Venom: The Last Dance Review

Venom has always leaned heavily on Tom Hardy's performance as Eddie Brock and the voice of Venom, the wise-cracking alien symbiote that has become his inseparable sidekick. Their banter has been the franchise's backbone, without which these films might have been formulaic at best. Curiously, though, The Last Dance, the trilogy's final installment and Hardy's swan song, sidelines its star in favour of a crowded ensemble and an overloaded plot that diminishes his presence. Kelly Marcel, who wrote the first two Venom movies, directs this final chapter but ultimately steers it into disappointing territory.

Picking up where Let There Be Carnage left off, Eddie is now hiding in Mexico, on the run for his involvement in Detective Mulligan's death. As Eddie treks back to the US, he faces a dual threat: the US Army, led by Rex Strickland (Chiwetel Ejiofor), and a monstrous alien called a Xenophage, both in pursuit of the "Codex", a mysterious artifact birthed by Eddie and Venom's bonding.

Meanwhile, yet another storyline follows Dr Paine (Juno Temple) and her research into Symbiotes at Area 55 (a secret lab underneath Area 51). The muddled plot has room for one more tangent: Rhys Ifans plays the father of a hippie family making their way down to Area 51 in their beat-up van to catch a glimpse of some aliens.

The stakes are, naturally, nothing less than end-of-the-world stuff: if Xenophage gains control of the Codex, it could unleash Knull, an ancient, malevolent being imprisoned in a dark realm. Witheringly poor CGI shows us glimpses of Knull locked in prison, yet able to order his army of Xenophages to earth using time vortexes. Beside these prehistoric giant tick-like Xenomorphs, symbiotes like Venom look positively comely.

As the film trundles toward its inevitable finale, it's surprising how little emotion is evoked in the events unfolding. Eddie and Venom's banter, once the heart of the franchise, is reduced to a slow dribble of one-liners. Venom gets a brief moment in the spotlight when he breaks into a choreographed dance to Abba's Dancing Queen with Mrs Chen (Peggy Lu). The climactic battle that follows is a haphazard CGI storm of alien mayhem: gooey, shape-shifting symbiotes clash with the insectoid Xenophages amid futile gunfire from the Army, creating a scene that's more chaotic than thrilling.

Tom Hardy still manages to shine, portraying a weary, vexed Eddie grappling with his volatile "best friend". Some of the film's most entertaining moments include Venom convincing Eddie to engage in reckless stunts, from leaping off a plane ("How does Tom Cruise do this?" Eddie wonders) to gambling at a Las Vegas casino. These scenes underscore Hardy's skill in carrying the film, despite a visibly worn demeanour that signals he's ready to say goodbye to Venom.

Dan Deacon's soundtrack tries to enhance the mood but feels muted, and the frequent needle drops-such as Maroon 5's "Memories" in a montage-only feel overdone and cloying.

The Last Dance, with its half-baked characters and needlessly complicated story, ends up feeling like a scattered farewell. This final movie tries to wrap up the Venom series by burying what made it special in the first place. In the end, it's a farewell that's occasionally fun but just doesn't fully do justice to the quirky charm that set Venom apart.