. While I do love the character and it was great to see Mrs. Chen again, it felt a little forced. Almost like a ‘we must include Mrs. Chen’ moment. I get it, she has been an important character in Eddie and Venom’s journey. However, the dance scene between Chen and Venom felt intentionally cringey, taking a leaf right out of the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man 3 handbook. Was it really even needed? Well, the film is called Venom: The Last Dance, after all. I understand why this scene exists, but if we were short on time, we, once again, could have better been used to get to know the captured Symbiotes a little more. Or the movie could have been just a little longer for Venom: The Last Dance to have a more cohesive storyline and overall film.
Of course, Venom: The Last Dance wouldn’t be complete without Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock and Venom. The voice acting Hardy does for Venom is so good, one forgets that Hardy does both characters. Much like the preceding films, their relationship is very ‘odd couple’ like, but it works. The growth of the two from the initial film is very clear and great to see. However, knowing that Venom: The Last Dance is the final instalment, this also put a sour note on the whole experience. In saying that, Hardy portrays this heartbreak extremely well, inserting just the right amount of depth and emotion that left viewers, including myself, feeling sad and nostalgic about Venom and Brock’s last ‘dance’ together.
Overall, Venom: The Last Dance, had so much potential to be a great and the perfect send off for the characters of Brock and Venom that we have come to love. Sadly, the pacing was all off, feeling slow at the start and then rushed at the end. The visuals, effects, sound and accompanying soundtrack are all fine, and while the film does have its moments, unfortunately it’s not enough to make up for Venom: The Last Dance being a poorly constructed and unsatisfying superhero genre feature. Although, overall in the genre, it still somewhat forgivable considering this is not the worst that we’ve seen either.
There will be viewers that will love Venom: The Last Dance for what it is, and some like me who wish that there was more to the final hurrah for Eddie and Venom. Entertaining and silly fun regardless of its flaws, one thing is for certain, Eddie and Venom deserve a cinematic send off and I am glad they got one. So, don’t wait for it to hit streaming services. Head to the cinemas to experience Venom on the big screen, one last time.