VENOM: THE LAST DANCE
(director/writer: Kelly Marcel; screenwriters: story Tom Hardy & Marcel; cinematographer: Fabian Wagner; editor: Mark Sanger; music: Dan Deacon; cast: Tom Hardy (Eddie Brock/Venom), Chiwetel Ejiofor (General Rex Strickland), Juno Temple (Dr. Teddy Paine), Rhys Ifans (Martin), Alanna Ubach (Nova), Stephen Graham (Detective Mulligan), Clark Backo (Sadie), Peggy Lu (Mrs. Chen), Dash McCloud (Leaf), Hala Finley (Echo), Brooke Carter (Young Paine), Cristo Fernandez (Barman), Andy Serkis (Knull); Runtime: 109; MPAA Rating: NR; producers: Avi Arad, Hutch Parker, Tom Hardy, Kelly Marcel, Amy Pascal, Matthew Tolmach; Columbia; 2024-USA/UK/Canada/Mexico)
“The third and last film in the awful Marvel movie trilogy about a helmet-headed alien with scary teeth and a large tongue.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
Brit filmmaker Kelly Marcel is the writer of the 2018 initial Venom franchise film. She makes her feature film directorial debut in this inane, absurd and clunky third version. Kelly also scripts the film that’s based on the story by her and the returning actor Tom Hardy. He plays Eddie Brock, the former journalist who ingested an alien symbiote that comes out of him in the form of a slimy black creature called Venom.
“Venom” is the third and last film in the awful Marvel movie trilogy about a helmet-headed alien with scary teeth and a large tongue.
After returning from an alternate universe, Eddie decides the best course of action for him is to leave his rural Mexican hideaway with Venom and go to New York for safety. Instead, he’s downed by a giant monster in the Nevada desert, then flees to Las Vegas with the help of the aging UFO-obsessed hippie (Rhys Ifans) and his family.
Meanwhile, the beastly alien Knull (voiced by Andy Serkis) wants something called the Codex (an energy force) to free himself from his prison and to do bad things with it in the world, and is in pursuit of Eddie and Venom thinking they possess the Codex.
Eddie’s also wanted by the authorities as a suspect in the murder of a San Francisco detective (Stephen Graham), who died with a symbiote in him.
Eddie is in most danger from the alien leader Knull, who forces him to retreat to an underground bunker in Area 51. There Eddie meets the benevolent research scientist Dr. Teddy Payne (Juno Temple), who wants to help the aliens in her study of symbiotes. Also stationed in the bunker lab is the punitive lunkhead American General Rex Strickland (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who wants to destroy the aliens.
There’s a final showdown between Knull and Eddie, when Eddie realizes he can’t run from the evil alien.
Besides the choppy execution of the story, the film embarrasses itself further with some absurd musical numbers–including a ragged version of Abba’s “Dancing Queen.” It also strangely has Brit actors playing Americans.
If you’re looking for a positive thing to say about this weird, unfunny and visually shoddy sci-fi comic book film, it’s that “The Last Dance” ends the franchise.
REVIEWED ON 11/4/2024 GRADE: C-
dennisschwartzreviews.com