Tom Hardy is as charming as ever in Venom The Last Dance, a buddy road trip comedy that is a total blast when it focuses solely on Eddie and Venom’s last outing.

Venom The Last Dance Review

It’s only been a year in their world since Eddie became the unwilling host for Venom. For us, it has been 6 years of watching these two grow to be unlikely besties. To be clear, I was never a Venom movie hater. The first film was breezy, fun, and packed with Tom Hardy’s undeniable charm. Sure it wasn’t exactly like the comics, or even remotely serious, but it was entertaining and one of the only Sony Off-Off-Spider-Man projects I wanted to watch more than once.

Venom: The Last Dance embraces what made the first one a crowd-pleaser most of the time. The rest is filled with exposition-heavy scenes, bland government buildings, and plot points for future spin-offs that don’t necessarily connect. When it smartly keeps the camera on Eddie and Venom, it’s not only a blast but a reminder of why we are going to miss Hardy in this dual role. These films would never have worked without his willingness to go all-in for this role, bickering with himself and physically doing whatever wild thing the script called for. In The Last Dance, Hardy once again hits the ground running and delivers another great performance as both Eddie and Venom. 

Picking up immediately after the events of Let There Be Carnage (and with a brief explanation of that post credit scene in Spider-Man No Way Home), The Last Dance finds Eddie and Venom on the run from the law after being framed for the murder of Detective Patrick Mulligan (Stephen Graham). Soon Venom realizes they are being pursued by the symbiote-hunting Xenophages, who have been sent by Knull, the terrifying and powerful creator of Venom and all symbiotes. A long time ago, Venom and the others worked together to imprison him, but now he wants out. And the only way he can escape is by retrieving the Codex, which just so happens to be inside of Eddie and Venom. With a secret government agency after them as well as Knull’s grotesque army, the two decide the only thing they can do is go to New York City. 

Sounds like the perfect setup for a road trip movie starring Eddie and Venom. A National Lampoons style romp that would serve as the curtain call for these two misfits. There is even a random hippie family whom, you guessed it, loves aliens. After a brief introduction to Knull, it seems like that is exactly what The Last Dance is going to give fans. Unfortunately Venom’s funny man shenanigans get interrupted by the government B-plot. We learn that at Area 51, the government has been capturing and researching symbiotes for “reasons,” and soon learn about Knull’s threat to the world. This puts General Rex Strickland (Chiwetel Ejiofor) on the hunt for Eddie and Venom with Dr. Teddy Payne (Juno Temple) just wanting to get more samples from them. I stand by my post-screening thoughts that if the script had chosen one threat to Eddie and Venom (my pick would’ve been Knull) then it wouldn’t have gotten bogged down with all the energy killing cuts to dull military operations. 

Venom: The Last Dance works well when it smartly keeps the camera on Eddie and Venom, leaning into their friendship and the chaos that comes with it. To her credit, Kelly Marcel (writer of all three films, stepping into direct this one) knows this and throws us a bone when things become too bogged down. Venom loves musicals, Eddie hates them. Venom loves to sing, Eddie would rather die. There are Venom animals! Then there is the casino trip that is as insanely fun as you imagine it to be. They show up in Vegas, with dingy clothes and no shoes. Luckily, Venom has a plan which may involve a drunk man in a suit. He swears to Eddie he can triple their money with his special alien awareness powers…which just proves Venom has a gambling problem. Luckily Mrs. Chen (Peggy Lu) is also in town. She and Venom dance to ABBA’s “Dancing Queen,” making Eddie question when they had time to rehearse. Side note: someone make Tom Hardy the next Bond. 

As mentioned, Hardy is the heart of this franchise and Marcel wisely lets him do what he does best. He is both the grouchy, hungover straight man and the childish, manic funny man. Physically, he moves and flails in ways that make it hard not to laugh, but does so with a stoic, almost defeated face. It’s pure comedic genius and a testament to Hardy’s abilities to melt into his characters. The rest of the cast is fine, but not essentially memorable. Knull’s actor, I won’t spoil it here, was a smart choice but if we never see him again it will go down as a big missed opportunity. 

This is Hardy’s last outing as Venom, although he revealed at NYCC that he would be willing to fight Spider-Man. Marcel also told the audience that The Last Dance would feature easter eggs for possible future storylines with other symbiotes. Despite all the groundwork being laid, this film is first and foremost a goodbye to this specific trilogy and these characters. There is a moment at the end that is Venom’s version of Deadpool & Wolverine’s memorial to Marvel Fox. Although it’s not quite as emotional, it still hits the right notes for fans. However, if you’re coming to this hoping to get some major breaking insight into future projects (like MCU crossovers or Spidey himself), you should let those thoughts go now. As Venom said, “I’m so done with this multiverse sh*t.”

Verdict

Despite some missteps, Venom: The Last Dance is ultimately still a fun ride when Eddie and Venom’s Jekyll-and-Hyde energy takes center stage. I didn’t love all the choices made here, but I did enjoy watching Hardy run wild with his portrayal of these two best friends. The pacing can be off, some things are dull, others are weird, even nonsensical at times, but you’re still going to realize how much you will miss these two hamming it up on screen. Knull is underdeveloped but could be a big problem in the future if cards are played right, but only time will tell on that one. My advice? Leave expectations of the larger Sony-verse at the door and just come to see Eddie and Venom get into mischief, if you do that you won’t be disappointed. 

Venom: The Last Dance is in theaters on Friday, October 25. The film is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, bloody images and strong language with a runtime of 109 minutes.