“Venom: The Last Dance” has all the silliness you’d come to expect within this trilogy of films. If anything, that quality stands out as a saving grace. But the film has a particular problem doubling as a finale to a man and his alien companion and looking into the future where said duo will probably be needed. It’s not that I have any qualms with comic book movies essentially giving us a peak behind the curtain of the next installment. As “Deadpool & Wolverine” showed us earlier this year, Robert Downey Jr’s impending return as another character, and comic book lore in general, nothing is really final. But I couldn’t help but think of 2014’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2, another Sony superhero film so overstuffed with sneak peeks and characters it took away from the main storyline.
Writer/director Kelly Marcel doesn’t forget the main draw in “The Last Dance.” As in the previous two films, Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock and his gravely voiced symbiote quarrel work together against a particular threat. At this specific point, Brock is entirely down on his luck. He has no journalism job and no hope of rekindling love with his ex-girlfriend Anne (played by Michelle Williams in the previous two installments). Not to mention, Eddie is a long way from his San Francisco home – hiding out in Mexico as he was framed for a murder that occurred in 2021’s “Let There Be Carnage.” He may be unable to keep a pair of shoes, but not all is lost. Eddie still has Venom, where the joyous center of “The Last Dance” resides. Call them an old married couple or lifelong best friends; it can be applicable. After three films, it’s still fun to watch Hardy argue with his companion about food choices, places to stay, and whatever city they can visit next. Where Eddie wants to keep a low profile (well, not to get arrested), Venom wants to seize the day – and the dichotomy between the two personalities is still enjoyable. Outside the main plot point, they take to slot machines in Las Vegas, do a big dancing number, and hope to see the Statue of Liberty.
But “The Last Dance” is pretty self-evident in foreshadowing, and a substantial cataclysmic entity is on the horizon. In space, Knull (voiced by “Let There Be Carnage” director Andy Serkis), “The King In Black,” has nefarious plans for Earth. As the creator of the symbiotes, they deemed him too dangerous and confined him to a throne-like prison. To get free, he needs the Codex, and it just so happens it’s located near the neck of our beloved black goo-ed alien. Although Knull can’t inflict destruction on our planet, he can use an indestructible bug creature called Xenophages to do his dirty work for him. Not only are Eddie and Venom just trying to find a way to clear their names, this looming threat is trying to track them down. Knull’s presence ties into what I said earlier. It’s weird to have such a world-destroying threat looming in the background of a film that is supposed to be a swan song. The main villain is an avatar for future events, even as Sony’s primary anti-hero (presumably) takes a bow. With “Morbius” and “Madame Web,” this universe has shown it won’t be beholden to establishing what will be a main protagonist- but it feels off his given the gravity of the threat at large.
The supporting characters fill out the story, hoping to elevate the stakes from a human perspective—even if they are just there to fill time. Rex Strickland (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is an elite soldier fixated on one goal and one goal only: eliminating symbiotes at all costs (that means if Eddie is expendable along with Venom). Juno Temple is Area 51 scientist Dr. Teddy Payne, who has a bit of a tragic backstory surrounding why she lost the usage of her left arm. She’s enamored by the symbiotes, and the film mostly confines her to the lab alongside her fellow science worker, Sadie (Clark Backo). Even though there are spots for them in the big third-act climax, there’s not much to these characters beyond that.
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At one point, Eddie and Venom have an alien-seeking hippy family (led by Rhys Ifans and Alanna Ubach) help them on their travels. Other than some funny banter, the goods come from Hardy’s dual role, contemplating the end of their journey or if things could have turned out differently. If there is one thing “The Last Dance” accomplishes, it’s to show how a character like this can resonate even if everything around it isn’t as great. The film’s ultimate conclusion tries to deliver huge action stakes that don’t resonate as well because you know it’s just a means to an end in the back of your mind. At least we have friends to fall back on when nothing feels like it’s working. “The Last Dance” doesn’t feel like a substantive end to an overall trilogy- it often flaunts that it’s not the end of the story. At least we know humans and aliens can co-exist!