Venom: The Last Dance (2024), directed by Kelly Marcel, stars Tom Hardy, Juno Temple, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rhys Ifans, Stephen Graham, Peggy Lu, Clark Backo, Alanna Ubach, Cristo Fernandez, Jared Abrahamson, Hala Finley, Dash McCloud, and Andy Serkis. The film is the third installment in the titular Venom franchise and once again follows Eddie Brock/Venom as they attempt to save the world from sure destruction. When the king of symbiotes, Knull (Serkis), obtains the ability to track the location of his symbiote offspring, he’s led directly to Earth. Because Knull can only track them when they’re attached, Eddie and Venom decide to stay apart and lay low. When it becomes clear that Knull’s threat to humanity is greater than they could have possibly imagined,  Eddie/Venom team up with a no-nonsense general (Ejiofor) and a traumatized scientist (Temple) to save the day. 

Although Hardy carries the movie similarly to the first two installments, he doesn’t carry it as effectively. It’s not that his energy isn’t up to snuff, it’s just the simple fact that the character is starting to feel a little stale. As for the supporting cast, everyone seems to understand the kind of movie they’re in, it’s just a shame that the type of movie they’re in is a needless third installment in a franchise that should have never gotten one sequel let alone two. Rhys Ifans is fun as the hippie family man who Eddie crosses paths with along his journey, the thing is, it’s also a character we’ve seen countless times before. Is the character decent comic relief? Yes. Is the character so entertaining that you want to cry to the heavens about it? No. As for Dr. Teddy Payne (Temple) and General Strickland (Ejiofor), they’re essentially the guidelines for creating generic comic book characters. The script provides them with the bare minimum of characterization, but the worst part is, they don’t DO anything. Sequences involving these characters are boring and often fail to connect to the story of Eddie/Venom. By the time these characters come together in the third act, it’s hard to care about them due to the lack of tension in their relationships. Characters shift alliances and make important choices but there isn’t any weight to it. 

The only thing that has ever made the Venom movies halfway enjoyable is their sense of awkward, “memeable” humor that distracts the viewer from the lackluster drama/action. Unfortunately, this third installment’s half-hearted desire to provide an emotionally effective/serious end to the trilogy often overshadows the series’ biggest strength. Whereas the second movie only attempts to recapture the magic of the first movie, this film tries to be something the series never was. Of course, I appreciate attempts to go in different directions and try something new, but this movie’s shifts in direction only result in it creeping toward the tone of the most soulless MCU sludge. In other words, the movie tries to be so many different things that it fails to succeed at any of them. 

Thankfully, the film still holds enough of the tone we love about Venom to not feel like a total waste of time. It’s a disappointing movie (even in the context of the other Venom films), but it still has enough fun to easily kill 2 hours. However, this is only if you can get past the often low intelligence, awkward tone. For example, the movie ends with a sentimental montage of Eddie and Venom’s best moments as Maroon Five’s “Memories” plays. Yeah, you read that correctly and it isn’t a joke. 

Overall, this feels more like a footnote on the first two movies than it does a proper and satisfying sequel. It’s a step down from its predecessors in almost every way, but thankfully still results in an easy enough watch. It won’t excite fans of the previous movies, but I don’t think they’ll take up pitchforks either. Unless one needs closure, this is a movie you can easily skip and not look back. C-