Strangely fitting that this will be my last review on Cinema Sanctum. I covered the first film, which I was not that big on, but I enjoyed the second one, which doubled down on all the stranger, more idiosyncratic bits of the first film, leaning on this borderline queer-coded rom-com dynamic between Eddie Brock and the Venom Symbiote. This is easily one of the most weirdest comic book movie franchises to ever come out because it seems like it has grown to make the kind of choices that would actively alienate most fans of the character due to it not having any association with Spider-Man, and giving it this almost campy approach, but for some reason, it has resonated with certain number of folks.
This third and final installment, The Last Dance, continues this journey of exploring the relationship between Eddie and Venom (Tom Hardy) as they are on the run, starting off in Mexico and heading to New York, as a consequence of the events of the last film. But they find themselves targeted by two different groups. One is a group of government agents led by Rex Strickland (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who is overseeing the decommissioning of Area 51, but needs the Venom symbiote for research, with that team of scientists being led by Dr. Teddy Payne (Juno Temple). The other group is the Xenophage, alien creatures from Venom’s home planet, which is bad news not only for them, but for the whole world.
If the first was a buddy film, the second being a rom-com, this one is a road movie. We follow Eddie and Venom traveling and bickering as they get into shenanigans and meet some friendly faces, both old and new, along the way. There’s still some combative banter between the two as Venom can get very excited during certain moments, acting reckless and not taking Eddie’s feelings into consideration. But they are starting to have a real balance, having more thoughtful conversations about their own wants and desires, and how Venom genuinely wants to bring more joy to Eddie’s life, even if his actions sometimes don’t turn out the way he expected.
There’s a lot more reflection in this movie, reflection about what these two bring out of each other, and whether they are ultimately good for each other, or if they’re are destined to just be an important moment in each other’s lives, but not something they could realistically build an entire future with one another. During their road trip, they encounter a family who are heading to Area 51 to see if they can spot any aliens. It’s a corny bunch, but they are sweet and helpful, and after sharing a kind moment with a child in the family, Venom comments that Eddie would be a great dad.
If this all sounds incredibly silly, yes, it is very profoundly silly. The antics that Eddie and Venom go through here can border on farcical, with some of Hardy’s physical acting feeling like an extended homage to Bruce Campbell’s work in the Evil Dead movies. But it somehow manages to work. At least in terms of tone. The filmmaking itself is…questionable at times. This is the directorial debut of Kelly Marcel, having written the scripts for all three films, and she’s notably been a long time collaborator with Tom Hardy, who shares a story credit here with her. The film is, for the most part, competently made, but there are moments of really sloppy editing, some uninspired staging, a slightly overcrowded narrative, and a bit of incomprehensible CGI mish-mash by the time we get to the climax – though it’s not quite as bad as the “black symbiote on black symbiote at night” levels of incoherent like with the first film.
But what ultimately makes Venom: The Last Dance work is the absolute sincerity at the heart of it. You can feel the love and passion that Tom Hardy has for this very strange interpretation of these characters, and he and the filmmakers are fully committed to this vision. While it isn’t really the most elegant or sophisticated production, it knows which areas it needs to really land, and that is precisely where it hits the best. If you’ve found yourselves invested in these weirdos over the course of these three movies, I think there is a lot to appreciate. It also does a surprisingly effective good-bye to these characters. There’s even a montage that plays in the end that genuinely had me tearing up more than I did during We Live In Time, and that is something I never would have believed, if you told me that after I saw the original film for the first time all those years ago. I suppose that’s the magic of the movies. Although, I am docking points for never using Donna Summer’s “Last Dance” at any point in the film.
Venom: The Last Dance is now out in theaters.