I watched Venom: The Last Dance. The most incoherent film trilogy

This week, a new film was released worldwide, concluding the Venom trilogy – Venom: The Last Dance.

After two unusual and controversial installments, we gave Tom Hardy his last chance in his inseparable symbiote a chance to become a normal film. The first film received poor reviews from critics, who noted it as chaotic and formulaic. At the same time, ordinary viewers liked the unusual mixture of comedy and action. The sequel received slightly better reviews than the first due to its improved pacing and greater emphasis on comedic elements.

We were counting on correcting the shortcomings in the remaining parts, but we looked at it and were disappointed. Everything here is not so clear, but spoiler alert – it couldn’t have been better.

Brief description

• It’s just a mindless chaotic comedy
  Surprisingly, there are few truly spectacular scenes here
  Boring conflict scenario
  Bottom line: a film for fans of the genre

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Now Venom is a mindless chaotic comedy

What is the film about?: Eddie and Venom are hiding from the authorities alive, but there are problems with a new threat – the ancient cosmic evil Knull, the creator of all symbiotes, who seeks to get out of captivity and destroy it all.

The first two films attracted attention with a strange combination of comedic skirmishes and dark humor mixed with elements of horror and action. Hardy truly delivers a hilarious parody of himself as he plays into his split personalities, with the Venom symbiote being the loud-mouthed alien monster out for head and destruction, and Eddie the counterbalanced “down on his luck journalist” with little going for him in life.

This odd friendship made the comedic elements really shine, especially in the second half, where gags and jokes seemed like a natural part of their life together.

In the new film, the comedy component has faded away: there are fewer jokes, and they have taken the place of a “scientific” line and a dull antagonist who plays more of a harbinger of future events than an interesting villain.

The jokes have noticeably thinned out and are not as successful, as new plot elements have appeared in the foreground – ancient cosmic villains, symbiote research and the threat of mass destruction. It showed the odd couple speaker in the background, and instead of duet extravaganzas, we see cameo scenes of them interacting.

In Venom, the humor was always based on the disagreements between Eddie and Venom: the symbiote constantly provokes Eddie into conflicts, persuades him to give revolutionary alien aggression, and Eddie tries to control himself.

Their bickering over food (especially Venom’s love for the head), random destruction and inconsistencies in character are funny: Eddie is a failed and anxious journalist, Venom is an aggressive alien with a violent temper and easy desires. A highlight was the scene in the restaurant where Venom forces Eddie to get into a tank of lobsters and eat one of them – the scene looked funny and bright thanks to Hardy’s cool performance.

The rest of the humor has undergone changes: there are noticeably fewer jokes and gags. While the core of the humor remained the same—Eddie and Venom’s “weird” limitations—the edge was lessened, and many of the scenes felt less spontaneous. The comedic balance has shifted towards serious themes, and the jokes have become less inventive.

For example, a “hippie family” appears in the story, with Eddie and Venom having problems while traveling. They try to be a comedic element, adding funny moments with their unusual attitude towards aliens and peculiar dialogues. But these scenes with them are short-lived, a little drawn out and do not contribute much to the overall story, rather acting as a dragging element.

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Surprisingly, there are few truly spectacular scenes here

With a small budget of $110 million, the film promised a cool spectacle, but the costs are almost justified. Too much criminal.

In the first installment, the special effects focused on Venom’s transformations: his organic movements, toothy smile and dark, slimy texture were mainly visual attractions. Although the CGI looked crude, it blended with the chaotic atmosphere of the film, adding to Venom’s recognizable appearance.

In the sequel, the special effects became even more significant: the scenes with Carnage looked bright, thanks to his red color and outlandish movements, the fights between Venom and Carnage received greater detail.

In the new film, the scale has become larger, but there is an unpleasant nuance. For example, the appearance of an army of xenophages—giant alien creatures sent by Knull—looks more like digital chaos than spectacular combat. Visually, they equate weight to the common world of symbiotes, but are quickly used in the next blow and turn into blurry masses of material. Doubtful and not ok.

The climactic battle takes up a third of the running time and is replete with special effects, but it rather resembles digital chaos in which it is difficult to follow events.

The level of CGI action is over-the-top and the scenes are exceptionally chaotic, as if the creators were simply trying to fill the screen with animation. Unlike previous parts, where the visual elements were still in harmony with the narrative, here the special effects drown out the story itself.

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Boring conflict scenario

The Last Dance’s script tries to bring drama by focusing on the ancient cosmic antagonist Knul and explaining the storylines in a meaningful way.

Unlike the first two parts, where the narrative was simpler and more built around the dynamics of Eddie and Venom, the emphasis here changes. Now the underground laboratories of 55, the research of Dr. Payne, the confrontation with the Zone with the military commander Strickland, Knull and his army of xenophages are added, as if to stand behind all this, clearly paving the way for future films.

Because of this, the main conflict arises and the film plays out as a series of disjointed scenes that are simply added for the sake of the story.

This “multi-layered” addition of antagonists and leading characters makes the plot heavy and often boring, making it difficult to focus on anything specific.

Unlike the sequel, where the main antagonist felt threatened and the confrontation had a more logical development, here Knull served more as a lantern than an overt threat. He does not interfere in the actions, but only sends xenophages, which does not make him an interesting antagonist. As a result, instead of an impressive conclusion, the script feels vague and incoherent, and this is one of its most promising weaknesses.

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Bottom line: a film for fans of the genre

In contrast to Deadpool or Wolverine, the film is self-aware, understanding that it is only part of an entertaining comic book world. Venom’s humor and generally non-serious attitude to what is happening indicate an awareness of the concept of absurdity, although it does not save the film from sluggishness.

The film consists of sometimes exciting, but often stupid Venom jokes, written in a formulaic and sometimes pointless sci-fi plot with a new antagonist, Knulem.

Venom: The Last Dance is a film that, despite the stated conclusion of the trilogy, lacks the feeling of a finale. Instead of focusing on the development and closure of Eddie and Venom’s story, it strays away from their relationship, framing everything with formulaic plot devices and adding unnecessary layers that only overload the structure.

The humor plays its part, the script doesn’t offer anything new, and the special effects, while impressive in scope, don’t elevate the film to the level of an exciting blockbuster.

The film will most likely appeal to those who are accustomed to the absurd atmosphere of the first two parts and just want to see another crazy adventure of Venom. Are others passing by? Yes.

Is there a post-credits scene? Yes too. This is Marvel.