Venom - The Last Dance

Knull And Void

Venom - The Last Dance
Directed by Kelly Marcel
USA/UK/Mexico 2024
Columbia Pictures
UK Cinema Release Print

Okay... so Venom - The Last Dance was not quite the Venom film I was looking for but I think criticisms I’ve heard about it from various quarters have been a little harsh. It’s been said that it’s ‘all over the place’ both tonally and plot wise but... I don’t think that’s true. The various set pieces do not outweigh or distract from the fact that there is a distinct through line and it all does hold together quite well. At least in as much as most Hollywood large budget productions these days are mostly just set pieces strung together with a bunch of connective tissue anyway.

That being said, the story such as it is... evil Knull, imprisoned in some kind of dimensional void but with bizarrely God-like powers enough that he can send powerful demon dogs to other universes through portals to hunt down a codex to free himself... is utterly ridiculous and doesn’t hold up to much scrutiny. I mean, if you can control all that power... why are you still imprisoned in the first place? Just open up a portal around you dude! Also, if the codex is only in the incarnation of the Venom/Eddie Brock symbiote because he brought Eddie back to life in a previous film and that’s what magically causes one to manifest (for absolutely no logical reason I can fathom) then what about certain other lives in the movie which were saved by other symbiotes? Wouldn’t that also generate another codex? Take your pick.

And that’s the only real problem with this one... well, the main problem, anyway. That the story and logic of that through line, which I assure you is there and at least holds things together, is so idiotic and paper thin that, you just don’t really care about the action that the story is holding up anymore.

Also, what the hell is going on with the casting? I mean, I know since the Disney MCU/Columbia merger from the last few years that we’re now in a different aspect of the multiverse but, having two actors who are known for portraying villains in the Marvel films as different characters is pushing it a bit. I mean, the Chris Evans callback to another era thing just about worked in Deadpool and Wolverine (reviewed here) but having Chiwetel Ejiofor, who played two different versions of Baron Mordo in two different Dr. Strange movies... and  Rhys Ifans, who played The Lizard in both a Columbia and an MCU Spider-Man movie... here playing completely unrelated characters... seems to me to be a couple of odd choices. As good as these actors are.

Okay, so we have Tom Hardy as both Eddie and the voice of Venom and that stuff, the double act he does, still hasn’t gotten old and is really entertaining. And there are some spectacular sequences... such as the Venom horse and the short action sequence in Mexico near the start of the film. And it also addresses Tom Hardy’s cameo appearances in the MCU films too, right from the outset. But there’s just something unsatisfying about all this good stuff without a really credible story to give the fantasy a believable foundation to act as secure tent pegs.

And what could have been a very moving couple of sequences at the end... did still seem quite moving, to be fair but, they just didn’t have the gravitas they could have had in the service of... well, a better story. And, okay, the final montage sequence of the movie (before the two post credits scenes) did seem quite clumsily executed, it has to be said.

But there’s stuff in here which is still worth a watch, such as the expected cameo appearance of Peggy Lu, returning again as Mrs. Chen (it probably works better if you like ABBA songs, I’m guessing). And, overall, I have to say I was fairly entertained by Venom - The Last Dance but it’s definitely my least favourite of the Venom movies, I would say.

As far as the future of Venom at the cinema goes... I’m sure the plan is to keep things going symbiote-wise for a while but possibly not with the inclusion of Venom or Brock as characters themselves. However, Columbia’s other two Spider-Man spin off characters this year are not going to be as successful as this one, for sure. Madam Web (reviewed here) was okayish but a bit of a let down and seems to be generally hated by the general public (and at least one of the lead actresses). And as for the upcoming Kraven - The Hunter... well... this looks about as far away as the original Spider-Man villain as you can get. I’m really expecting it to fall flat on its face, just like Madame Web and Morbius (reviewed here) did. Things are really not looking good for Columbia’s Spider-Man universe movies and I wouldn’t be surprised if another co-production deal with the Disney MCU is going to be on the cards in the near future. Time will tell, I guess.