Venom: The Last Dance is a sincere finale to one of the greatest love stories ever told: an ex-journalist and his gooey glutinous alien boyfriend.

From its very obvious title, Venom: The Last Dance is the final installment of Tom Hardy and his CGI symbiote’s forbidden love affair, almost as a send-off break-up film. Its finale breaks off any type of multiverse setup previously established in the Sony Spider-Man titles to return to its titular character while adding in unnecessary build-ups for a future without Hardy’s Venom. Not quite a passing of the torch but a new idea completely. Simply having Venom in three movies makes up for any faults the movie might inquire about, all due to Venom being one of the most interesting cinematic beings improving any movie he is in. Venom is an admirer of life and these films prove his genuine curiosity whether taking part in a dance to A-Teens or playing the slots, he is here for it all. 

With this being the duo’s “last dance” all it needs to do is put them on one monumental journey and the crazier the better. Involving a running shoe gag, a hippie family, and a Venom frog, the script never holds back on its self-aware ridiculousness of the gooey alien/human hybrid that grounds the narrative. The people come to these films for a silly time and it delivers on the most wacky situations the two find themselves in almost like a mish-mosh of different comic adventures all in one story that gets weighed down when it tries to adhere to the rule of superhero films.  The comedic and emotional elements don’t have the same forced nature other comic book films have due to it not trying to have a meta approach to the genre but leaning into how absurd these live-action movies actually are when you think about it. 

The Sony superhero universe lacks the cohesiveness found in the MCU and when it doesn’t try to find a similar note amongst its other titles that’s when it works. Venom is not trying to redefine the genre or make Eddie and Venom a believable duo because the logline itself of an alien power possessing an everyday man is an outrageous statement that builds the heart of this series.  Even with the haphazard effects and lighting found in the large villain of Knull and other Venoms that arise from the dust of the desert, it emphasizes the tattered self-image Venom has of itself.  The series never found its footing with an overarching baddie who decides to bring a life-threatening force to its conclusion a bit jarring when more organic feats could have been built to separate Venom and Eddie. Maybe that is the feeling to get at though on how separating from your closest partner or someone that can complete you is the equivalent of the world ending, if that’s the case Kelly Marcel’s script nails down that idea spectacularly. 

Unlike other supes, Eddie is not gifted in any manner outside of having Venom inside of him to rely on to take on most of the action. Venom: The Last Dance divides up the time between the twosome to both take on the mantle of the anti-hero in whichever circumstance best fits their skilled abilities. It leads them on the run with no money, no help, and sometimes for Eddie no shoes which is refreshing compared to so many of its fellow films allowing its heroes to easily jump from place to place with no explanation of how. These are two different entities that have reached their final form in being so interconnected that it’s heartbreaking to think of them as separate which is where the main emotional chord of the film comes into play. An earlier moment of Venom’s goo almost being captured and not able to get to Eddie in time builds up the tears to come as the thought of losing your closest friend is too hard to handle. As Hardy takes on both roles it’s easy to have chemistry with yourself but somehow he makes both men so vastly different that watching them come together you can’t imagine them ever being apart. He masters the ego, odd couple, and brothers all in one relationship that some actors would kill to have that chemistry with a rock.  Brock has moments of thinking what a normal life as a father would be like but it’s more gut wrenching to think about him missing out on a lifetime of Venom than not being a father in a shocking turn of events these movies have bestowed upon us. 

Hardy making the world care about a CGI alien infused into every inch of his body is something to be studied. 

Grade: B-

Oscars Prospects:
Likely: None
Should be Considered: Best Supporting Actor (Tom Hardy as Venom)

Where to Watch: In Theaters