REVIEW: ‘Venom: The Last Dance’ Is Just More Tom Hardy (Complimentary)

Venom: The Last Dance doesn’t only bring back Tom Hardy as our lovable and deeply annoyed Eddie Brock and his symbiote bestie Venom. It also brings Hardy’s work as a writer with Kelly Marcel, who serves as the film’s director. Venom 3 closes out Sony’s Venom trilogy and returns the character to its sequestered universe. The film stars Hardy, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Juno Temple, Rhys Ifans, Stephen Graham, Peggy Lu, and Alanna Ubach.

Absolutely the best part of Sony’s troubled live-action Spider-verse landscape, Hardy’s take on the villain turned anti-hero has become a beloved part of pop culture. In that vein, Venom 3 is just more Tom Hardy, but I mean that in a good way.

In Venom: The Last Dance, Eddie and Venom are on the run. Picking up immediately where they last ended (in No Way Home), the couple finds themselves on the hook for Carnage’s killing of Detective Mulligan (Stephen Graham). Hunted by the feds, New York City seems to be the only option for clearing their name. The only problem is they’re still in Mexico. When Venom’s world comes crashing into Eddie’s, the feds start to be the least of their problems as extraterrestrials, which serve the alien-investigating Army, are also involved. Running from seemingly everyone, the duo is forced into a devastating reality: one of them may not make it out alive.

Venom 3’s first act is wild. Unfocused but exciting in its quick pace and humorous in its physical comedy and one-liners, this first third of the film reels you in. However, the exposition that begins in the first part continues too deeply into the second act and causes friction. Eddie and Venom’s trip from Mexico to New York is the film’s core. However, the second act dives too deeply into the multitude of symbiotes, a weird take on Knull, and tries to add depth to the military side of the narrative. However, those elements struggle to cohesion, with Eddie and Venom standing out like a sore thumb.

The Knull of it all hangs over the entire story yet, it feels exacerbatingly detached. While comic fans will know the character from the stellar recent King in Black series and Marvel Event, in the film, he’s just empty. Somehow, he is both the cause of all of the events and necessary for ending all of them. As the film transitions into the third act with the duo’s arrival in Las Vegas, the film begins to find its footing again.

In this section of Venom 3, all roads lead back to our duo. The action gets louder, delves into different symbiotes, and caps off the relationship we’ve seen so far. Everything about the film feels mostly painted by numbers. That said, it’s hard to hate it.

Venom 3’s plot may lack some creativity. However, it does stay sharply away from the trend of recent superhero ventures of just giving the spot of the lead character to someone new. This film isn’t about introducing something new, even with the smörgåsbord of symbiotes. It’s about closing a chapter for its lead character and the audience. In that way, the film is a breath of fresh air in a landscape that refuses to let any mantle rest. Hardy’s take on the character is the focus here, and the film never loses sight of that.

Hardy may not have embodied the villain we all expected through his run as the character, but he has brought chaotic fun and care to the character. It works, from leaning into fan service and the very funniest of AO3 shipping moments to the creativity of creating two completely different personalities portrayed by the same actor.

Look. We come to the Venom films for more than cape stories or high-dramatic character studies. We come to them because Tom Hardy is doing the most as both Eddie and the titular antihero. Whether you see the odd couple as romantic or platonic, Hardy’s ability to deliver the pair’s relationship with absurdity and charm consistently is why we show up. On that note, Venom 3 hits.

Venom’s lines are always comedic, and Eddie’s exacerbated demeanor towards the happy alien who just wants to gamble and sing David Bowie is entirely endearing. Venom’s joy is probably the single most charming element of the film. Add in some suggestive jokes, and it’s what existing fans of this divisive franchise want. Unfortunately, Venom’s charm can sometimes overwhelm Hardy’s portrayal of Eddie. But, when Eddie turns to Venom and trusts him, Hardy is at his best as both.

The film consistently goes overboard with the exposition, and its ensemble of characters ranges from annoying to oddly specific or just bland. But Hardy’s chaotic take on Eddie Brock, as just a tired guy turned fugitive in cargo shorts whose buddy gets him into hijinks (even if it is world-ending), is hard to get mad at. Ultimately, you are either ride or die for Venom (like Eddie), or you just don’t like the trilogy. While Venom: The Last Dance may be weaker than its predecessors (of which 2018’s Venom is still the best), it’s still a good time, and you can tell leading man-turned-writer Tom Hardy is having one too.

Venom: The Last Dance is in theaters everywhere on October 25, 2024.