Venom The Last Dance movie review: Tom Hardy's final Marvel outing is a king-size disappointment

Director: Kelly Marcel

Cast: Tom Hardy, Juno Temple, Rhys Ifans, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Andy Serkis

Where to watch: In cinemas 

Rating: 2 stars

Following the events of Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Eddie Brock is on a run with his symbiote counterpart Venom. They're hunted by cops, special agents, and even symbiote hunters, who want Venom for a bigger cause. How Eddie protects Venom from these extra-terrestrial creatures, and other threats forms the rest of the plot. 

In 2018, Sony Pictures rebooted their Spider-Man universe and came up with a standalone movie on the symbiote anti-hero Venom. Spidey fans were sceptical about Tom Hardy's film, which tries to re-establish Venom after the disappointing reception to Spider-Man 3's Venom. However, the gamble was successful and Tom became the Venom. After the success of Venom, the sequel Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) was also accepted by the masses. The series changed the perception of anti-hero, by giving him a character more than just a maniac eating humans and causing chaos. 

However, the third instalment of Venom, concludes the saga of Eddie Brock, and to describe it in simple words, the film ends the trilogy on a low note. The film is a king-size disappointment that again proves- ambition kills vision. The movie starts on an interesting note, but the excitement fizzles sooner. The new characters, Rex Strickland (Chiwetel Ejiofor), Dr. Payne (Juno Temple) are introduced, without giving information on their background or their motives. 

Venom and other symbiotes hide on earth, to protect themselves from Knull, their creator, who's imprisoned in the darkness. Knull orders his army of symbiote hunters to bring back Venom with Eddie, who's the key to his freedom. The plot looks impressive on paper, but the screenplay kills the fun, as it's all running, hiding, and killing in the repeat mode. 

After a point the film becomes predictable. The last 15 minutes are worth watching, but the movie ends without moving you emotionally, and that's the biggest drawback of the film. Just because a series needs closure, that doesn't mean that it has to end on a tear-jerking note. Even if it does, then you have to make sure to come up with moments that will make you cry (read: No Time To Die, Rocky Balboa, The Dark Knight Rises, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part Two). Even the two post-credit scenes don't leave much of an impact, leaving an MCU fan like me highly disappointed. 

The only redeeming quality of the film was the balance of action and humour that remained constant in the series. Also, Tom Hardy and Rhys Ifans do a fine job in the film. However, the future of Sony's Spider-Man franchise now looks dark. Their upcoming film Kraven The Hunter isn't looking like the film that can take the franchise to new heights. Now, only Spider-Man remains the only hope for them. Overall, don't go with too much expectations, and you might find Venom passable. 

Also read: Bandaa Singh Chaudhary movie review: Arshad Warsi surprises in action-drama, Meher Vij, Arbaaz Khan film packs a punch

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