The success of Venom is still hugely puzzling to many. “The concept of notorious members of the Spider-Man rogues’ gallery being given their own films with no real ties to the Webslinger could have been seen as desperation by Sony, the company that owns the rights to all the heroes and villains in that particular canon, after their previous successes and failures with the franchise. Sam Raimi’s first two films soared high, while his trilogy closer left much to be desired. The reboot films from Marc Webb gave us a brilliant Peter Parker in Andrew Garfield, but the fallout from The Amazing Spider-Man 2 meant another course correction, this time “borrowing” the character to Marvel and the MCU in the form of Tom Holland. Those three films were huge successes, with the third mixing the old with the new.
In the interim, Spidey villains Morbius, Madame Web, Kraven The Hunter (coming soon), and Venom all had their own spin-off/standalone films with varying degrees of success: the first two flopped horrifically, while Kraven has been delayed numerous times but Venom has been keeping things afloat. Just. Poor reviews for the first two films meant nothing and staggering box-office numbers followed so a third was inevitable and star Tom Hardy has said this really is the “Last Dance”. We’re glad that it is finally over: truth be told, while the trilogy closer is better than its predecessors, it’s not by very much at all and still falls foul of many of the poor creative choices that have hindered the whole sorry saga.
Directed this time by Kelly Marcel, screenwriter of the first two films, the spirit of the franchise thus far remains intact – if it ain’t broke – which leads to another 90 minutes of chaos, unabashed madness, and pretty horrendous storytelling. Many have taken to Venom in and his eccentricities perhaps because it is a few miles from the notes struck by that Marvel Studios or the recent dark past of DC, and its frenetic pacing, outlandishness, and more comedic sensibilities certainly stuck a chord in terms of profit, but it does not make for a great experience at the movies, no matter what die-hards may suggest. Indeed, the same model, in some respects, has been used for the other Sony spin-offs – and we know how that ended.
For all its chutzpah and energy, however, Venom: The Last Dance is another weary, disjointed, unfunny mess of a film that wins marginally over its siblings for two reasons: Rhys Ifans and Venom Frog. The former finds the right melody in the madness to bring something worth sticking around for and it’s just a shame he is in it so sporadically. The biggest sin, however, is how wasteful this whole series has been: it only seems interested in having Venom bite off bad guys’ heads and doing “human” things like going to raves or, in this one, ballroom dancing, not to mention how little any of the characters have to do. Ejiofor and Temple look mighty bored throughout.
There’s an audience for Venom: The Last Dance but it isn’t for this intrepid writer. There’s so much potential with this character but, as with the Topher Grace version back in Spider-Man 3, it seems they are happy to just chuck him on screen, have him do anything and the studio and producers (the same ones as Morbius and Madame Web, fun fact) will be happy. As it stands, despite a small advantage over the others, this is the worst superhero trilogy ever, and by a long way, too. Madame Web 2 anyone?
★ 1/2
In UK cinemas from 25 October / Tom Hardy, Juno Temple, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rhys Ifans, Stephen Graham, Cristo Fernandez / Dir: Kelly Marcel / Sony Pictures / 15
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