Let's dance up a storm one more time before the fatigue kicks in. This would mean that we're feeling the effects from Venom: The Last Dance, the third and allegedly final film in the new 'Venom' trilogy, the fifth film in SSU (Sony's Spider-Man Universe), based on Marvel Comics' works.
Set immediately after the events of 2021's 'Venom: Let There Be Carnage', Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) and his on-and-off partner-in-carnage, the alien symbiote known as Venom (voiced by Hardy), are on the run in Mexico when Eddie gets the idea that they must sneak back into the United States, hoping to reach New York City. On the way there, they're followed and attacked by another alien symbiote that is hunting Venom, and which is sent by the mysterious overlord known as Knull (Andy Serkis). Meanwhile, Eddie is being tracked by Area 51 higher-up Rex Strickland (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and his scientist recruits Teddy Payne (Juno Temple) and Sadie Christmas (Clark Backo) who are also interested in catching Venom.
Kelly Marcel takes over the directing duties in addition to screenwriting for this instalment and together with Hardy, who has a story credit alongside Marcel, they attempt to deliver a satisfying conclusion for Eddie and Venom's (mis)adventures. Sadly, the result is rather underwhelming as even the chaotic fun from the last two movies—which themselves were somewhat amusing but ultimately forgettable superhero action comedies—is missing from this not-so-epic denouement. The first one was harmless goofiness thanks to Hardy's committed physical performance, and the second one was watchable thanks to the creatives embracing Eddie and Venom as a rom-com couple, but this third entry appears to be too busy to take advantage of those things. A few solid bits like a certain airplane sequence and the "venomous horse" capture the kind of energy these characters are best suited for but they're too few and far between.
''The Last Dance'' is essentially a tragedy and break-up story in its very basic form as far as the structure goes but the movie is so hell-bent on getting through so much action and plot in 90 minutes (it might beat the world record of the longest end credits to get the runtime to 110 minutes) that neither the emotional climax nor the journey to get there earn a viewer's investment in these characters. Editor Mark Sanger must've been sweating buckets in the editing suite trying to make any sense of it. Nevertheless, the outcome wears you out real fast.
All the issues mainly come down to the entertainment factor, which is a major problem since there's seemingly nothing deeper in the filmmakers' minds either. The blend of frantic CGI action and silly jokes doesn't work as well as it should, and the storyline featuring a road trip to Nevada isn't very engaging, especially since it's intercut with the alien science storyline that gives Ejiofor and Temple nothing substantial to work with. There's even a laughable, blink-and-you-miss-it backstory given to Teddy, which I struggled to remember, to be honest. Because of all this mess, we're just as lost in the tonal imbalance as the dynamic duo is in the hot Nevada desert.
It also doesn't help that The Last Dance is oftentimes remarkably ugly to look at and listen to, from the onslaught of meaningless VFX set pieces (supervised by John Moffatt) to the flat visual style (cinematography by Fabian Wagner), and from the tiresome song choices on the soundtrack (Queen's 'Don't Stop Me Now' should be outlawed at this point) to composer Dan Deacon's percussion-heavy score that is one of the most unimaginative things you'll hear this year. The interplay between Hardy and his CG sidekick is the one rare technical flair in the film.
There's also a healthy dose of bad performances from the adult cast and a small child in supporting roles injected into the film while even Hardy's one-man show is less enjoyable this time around since you can see the actor actively straining as he tries to elevate the material. Every now and then, he shows impeccable comedic timing but perhaps he too realised midway that the writing doesn't hold much water. How wild is it that you wish that the movie was at least bad in a fun way instead of just being another boring, unsightly chore? That is where we're at, I'm sad to say. One can therefore hope that the "last dance" in the title is a promise not to be broken.
Smileys: Nothing stands out
Frowneys: Tone, editing, score
Fun fact: sometimes Venom is a parachutic life form.
1.5/5
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