What’s It About
Eddie and Venom are on the run. Hunted by both of their worlds and with the net closing in, the duo are forced into a devastating decision that will bring the curtains down on Venom and Eddie’s last dance.
MOVIESinMO REVIEW
Tom Hardy returns in the final chapter of Sony’s symbiote saga, delivering a film that struggles to balance its established oddball charm with weightier ambitions. While the movie’s got everything one would mostly expect from the franchise, it has ultimately entangled itself within its own threads. The story follows Eddie Brock and his alien symbiote Venom as fugitives in Mexico, running from government forces led by special-ops soldier Rex Strickland (Chiwetel Ejiofor). Their attempted escape to New York leads them through Nevada and Las Vegas while facing a new threat: Knull (Andy Serkis), an ancient symbiote god seeking revenge on his creation. Back at Area 51, there is a concurrent plot line about a scientist in charge of studying the symbiotes, on behalf of the military. The prize jewel of it all, of course, is Tom Hardy, who brings a good deal of physical humor and emotional resonance to his dual role of Eddie and Venom. Their relationship has evolved since previous installments, with Hardy portraying Eddie as a man wearily resigned to his bizarre life situation while Venom has grown into both a burden and an essential companion. These quieter character moments provide the movie’s strongest scenes, and the film admirably focuses on its own universe rather than chasing multiverse connections. But “The Last Dance” stumbles under the innumerable subplots that weigh it down. Chief among them is a seriously distracting storyline involving a hippie family trying to contact aliens. Meanwhile, the Big Bad of this series, Knull, never really materializes as a serious threat-not even with Andy Serkis on board. It boasts a talented supporting cast, with Juno Temple showing up as Dr. Teddy Paine and Chiwetel Ejiofor as Strickland, who consistently feel set apart from what the action centers on. They become lost within this never-ending maze of confusing symbiote lore and exposition. There are major, memorable, and rather polarizing moments, such as Venom dancing to ABBA’s “Dancing Queen” in Vegas, or the extended, off-putting sequence of the hippie family singing David Bowie’s “Major Tom.” While these scenes aim for the franchise’s trademark weirdness, they often interrupt the story’s flow. That gives a sense of tonal whiplash between serious moments and slapstick comedy, continuing into a needlessly sentimental ending that doesn’t quite feel earned. The quality of the visual effects is hit-and-miss throughout the film. Though some of Knull’s otherworldly minions boast some great design work, other effects sequences fail to hold up to modern standards. It’s often incoherent and muddled at times, taking away from the truly spectacular moments. At its core, “Venom: The Last Dance” has been a nice encapsulation of the whole trilogy-messy and just entertaining occasionally. It keeps all the things that have been recognizable in the series but overflows with a plethora of plot threads and changes in tone. The film tries to wrap up the Hardy era while setting up some further installments; it comes across cluttered and rarely finds its feet. It’s packed enough with the Eddie/Venom dynamic for fans of the previous films, but maybe not so much that a newcomer wouldn’t be lost in the chaos. Ultimately, it’s a movie that celebrates what made the franchise unique-Hardy’s committed performance, and that odd-couple heart-while also anticipating its persistent tone and plotting problems. Neither triumphal finale nor complete misfire, it’s a fitting end to a series that always seemed torn between its pulpy charm and bigger ambitions.
OUR RATING – AN ASEXUAL 6