Sony is determined to create Spider-Man adjacent films that are loosely connected (at best) to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While many of these films have failed, the Venom franchise has at least found a somewhat faithful audience, having grossed over $1.3B across two films. Now, the third film, Venom: The Last Dance arrives this weekend, and may be the last Venom film to star Tom Hardy.
In Venom: The Last Dance, Sony attempts to raise the stakes. Knull (Andy Serkis), God of the symbiotes is introduced in a very limited capacity, as his minions attempt to obtain a Codex from Venom and Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) that would free Knull from his imprisonment in the Venom version of the Throneworld from the comics. A number of new human characters are introduced, with brief glimpses of the other named symbiotes from the comics (only without names in the movie).
If you’re a fan of Venom and Venom: Let There Be Carnage, there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy Venom: The Last Dance as well. It’s more of the same, with a focus on mindless CG spectacle over a comprehensible story. While many fans were disappointed with Let There Be Carnage, Venom: The Last Dance does elevate the franchise closer to the more appealing first film, while still missing the point of why comic fans like Venom.
All of the problems that plagued Venom and Let There Be Carnage continue to go unresolved in The Last Dance. If you weren’t a fan of the first two films, there’s nothing new to change your mind here. The script is elementary at best, with plot convenience being the only motivating factor for many of the characters. While The Last Dance tries to play up the emotion of potentially losing Eddie Brock or Venom, there’s almost no build up for the audience to care about this possibility, or the fate of any of the new characters introduced in the film.
Chiwetel Ejiofor offers an admirable effort as Rex Strickland, but there’s only so much he can do with such a bad script. He comes off as little more than “generic military character #4”, similar to Juno Temple as Dr. Payne, or “generic scientist with an unexplained past”. Oddly enough, Payne is loosely based on an obscure Marvel character with ties to Venom and Eddie Brock, but they may as well be completely different characters as far as the movie is concerned.
Comic fans may be even more repulsed by the poor handling of Knull, something that is now expected from Sony-led Marvel productions after Morbius, Madame Web, and the first two Venom films. There’s a lot Sony could have done with Knull, even referencing events from the first two films to connect everything, and bringing back Carnage (Woody Harrelson). The other symbiotes aren’t major players in Marvel Comics, but there was a chance here to make the audience care about them in The Last Dance that was completely squandered.
Kelly Marcel has written all three Venom films (as well as the screenplay for Fifty Shades of Grey), and while her ability to write one-liners for the symbiote is admirable, that’s not enough to carry The Last Dance, especially when the first Venom remains the most comedic by a wide margin. The comics are popular for a reason. Bringing in someone more familiar with Knull and why he’s important would have gone a long way here.
As it stands, Venom: The Last Dance offers nothing new, and audiences seem to be done with Sony’s meager attempts to produce Marvel films in a post-Avengers: Endgame cinematic landscape. Even the worst MCU films are better than The Last Dance. The diminishing returns of the franchise are clear with Let There Be Carnage grossing 40% less at the box office compared to the first film, and The Last Dance eying the lowest opening weekend of the franchise with an estimated 30% drop from the last film. Venom: The Last Dance will still likely beat the final tallies of Morbius and Madame Web, but it’s clearly time for Sony to let Marvel Studios handle these Spider-Man characters like they’re doing with the Tom Holland-led Spider-Man franchise.
About Venom: The Last Dance
Synopsis: In Venom: The Last Dance, Tom Hardy returns as Venom, one of Marvel’s greatest and most complex characters, for the final film in the trilogy. 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.
Director: Kelly Marcel
Writers: Kelly Marcel, Tom Hardy
Stars: Tom Hardy, Juno Temple, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Clark Backo
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 1 Hour, 49 Minutes
Bryan Dawson has been writing professionally since the age of 13. He started his career as a video game writer and has since worked for Random House, Prima Games, DirecTV, IGN, AOL, the British Government, and various other organizations. For GNN, Bryan taps into his passion for movies.
