Suppose your jam is a silly and goofy mix of physical comedy, gooey CGI aliens, and moderately bloody violence. In that case, you are probably already on board the Sony Spider Universe’s Venom train. While I have never completely loved this movie franchise, all three films have amused and entertained me to varying degrees. I had a lot of fun with the first movie. The comic geek in me was not a big fan of the weak use of the Cletus Kasady character in Venom: Let There Be Carnage, but I still laughed at the often ridiculous comic gags. With what is supposed to be the final hurrah (yeah, right), the minds behind this movie just wanted to have fun and share their giddiness with the franchise’s fans.
And that is what works for this movie. However, the story could be better overall, and the development of the supporting characters could be more extensive. Writer/director Kelly Marcel, who co-wrote the story with star Tom Hardy, already knew what has worked in the past and decided not to make any risky gambles with the rest. This movie is not the work of filmmakers swinging for the fences; these are filmmakers leaning in to get hit by the ball and get the walk.
Tom Hardy returns as ex-journalist Eddie Brock and alien symbiote buddy Venom. When we last left our lethal enforcer duo, Brock/Venom became fugitives of the law and hid in Mexico. After a bizarre attack by a ferocious alien beast, the duo decides to flee back to the States with their sights set on New York City. Along the way, Venom reveals that the creature was sent by the creator and enslaver of the symbiotes, an evil being named Knull (Andy Serkis). Venom and the other symbiotes managed to overthrow Knull, imprison him, and escape to Earth.
Though imprisoned, Knull manages to dispatch his monsters into the universe in search of the codex, which is the key to his release. And as it so happens, Venom is the key master. Now, with alien creatures searching for them, along with the U.S. government, Venom and Eddie must keep moving and maintain a low profile. As most of the audience and fans know by now, this will prove to be a nearly impossible task for the troublemaker Venom, despite Eddie’s pleas to do otherwise.
Again, I had fun with comedy, action, exaggerated violence, and the crazy gags involving Venom and the other symbiotes. Tom Hardy is fantastic, as always. Though the story and the side characters both had the potential for more interesting development, this potential falls by the wayside for the sake of comic pratfalls and other ridiculousness. I would have preferred a more balanced movie with solid, more dimensional writing with hearty sprinkles of comedy. Though I am more familiar with the older Venom stories from the Todd McFarlane era in the comics and the Maximum Carnage storyline, I need to familiarize myself with the Knull character’s history in Marvel Comics. Therefore, I am still determining how faithful or true the filmmakers were with the character and his role in this movie.
I didn’t find him engaging in the film, so this movie has no strong villain. The government agents are another source of antagonism in the film but also suffer from weak development.
Whether these flaws and weaknesses will matter to you, my dear readers, depends on what you hope to experience and take away from this movie. The diehard comic fans who love the Venom character, his associates, and his enemies will likely continue to hate this franchise and probably should not bother watching this supposed last installment. Venom: The Last Dance offers more of the same for anyone who has loved these movies, though I like this sequel better than the last one. It’s all about expectations. If your expectations are low to moderate and you are happy with that, then have at it. I would recommend spending less money to do so., though.