Venom: The Last Dance
Even if they never have a substantial impact in the larger MCU than Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) being sent there briefly while he’s on the lamb in Mexico, there’s something about these “Venom” movies I unabashedly love. None of them are near the upper echelon of superhero movies, but they have a gonzo appreciation for the absurd in superhero narratives that I enjoy thoroughly. And even though “The Last Dance” is not much different in terms of quality to its predecessors, I feel like it sticks the landing in how this story of Eddie Brock and his symbiote partner is supposed to end.
The film begins with a setting up of the villainous presence against Eddie and Venom (at least, part of it) in this film, with a powerful entity known as Knull sending his ravenous Xenophages across the galaxy looking for a Codex which will release him from the prison the symbiotes created for him. The Codex is created when a symbiote and its host die, and sure enough, Eddie and Venom have done that. But that’s not the only thing they’ll have to contend with when they return to the states.
“The Last Dance” is co-written by Hardy and screenwriter Kelly Marcel, who is a co-founder of the Bad Dog Theater Company with Hardy, and has written all three of the “Venom” films. She is also making her directorial debut with this one, and given all the different elements she has to juggle here, she does a good job with the film. The film leans into silly humor when it’s just Eddie and Venom, and it has them doing some wacky stuff, and a lot of time to themselves. The superhero nonsense regarding Knull and then a military and scientific installation at Area 51 where scientists are studying symbiotes, with a military man named Strickland (Chiwetel Ejiofor) looking after things, is almost secondary to the film compared to the dynamic between Eddie and Venom, and that’s one of the strongest things about all of these films. Marcel really leans into it here, and even gives us an interesting perspective when Eddie and Venom find a ride with a family (led by the hilariously sincere Rhys Ifans) trying to get Area 51 before it’s shut down. There’s warmth in this film in a lot of moments, and it all leads up to this film’s finale. This is a sweet movie about two beings that need each other, and see each other’s value. I actually kind of needed that right now.
