In the past few years, Sony Pictures has been trying to figure out how to build their Spider-Man universe without the titular hero. They found a way to do so with one of his most feared rogues in the comics, Venom, who became a well-established character on his own. Tom Hardy’s portrayal of the antihero in the 2018 film solidified the character’s popularity in live-action. Its surprising success led to a cinematic universe, with varying degrees of success. However, it’s another end of an era as fans have to say goodbye, temporarily, to this adventure in Venom: The Last Dance.
In some ways, it feels like Venom: The Last Dance is Sony’s Deadpool & Wolverine, albeit on a smaller scale. Just like with the Marvel Cinematic Universe presently, this film is dealing with its own multiversal problems. However, instead of dealing with variants and whatnot, the clear threat is Knull (Andy Serkis), the King in Black. For those not attuned to the comics, Knull was a threat to the Marvel multiverse thanks to his symbiote invasion. Yet, in this movie, he doesn’t feel as threatening as he should be.
Knull does appear from time to time, but he’s mostly seen through Venom: The Last Dance‘s many exposition bombs. Instead, Knull’s Xenophages cause all the chaos as one continually hunts Eddie and Venom on their little road trip. Sure, it provides a dangerous foil specifically for Venom, but it really felt like it was just looming around for the first two acts. The movie never really gives us a chance to fully showcase how dangerous it can be until the final showdown. The human kills are fun and bloody as ever, especially in that heavily teased river sequence!
Similarly, the human foils of Venom: The Last Dance are played mostly straight. Rex Strickland (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is to Eddie what General Ross is to Bruce Banner: an uptight military man of honor. He has his moments of humor here and there and Ejiofor shows it very nicely. He has a subtle expressionism, yet Rex’s oppressive militarism throughout gets in the way of giving him depth. So, when he does see things more clearly near the end, his shift in understanding doesn’t fully feel earned.
Aside from Rex, the film also tries to build up certain characters like Dr. Payne (Juno Temple) through flashbacks. These flashbacks may seem random, scattered for you to piece together. However, they present it with grandeur, aiming to reach that clicking point as quickly as possible. Although, Payne’s somewhat shy introverted-ness makes for an interesting detail that should’ve been fleshed out a little more.
As for Eddie Brock and Venom, Venom: The Last Dance shows that Tom Hardy’s still got it. He’s able to bring his A-game in bouncing between the lovable symbiote and his always hungover host. They share so many hilarious jokes, from making tequila to harshly singing David Bowie. There’s even an ongoing bit where Eddie tries to keep a pair of footwear only to lose them. Some of these land while others need to take a few seconds to click, but when they do, they really do. At certain times, when the film focuses on its emotional core, Hardy really makes Venom into this sweetheart that you can’t ignore.
However, Venom: The Last Dance has somewhat of a hard time balancing its tone. At some points, it wants to be an emotional piece about regret. At other times, it wants to be a comedic duo road trip flick. Yes, the road trip aspect comes through Rhys Ifan’s character, who’s a traveling vacationer (not the Lizard) with his family. Nearly at every turn, it tries to keep the narrative moving along. This is the main pitfall that it falls in similarly to other superhero films: there’s too much going on.
The film must push through many narrative elements, from the main duo dealing with Knull’s minions to facing Strickland’s special forces. Yet, the film tries to prioritize as much as it can so it’s forced to segment certain arcs, resulting in convolution.
Although, when the story feels messy, the action feels messier in a good way! The visual effects done by Industrial Light & Magic, DNEG, Digital Domain, Rodeo FX, and Territory Studio are simply incredible. Each film in the Venom series has gotten progressively better in its visuals, especially with Venom: The Last Dance. This work especially shows itself in that huge final fight, which yes, goes all out with the symbiotes. It captures every symbiote’s powers in great detail as they face off against everything Knull throws at them. Of course, the Venom Horse is simply a perfect addition as well.
With its bumps and all, Venom: The Last Dance is a messy, yet entertaining and wild ending to this era of Sony’s Spider-Man universe. Tom Hardy has given it his all to embody Venom, doing so with his impressive charisma and wit. In the past six years, to see Venom evolve and develop was a fun experience even if there were a few trips along the way. Though it may be time to say goodbye to the Lethal Protector for now, there’s always that special case of never saying never.
Venom: The Last Dance releases in theaters on October 25.
