Venom The Last Dance movie review: Tom Hardy's bittersweet farewell to his best friend is a moderately entertaining watch | Hollywood

Venom The Last Dance Movie Review: The title of Tom Hardy's new Marvel film suggests that it is the conclusion to the Venom series, which began in 2018. While Ruben Fleischer did a good job with the origin story, the sequel – Andy Serkis' Venom: “Let There Be Carnage” (2021) also reflected its title – is utter carnage beyond redemption. However, the threequel manages to return to its roots and deliver a moderately entertaining but appropriate finale.

(Also Read: Will Tom Hardy's Venom Fight Tom Holland's Spider-Man? Actor Appears at Comic-Con)

Appropriate director

“Venom: The Last Dance” will be directed by Kelly Marcel, who has been associated with the franchise as a senior screenwriter since its inception. The threequel to the testosterone-fueled Venom franchise marks her directorial debut, but benefits significantly from her female perspective – she also wrote “Fifty Shades of Gray” and “Cruella.” Kelly peppers the film – particularly the banter between Eddie and the Venom symbiote – with moments that are sweet, funny, offbeat and even moving.

For example, Venom looks at the Grand Canyon and suggests to Eddie that he should retire there and seek refuge. Or Venom screaming “Horsie-Horsie-Horse” with joy after spotting the animal in the middle of nowhere. Or Venom putting on his dancing shoes and shaking a leg with Ms. Chen to ABBA’s “Dancing Queen.” Or Venom hopes to land in New York to catch a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty – the lady who welcomes all visitors to America. Hell, we even see Venom break down in tears at the end of the film.

Since Kelly has been writing the “Venom” films for six years now, she is very familiar with the conflicts and complexities that come with them. When Eddie kills an army officer in self-defense – without a symbiote to blame – he realizes how he is turning into Venom, even if the symbiote doesn't hold him prisoner. Eddie ends up saving several other lives to redeem himself, but that doesn't make the hero in him look down on Venom. “We are Venom” is not just a superhero punchline, but a way of life. Poison is as much a part of him as darkness is a part of all of us.

The end? It's about time

Despite this fresh eye and multi-layered approach, I would urge Kelly not to be tempted enough to write another Venom film. The franchise has exhausted its possibilities and can now fade into the background. Andy Serkis, who directed the terrible second part, is the voice of Knull in this part – the new supervillain who is even “older than the universe”. He predicts a return, but one hopes it's another property in the franchise since Venom has had its day.

The symbiote takes on new forms in the threequel – it takes over a horse, a fish and even a frog. We also see many more symbiotes – including one with a Christmas code – and several new characters, but none of them are compelling enough to merit continuing the franchise or warrant their own spin-off. The only characters that even come close to landing on this radar are a family of four nomads who travel across the country in a rickety van to discover aliens in Area 51. And boy, do they discover some.

In the age of multiverse storytelling, it feels rebelliously satisfying when a franchise or character completes their arc. One can hope that Tom Hardy as Venom can now hang up his symbiote and not end up resurrecting himself for the sake of a Deadpool & Wolverine type cash cow. While Tom isn't bad, his Venom isn't even as iconic as Hugh Jackman's Wolverine or Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man. After this worthy final dance, can Eddie and Venom please rest in peace?