(film review) - Venom: The Last Dance

What I will say first and foremost is that, Tom Hardy and his portrayal of these two characters are what has made these Venom movies entertaining. If you are around my age and know anything about the Venom character and where he came from, you will know it was from out of space, it latched onto Peter Parker as Spider-Man and Spider-Man had access to all these advanced powers. When the Venom symbiote was disgarded, the symbiote latched onto Eddie Brock and Eddie had all the agility and 'spider-man-like' powers going forward. The Symbiote was an entity all by itself, but what sold the character for many (or at least myself anyway), was his proximity to Spider-Man, how he was bigger, faster and stronger than Spider-Man whilst also being able to avoid Spider-Man's Spider-sense making him a formidable foe. The Spider-Man animated series from the 90's showed me that, especially as I never read the comics. The love for Venom is HUGE, so many thought the character would only work if Spider-Man was involved in the movie some how, but Tom Hardy is the person who has made it work. I would say the first movie did really well because it was the curiosity that led to people wanting to see a Spider-Man villain movie without Spider-Man and how it would work along with the love for the character. The second movie was ok, but not as good as the first and felt a little lackluster because Carnage is a serial killer and very villainous, so to have his character toned down took away from the movie and ultimately, the movie did not have Spider-Man in it. This third and final movie or at least, final with Tom Hardy, well...it is not terrible, it is not great, but then, were any of them great?

After the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Eddie Brock and Venom are "taken back to their universe" and Eddie is now on the run. Wanting to clear his name, Eddie decides to travel across America to clear his name but when the King of all the Symbiotes Null realises he can be released from his prison by killing Venom and Eddie and harnessing the matrix bond they have created, Null sends out a hunter to track them down. Eddie and Venom must find a way to clear his name and also not get caught by the hunter which will free Null and who will destroy life on Planet Earth 

It is entertaining. The story is lackluster but when you are watching a venom movie, it is more of the fighting scenes and banter you are looking for rather than anything else. Null is a forgettable villain, the hunter is terrifying and in regards to anything else, it is a short film that drags a little but is still fun but also pointless. The film almost feels like it was made to make a trilogy movie set more than anything because a lot of the stories scenarios felt forced and some were out of place. There was a scene where a character turns up in the movie and the whole scene felt forced and pointless although you understood why they did it at the time, it was still a bad decision, you knew it going in, and it turned out exactly how you thought it would.

In regards to the music, nothing special, the acting was fine, the special effects and tight scenes were really good, but other than that, the film is definitely nothing to write home about. I felt like Stephen Graham, a brilliant actor, was wasted. Certain story plots were telegraphed and ultimately, obvious. There is a scene with a family which felt a little forced, but although I enjoyed the dynamics personally, it also felt pointless being in the movie.

Would I say to go and see this, probably not and that is simply because you really do not need to waste your time if you think there is going to be a connection to the MCU, a connection to a wider Spider-verse or anything remotely exciting going forward especially as it is the last from Tom Hardy. But if you want to see Tom Hardy and this character, what they are getting up to this time around and you also want something fun, go for it. Like I said, it is entertaining, but not trash.