“Venom: The Last Dance” is the third and final film in the “Venom” trilogy. Marking the latest film in Sony’s Spider-Man universe, Tom Hardy returns to his dual role in another entertaining, though imperfect take on the beloved antihero.
The film picks up one year after the events of 2021’s “Venom: Let There Be Carnage.” As Eddie Brock and the Venom symbiote are still on the run from the authorities, they must attempt to make it back to the mainland United States while eluding followers of the murderous alien lifeform Knull (Andy Serkis, “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy). All of the ensuing events result in an entertaining, yet surprisingly bittersweet conclusion to the trilogy.
That’s not to say that the movie completely shies away from the wilder moments of its predecessors. Far from it – first-time director Kelly Marcel co-wrote the first two movies and makes solid use of a budget upwards of $100 million for the third. Standout sequences include Eddie riding a horse bonded with Venom, as well as dancing with Ms. Chen (Peggy Lu) in her Las Vegas penthouse to an up-tempo version of “Dancing Queen” by ABBA.
One flaw in the film is that the story is somewhat underbaked, an obvious side effect of last year’s dual strikes between SAG-AFTRA and the WGA. It remains to be seen whether or not Sony will continue this cinematic universe beyond this December’s upcoming “Kraven the Hunter” (talk persists of the characters’ rights being given/sold back to Marvel) given the hilarious infamy of this year’s “Madame Web” and 2022’s “Morbius.” That aside, if you’re looking for 110 minutes of goofy horror-comedy fun, there’s plenty to be had here.
Overall, “Venom: The Last Dance” is a wild tango of a finale to close out the trilogy. While not on the same order of magnitude as the main Spider-Man films (let alone last year’s excellent “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”), it’s a worthy conclusion to the trilogy and a fun spinoff on its own.
At a glance:
Directed by Kelly Marcel (Based on characters from Marvel Comics)
Starring Tom Hardy, Andy Serkis, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rhys Ifans, Stephen Graham, Alanna Ubach, Clark Backo, Juno Temple and Peggy Lu
Rated PG-13
My Rating: ★★★★ 1/2
