Either you’re on Venom’s wavelength or you’re not. If so, you’re not alone, because it turns out a lot of people are. Sony’s hit Marvel series includes a triptych of strangely engaging comic book films featuring Tom Hardy’s take on reporter Eddie Brock and his sassy symbiote sidekick, Venom (whom Hardy also voices). The third installment, “Venom: The Last Dance,” rounds out the trio of films, both deadpan and irreverent, creating a campy tone of their own, distinct from more serious superheroes or sarcastic superheroes. those of reference.
Much of this unique humor is tied to star Hardy’s performance as Venom and Eddie, and through his writing contributions (he has a story credit on “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” and ” Venom: The Last Dance”), and a close collaboration with her long-time friend Kelly Marcel, who wrote all three films and made her directorial debut with “The Last Dance”, which with this title announces itself as Venom’s last potential whirlwind on the floor.
The main draw of these films has always been the relationship between Eddie and Venom, his alien buddy who frequently comes out to say hello and crack up, and who can take over Eddie’s body with his tar-like bulk and giant teeth for various exploits. strength and courage. The irascible Venom loves animals, eats brains and is moved by music (in the second opus, they have a rave; in this one, it’s a choreographed disco dance in a Vegas penthouse).
This remains the central point of “The Last Dance,” in which Eddie and Venom try to get from Mexico to New York and end up stranded in Area 51, as aliens are wont to do. Through a large amount of exposition, we learn that the pair became a codex, or key, to open some sort of galactic prison where some sort of stringy-haired dark lord has been locked away by his symbiote children. He has now sent an army of crab-like aliens through portals to retrieve the Eddie-Venom codex and break free.
The pair transform into a tracking device when Venom fully manifests, and the codex can only be destroyed if one of them dies. The story is therefore essentially a chase film through the American southwest. With General Strickland (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and his special forces also in pursuit, and an alien-friendly scientist, Dr. Payne (Juno Temple) attempting to recover his specimens, chaos ensues in and around Area 51 , which is about to be decommissioned in three years. days.
The desert setting and devouring alien monsters give “The Last Dance” a whiff of “Starship Troopers,” a soup of “Tremors,” nodding to those self-consciously campy creature features of B-movies of yesteryear. This “Last Dance” may be shaggy, silly and even a little stupid, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, especially when it nods so strongly to its own genre play.
There’s a sense of serendipity to this journey, but Hardy’s odd charm and great soundtrack go a long way toward smoothing out the cracks and bumps in the road, which is also an ensemble comedy in which Eddie meets different people , including a father obsessed with aliens. (Rhys Ifans) taking his family on a pilgrimage to Area 51 in their hippie Volkswagen bus, and his old friend Mrs. Chen (Peggy Lu), who runs the slot machines in Vegas. These supporting actors have the important task of playing the role of the straight guy to Venom’s clown. Ever since Michelle Williams in the first film, it’s imperative that Venom’s entourage understands the mission, but allows him to shine, and this casting never cracks.
Because it’s not the supporting characters, the stories, the settings or the special effects that make “Venom” what it is, but rather the chemistry Hardy has – with himself – as a character ( s) double(s) in duel. Maybe it’s his friendship with Marcel that makes these films work, because you genuinely believe in the bond between Eddie and Venom; that they care as much as they bicker, and this is highlighted in “The Last Dance”, which is, unfortunately, perhaps the last time these two will dance. While the concept itself is running out of gas and it would be nice to free Hardy up to do something else, it’s a fitting sendoff for the cheeky alien with the thousand-watt smile.
Katie Walsh reviews films for Tribune News Service.
“Venom: The Last Dance” – 2.5 stars (out of 4)
MPA Rating: PG-13 (for intense sequences of violence and action, bloody images and strong language)
Duration: 1:49
How to watch: In theaters October 25
