Despite being released back in late October of 2024, I finally got around to watching Venom "The Last Dance". Growing up being a big comic book nerd, and have been a huge fan of what the Marvel Cinematic Universe has created during the first 4 phases of their production, I had fallen off of most of the Marvel/Sony comic book movies due to over saturation.
While I flipping back and fourth between The Hunger Games, and the final 4 minutes of Kentucky/Mizzou (the over hit), I noticed the first Tom Hardy Venom movies was coming on after the game. I began watching that and then started scrolling on-demand and later Netflix to find Venom 3 was available to stream.
Venom is also a big warriors fan.
I was fully expecting this movie to not be great. The initial movie of the trilogy was very well done, and Tom Hardy is perfect for the role of Eddie Brock. However, with most superhero sequels, Venom "Let There Be Carnage", well there was a huge drop off and Woody Harrelson really leaned into being a psycho for that role. The plot however, fell way short and was all over the place.
So expectations for the conclusion of the Venom Trilogy were at an all time low, but no matter how bad a TV series/Movie trilogy may be, I will always have to finish to the end.
At the very least, I expected Venom: The Last Dance to be a better movie than Let There Be Carnage, as that bar was so low that it isn't a hard task to beat. And initially, as I got up from the couch, I felt that it had met that minimum requirement.
Listen, I am no movie critic, I will not break down the usage of CGI or other big cinematic terms that some 18 year old from NYU film school would use within movie reviews. I thought the movie was good, not great, plot was rushed, and character development wasn't great, but for someone like myself, I did find the movie to be entertaining, and they played to their strengths utilizing the humor between Eddie Brock and Venom.
I think there are way too many storylines in here, and the main one got some potential, but it was wasted in typical Sony fashion. The "Spider-Man 4" rumors have been blown out of proportion in my opinion, so temper your expectations.
The narrative feels very half baked with it feeling like a chain of things just randomly happening. Pointless characters that don't add much. Jokes being thrown at you just to see which land. Rhys Ifans and Chiwetel Ejiofor characters could have been played by anyone but feels purposely done because they knew fans recognised them from other Marvel projects. The villain Knull looks cool but is just there to be teased for future projects.
The movie is basically a Bonnie and Clyde road trip between Hardy and Venom as they try to make their way from Mexico to New York. Which you would think would eventually lead to some kind of post credit scene or ending with a teaser for a Spider-Man/Venom face off. Spoiler alert, that never happens. Shout out Venom horse.
Venom: The Last Dance works best when it focuses on Eddie and Venom's story instead of trying to set up the future of the Sonyverse. If you didn't like the previous Venom films, this won't change your mind. It's still messy, but it gets more right than its predecessors.
This is easily the campiest and most mature of the bunch. It takes its time with the characters, letting us sit with them instead of rushing into the next action set piece. Still being PG-13 it manages to cram in a lot more gore than its predecessors. The action is inventive, and the humor hits its mark. It also doesn't shy away from getting personal and emotional. Eddie and Venom's relationship has never felt more genuine. I'll admit-I teared up a few times by the end.
Some may be disappointed by the portrayal of Knull, but personally, I loved it. He feels like an over looming threat rather than an one-off villain, and the "God of Darkness" gets a Thanos-esque treatment he deserves.
Now, don't get me wrong-the movie is still bad, technically speaking-but it's self-aware about that. Instead of being "bad bad," it chooses to be "fun bad" and entertain you, and I respect that. Not every movie needs to be great; sometimes being fun is enough.
Even with the lows, I have always found a weird sense of comfort with this rendition of Venom. I have found myself caring more for these characters than maybe even the script intended. So I am happy to say that by the end, it does enough to justify this trilogy's existence - and to such an satisfying extent that I'd rather live in a world where the Venom movies exist than one where it doesn't.
According to Rotten Tomato's, here are the scores for the Venom Trilogy:
Venom: Let There Be Carnage (58%)
Venom: The Last Dance (40%)
Venom (30%)
In my opinion I would probably rank them in the following:
Venom: The Last Dance (55%)
Venom (45%)
Venom: Let There Be Carnage (30%)
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