Unlike its predecessor There Will Be Carnage, the third edition in the Venom series, The Last Dance, was quite enjoyable. The movie began with a monologued introduction of Knull, the symbiote god. After that, the film picked up where the last Spider-Man movie, No way Home, ended. The end credit scene showed Eddie/Venom at a bar discussing superheroes before he’s whisked away to his home reality.
In The Last Dance, Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) discovers he’s a fugitive after killing Detective Mulligan (Stephen Graham), who later becomes the symbiote Toxin. Eddie and Venom are now on the run from Rex Strickland (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and his team, who aim to capture Venom. The team had previously collected other symbiotes from the first Venom film and are now targeting Venom. Dr. Payne (Juno Temple), leading the lab studying the symbiotes, is also pursuing Venom. Meanwhile, Knull, a powerful entity, seeks the codex, the only thing that can free him from his prison, and Venom is his target.
Now, for a minor critique. While I enjoyed the film, I felt Knull’s introduction was premature. Introduced just two years ago in the comics, bringing him to the big screen felt rushed. The powers that be should’ve greased the runway over time in a similar fashion to Thanos in the MCU. Thankfully, they avoided the “Gor the God Butcher” approach seen in Thor: Love and Thunder, where the character was overly simplified.
The film attempted to incorporate elements from the comics, but some storylines felt disjointed. For example, the codex, which Knull sought, was incorrectly depicted as exclusive to Venom. In reality, many symbiotes possess a codex, including Toxin, the offspring of Venom and Carnage. Toxin and Mulligan’s roles were underwhelming in the film.
Rex Strickland, a character who died years ago in the comics in the Vietnam War, was resurrected by a symbiote and impersonated him for years. He played a crucial role in warning others about Knull and the existence of the codexes. The film missed an opportunity to include this significant character and storyline. Dr. Payne, while not a major character in the comics, was given more prominence in the film. However, her character development and that of her assistant Christmas (Clark Backo) felt somewhat lacking. I found myself wondering about Christmas’s purpose in the story, as she seemed to have a disproportionate amount of screen time.
As for the symbiotes, besides Venom and Toxin, I noticed Lasher and Riot. I believe Dr. Payne possessed the Phage symbiote, but I felt there could have been more exploration of the symbiote universe. Given the introduction of Knull, the film missed an opportunity to delve into the complexities of Venom’s comic book history, including Anti-Venom and Agent Venom. While it’s understandable that they couldn’t tackle everything in one film, a slower buildup to Knull might have been more effective.
Venom: The Last Dance gets a solid 7 out of 10. While the film had its campy moments, I enjoyed the dynamic between Eddie and Venom, even though it involved Tom Hardy essentially talking to himself. He skillfully portrayed both characters. Despite feeling like a potential series finale, there’s always a chance for more, similar to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While Venom’s screen time was extremely limited, the film was still entertaining.
Venom: The Last Dance is now in theaters.
-TBZ and Jon Jones
Photos: Sony Pictures