Venom: The Last Dance
Written and Directed by Kelly Marcel
Starring Tom Hardy, Chiwetel Eijofor, Juno Temple
Rated PG-13
Runtime: 1 hour, 49 minutes
In theaters October 25

by Ryan Silberstein, Managing Editor, Red Herring

Three films into this collaboration between Tom Hardy and writer Kelly Marcel, most people probably know if they enjoy this Venom trilogy or not. While previous entries were directed by Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland, 2009) and Andy Serkis, respectively, the sensibility for these movies comes from Hardy and Marcel, the latter of whom stepped into the director’s spot after writing both previous entries. That sensibility is a mix between cartoonish edgelord type humor and sincere emotions at the bond between man and gooey symbiote–both sides of that equation being a showcase for Tom Hardy’s work–but in a fun and loose way. While the previous entry, subtitled Let There Be Carnage, is the trilogy’s high water mark, The Last Dance has more than enough Venom antics and Tom Hardy muttering to himself to sustain this final entry. 

In this entry, Eddie Brock (Hardy) and Venom are trying to get from Mexico, where we last saw him, to New York City. Complicating matters are Eddie’s status as a fugitive–he is a suspect in the death of police officer Patrick Mulligan (Stephen Graham) at the end of Let There Be Carnage–an Area 51-type government project trying to gather up all of the symbiotes on Earth, and the arrival of a xenophage, a xenomorph-like alien also hunting the symbiotic duo. The Last Dance is a little busy, and the fun suffers a bit whenever things get too plotty, but there is plenty of fun to be had as well. 

The Last Dance works best when it is in road trip movie mode. Eddie and Venom travel by car, plane, and Venom-ized horse while trying to get to New York and end up shoeless and crashing into a family vacation. The family’s alien-obsessed hippie patriarch, Martin (Rhys Ifans), his wife Nova (Alanna Ubach), and their two kids are on route to try and glimpse Area 51 before it is decommissioned (why that is happening does not matter). At one point, Martin gets out an acoustic guitar for a family singalong of “Space Oddity,” which Eddie suffers through, arms crossed, while Venom bellows out the words in his head. While the scene is genuinely hilarious and oddball, it also provides a window in the duality of this character. Eddie doesn’t really know what he wants (other than to no longer be a fugitive), but Venom is the one with the impulse to settle down, make a home, and maybe even a family. There are some real pathos in this film, as Eddie is still processing what it means to be in a symbiotic relationship–the movie reveals a year has passed since the events of the first film–all while Venom does rehearsed choreography to “Dancing Queen” with Mrs. Chen (Peggy Lu). Plus there are multiple animal-Venoms! 

This division is reinforced by how seriously the film establishes the threat from the xenophages, sent by Knull (Andy Serkis) to try to free himself from the symbiote homeworld, as well as the potential threat posed by the human scientists trying to study the symbiotes. This aspect of the film is more serious and doesn’t hit the campier tone of Let There Be Carnage. Juno Temple and Chiwetel Eijofor bring a lot to their feuding scientist and military character, respectively, but ultimately the film is killing time with them just to establish the location and combatants for the film’s third act showdown. There’s a lot of business here, and while none of it is outright bad, the film shifts tones so rapidly it can be difficult to find footing while watching it. 

This may or may not be the last we see of this incarnation of Venom (as the only Sony-only superhero movie to get a sequel so far, it is definitely possible), but if it is, this trilogy is its own self-contained little world, and sometimes it’s nice not having to worry about tying into a bigger universe. While Venom: The Last Dance feels like it might buckle under all of its various plot appendages, the core relationship between Venom and Eddie (which ought be sung to “Brenda and Eddie,” like in the fourth section of Billy Joel’s “Scenes From an Italian Restaurant”) remains engaging and fun enough to enjoy the ride.