Director: Kelly Marcel
Writer: Kelly Marcel and Tom Hardy
Starring: Tom Hardy, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Juno Temple
Hello and welcome back to another week here at Mindless Movie Reviews. October is over and sadly, so is Halloween and my favorite time of the year. I hope everyone got plenty of treats and not so many tricks (unless that is your thing). But since we now find ourselves in November, let’s see what in store for us this month. I got to visit my favorite movie house again (Flix Brewhouse) to watch “Venom: The Last Dance” and we had a good time. But as usual, before I dig into any of the specifics, there will be spoilers ahead. So, if you don’t want a symbiote to take over your body, first stop by my homepage here to see what else I have in store for you.
Ok, so hopefully you’ve seen this and are ready to dive into this a little deeper. First, let me start by saying I think this is on par with the first two films in the franchise (Venom, and Venom: Let There be Carnage). None of them are at the level of the MCU for production or star-power, but they are better than most non-MCU films (I’m looking at you Morbius and Madame Web). “The Last Dance” picks up about a year after the first Venom film and still focuses on Hardy’s Eddie Brock and his relationship with the symbiote Venom that has been a part of him throughout these three movies.
But before we go full-in on Brock, I have to first discuss the opening sequence with a set of young siblings on the beach when lightning strikes. The young boy dies, but the young girl lives, and we will soon meet her as Temple’s Dr. Paine. Paine is a scientist at the lab that studies the symbiotes and she is super passionate about her job. This comes into play in a big way later. But Ejiofor’s Strickland also is a regular in the lab and the two have wildly different opinions on how things should be handled.
So, after a humorous clip of Brock sitting at the same bar where he was during the infamous after-credit scene during “Spider-Man: No Way Home”, he is thrust back into adventure when he learns about himself and Venom being a key to unlock evil. The key is located inside of them and can only be seen when Venom fully takes over. When he does, some super-sized mostly indestructible creatures come and try to take them. It’s a little bit convoluted here as they struggle to find a story to trigger the events of this film. It’s also a little silly at parts. If the creatures come and hunt them only if Venom takes over, then why would he do it unless absolutely necessary, yet he does it just to have a dance with Mrs. Chen (Peggy Lu).
Throughout Brock’s struggles, there is also a battle going on between Dr. Paine and Strickland as he wants to track down and kill whatever is taking out his team, while the Dr. wants to capture them so she can further her studies. Like I said earlier, she is driven by her desire to do what her brother wanted to do but couldn’t because his life ended too soon. Their constant clashing actually leads to both her and her assistant Sadie (Clark Backo) losing their jobs before all hell breaks loose.
Eventually through a few battles, Eddie and Venom are caught and brought to the lab were the creatures show up. At this point, the release all the other symbiotes to join in the fight. It was a fun fight to watch, over the top, lots of explosions, and of course, the creatures slowly starting to win as they devoured the symbiotes one-by-one. This was also the perfect time for Strickland and Dr. Paine to work together. It takes all of them to eventually win the day, but not before a heartfelt scene of Venom sacrificing himself to save Eddie and also destroying the key in the process. Yes… you read that right, it was a touching moment and they did a good job making you get all the feels as Venom is destroyed along with the creatures. When you stick with them through three movies, it’s hard not to feel a little sad at seeing that.
Before I wrap up, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Martin (played by Rhys Ifans) and his family Nova (Alanna Ubach), Echo (Hala Finley), and Leaf (Dash McCloud). I enjoyed their roles and the comic relief that they brought. Them cashing out their life-savings to drive across the country to see if they can see an alien at Area 51 before they close it down was a fun story, but ultimately didn’t lend a lot to the overall plot of the film. Other than giving Eddie a ride for a bit and coming back at the end (which they had to be saved anyway), they just didn’t bring a lot. However, I liked that they were there and it made the movie better to watch.
So, to wrap it up, “Venom: The Last Dance” is a fun movie and it was a great way to bring the trilogy to an end. It (like it’s predecessors) aren’t great, but are fun stories to see unfold on the big screen. If you like comic book or superhero movies, you will enjoy this. Personally, I thought it was above average, but has some issues and I give it a 7 out of 10… mostly because a 6 seems too low.
So there you have it for another week here at 1guysmindlessmoviereviews.com. Have you had the chance to see the movie yet? What are your thoughts? Did you think it was on par with the other two? Let me know in the comments and join me here next week where I will have another mindless movie review of some sort.
