James Berardinelli review - ** out of ****

https://www.reelviews.net/reelviews/venom-the-last-dance

In 2018, an argument could have been made that a Venom-centric movie was sensible, preferably as a lead-in to the expected big-screen clash between the inky symbiont and his web-crawling nemesis, Spider-Man. (The previous motion picture throwdown between the two, depicted in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3, left most fans unimpressed and believing a do-over to be necessary.) But in those pre-pandemic days, comic book movies ruled the roost. By the time the first sequel, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, arrived in 2021, the Venom brand had lost some of its luster (although the domestic gross was almost identical to that of the original, the international box office was cut in half). Now, with the arrival of the alleged final chapter of the “trilogy,” Venom: The Last Dance, there’s a sense that this franchise is limping across the finish line. And the anticipated battle with Spider-Man is still nowhere in sight.

Is this the final outing for Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock and his gravel-voiced alter-ego? Who knows. The movie gives mixed signals, almost as if it’s hedging its bets based on box office return. Hardy is probably done but the Venom character could easily return with or without Brock. It is, after all, a separate entity. The movie introduces a new Big Bad, Knull (played by the director of Let There Be Carnage, motion-cap maestro Andy Serkis), who doesn’t have a whole lot to do other than set things in motion from deep in the Void, where he is trapped. It would seem that Sony might be positing him as the next Thanos. Good luck with that.

Narratively, The Last Dance is all over the place. The setup is divided between Eddie, who is on the run from humans and aliens, and the people working at Area 51. The rational, mild-mannered scientists, represented by Dr. Payne (Juno Temple), want to study Venom. The irrational, gun-happy soldiers, represented by Rex Strickland (Chiwetel Ejiofor), want to destroy him. My hope is that Temple and Ejiofor were well-compensated for their work here because both are playing characters that could charitably be described as underwritten and underutilized.

Meanwhile, deep in the Void, Knull wants out and has sent his pet monsters, called Xenophages, to locate the key that will allow him to escape his imprisonment. This key, called a “Codex,” is conveniently found inside Eddie (as a result of his having been brought back to life by Venom), and a Xenophage, having sniffed it out, is now on Earth wreaking havoc. There’s a catch, however: the Xenophage can only locate the Codex when it is active (meaning when Venom comes out to play) so, as long as Eddie remains human, the Xenophage cannot see him. In order to maintain his anonymity, he hitches a ride with the hippies Martin and Nova Moon (Rhys Ifans and Alanna Ubach) and their kids, who happen to be on a vacation to investigate Area 51.

All this is prelude to the obligatory big CGI battle that comprises the final half-hour. It relies so little on real actors doing real acting that it might as well be animated. It’s loud, chaotic, and not the least bit interesting. Perhaps recognizing there’s a problem with audience engagement, writer-turned-director Kelly Marcel (who wrote the other two Venom movies before taking the helm for this one) inserts a flashback montage that serves primarily as a reminder of how much younger Tom Hardy looked when he started on this franchise six years ago.

There are a few pleasant diversions during the course of the meandering road trip that forms the backbone of The Last Dance’s first hour. There’s a fun battle atop of flying jetliner, although it’s too brief to leave much impact. Venom dances with Mrs. Chen (Peggy Lu) to a well-known ABBA hit. And there’s a sing-along in the hippy van with the Moons and their offspring. Unfortunately, the most memorable aspect of the first two Venom films – the banter between Eddie and the symbiont – has been diminished this time around. It’s still there but it seems more like an obligatory footnote than an organic story element.

When it comes to bringing Marvel characters and superhero elements to the big screen, Sony has fallen on hard times. Although it would be difficult to anoint The Last Dance as the worst comic book movie of 2024 (it has to contend with another Sony dud, Madame Web, for that dubious distinction), it’s another indication that the time has come to shut down any and all attempts to expand the Spider-Man universe into anything that doesn’t directly involve Spider-Man. As for Venom, the potential inherent in the creature has been wasted and squandered over the course of three movies and this final installment is the worst offender of all. Even John Travolta circa 1977 couldn’t save The Last Dance.