Bullet Points: Venom: The Last Dance
At its core, the Venom and Eddie Brock relationship is a modern day retelling of the classic tale of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, which makes Venom: The Last Dance the perfect “spooky season” comic book movie…
- Threats Both Foreign and Domestic: Venom: The Last Dance quickly establishes the threats Eddie Brock/Venom (Tom Hardy) will be contending with this time around… A news report tips the pair off that Eddie is a wanted man, as he is believed to have murdered Detective Mulligan (Stephen Graham) of the SFPD… When Eddie and Venom decide to head to New York in hopes of clearing Eddie’s name, they are introduced to an other worldly threat that is after all symbiotes… and specifically the power inside Eddie/Venom!
- Red Flag: Aliens clashing on Earth is not going to go unnoticed and that’s when we get General Rex Strickland (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and his special forces team into the mix, who come prepared to separately take down Eddie and his symbiote, but are in no way prepared for the monster alien who has a similar goal! As much as I am a champion of movies using practical effects whenever possible, my hat is off to the CGI in Venom: The Last Dance which is on full display during the battle scenes in particular.
- Stuck in the Middle: Caught up in all of this intergalactic mess is alien enthusiast/hippy Martin (Rhys Ifans). Martin is traveling The Extraterrestrial Highway with his family, as he hopes to fulfill a lifelong dream and see a real life alien… and he’s running out of time, since the famed Area 51 is days away from being decommissioned… little does he know Area 51 is also about to become a battleground with the fate of the universe hanging in the balance. Martin and his family befriend Eddie and help him out when he really needed it and I can say without question that the MVP of the screening I attended was Martin… the theater loved him!
Venom: The Last Dance delivered an emotional and action packed final act for the Tom Hardy franchise. Hardy obviously has a great fondness for the character and once again tackles the dual role of Eddie Brock/Venom with gusto. Performances can often be lost in movies that are heavy on visual effects, but Hardy still shines here. If you enjoyed either of the first two Venom movies OR are just a big Tom Hardy fan, you can check out Venom: The Last Dance when it hits theaters, this Friday, October 25th!
At last, we’ve made it to the Bonus Bullet Points…
- Familiar Faces: Peggy Lu, reprising the Mrs. Chen role from the the first two films, was a pleasant surprise! …I also recognized Juno Temple from the awesome mini-series The Offer. Temple plays a scientist studying the symbiotes in the super top secret Area 55, which is below Area 51.
- Soundtraxx: What’s a dance without some great music?! Venom: The Last Dance features some real classics, like “Tequila” by The Champs, “Wild World” by Cat Stevens, and “Dancing Queen” by Abba.
- If You Ever: …wanted to see someone piss on Tom Hardy’s feet, then Venom: The Last Dance is the movie for you.
