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Venom: The Last Dance ★★

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Released: 25 October 2024

Director: Kelly Marcel

Starring: Tom Hardy, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Juno Temple, Rhys Ifans, Stephen Graham

Six years on from the first instalment launching Sony’s chaotically messy Spider-Man Universe (SSU), it’s incredible to think we have the first concluding trilogy with Tom Hardy’s surprisingly entertaining Venom series. While both Morbius and Madame Web have tanked at the box office – seemingly setting the quality of Sony’s superhero outputs back to the early 00s – the Venom franchise fully embraced the freaky goofiness of the central odd couple dynamic to become a surprise box office hit, despite the critical reception.

In their (supposedly) last tango, Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) and the gonzo brain eating symbiote are fugitives on the run as prime suspects in the murder of Patrick Mulligan (Stephen Graham). However, they soon find themselves hunted by alien killing machines known as Xenophages, sent by the imprisoned king of darkness Knull (Andy Serkis), creator of the symbiotes.

Despite featuring a Venom horse, Venom dancing with Mrs Chen to ABBA and Venom gleefully biting the heads off four villains, this concluding instalment disappointingly shies away from what’s made the franchise the surprise hit for Sony – the kooky but surprisingly endearing Eddie Brock/Venom dynamic. What begins as an amusing buddy road trip movie (Venom has always wanted to see the statue of liberty in New York you see) quickly transforms into a frustratingly formulaic, almost Power Rangers-esque, superhero outing.

The resulting alien adventure is pure sequel-bait, as setting the ambitious villain Knull up as the next multiverse big bad in the Sony/MCU universe is highly unlikely given the direction of Spider-Man 4 (and the undoubtedly terrible upcoming SSU instalment, Kraven the Hunter). Created by author Donny Cates and artist Ryan Stegman for the gothic comic book crossover King in Black, Knull is surprisingly underused in The Last Dance. We’re only afforded brief glimpses of the terrifying villain through rushed flashbacks setting up the Symbiotes’ mythology – he hardly talks and has next to no impact on the story. Despite making his live-action debut in the SSU, the eldritch god of darkness feels like an afterthought.

Instead, director Kelly Marcel fails to juggle the convoluted extra-terrestrial plot (Area 55, the Imperium Project and multiple symbiotes) with the sweet Eddie Brock/Venom dynamic as they grapple with their supposedly doomed fate. While this could afford a perfect opportunity for some interesting character development between Hardy’s journalist and the alien symbiote, with brief glimpses as Venom muses on Eddie’s knack for parenting, it’s unfortunately sacrificed for a number of bonkers detours.

This includes a hippy family’s road trip to Area 51 (headed up by The Amazing Spider-Man’s Rhys Ifans) – complete with a Bowie singalong – a jaunt to Vegas and Dr. Teddy Paine’s (Juno Temple) totally unnecessary childhood flashback. It’s unfortunately an incoherent mess, wasting appearances from both Juno Temple and Chiwetel Ejiofor in the process. The third act – yep, you guessed it – turns into a CGI-fest showdown, pitting multiple Xenophages against the multi-coloured collection of symbiotes. And then we have an incredibly cheesy closing montage set to the bizarre choice of Maroon 5’s ‘Memories’.

While Hardy is evidently still having a blast in the chaotic lead role, once again excelling in the bickering central chemistry and gonzo vocal performance as Venom, it’s a shame his final outing as the lethal protector doesn’t quite hit the bonkers highs of Venom (2018). This concluding instalment disappointingly feels more like a vehicle for the next round of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe as opposed to a fitting goodbye for their most successful character yet, with the obligatory two post-credit scenes teasing certain scenarios which will undoubtedly not happen.

Still, the closing credits showcasing a raft of Venom shaped animals (most notably a squirrel, kangaroo, elephant and octopus) are certainly a hoot!

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