Open any Marvel thread and you will see some people saying that they are tired of the multiverse, while others lament that the studio has taken more of a comedic direction with some of the franchises most-loved characters. So, the question is does any of that change with ‘Venom: The Last Dance’ and to be blunt the answer is – it certainly does.
Are Marvel listening? Well the fact that Venom (Tom Hardy – Inception) yells out, “I’m tired of the multiverse, Eddie!” early on in this film is an indication that Hardy, who has huge creative control over these films, and writer/director Kelly Marcel wanted to make this film very different to the direction Marvel have been going in.
In fact there is a sombre feeling that sits over this film for most of its running time and that is caused by the fact that another early on exclamation in the film makes the audience realise that either Venom, or Eddie Brock (Hardy) – or potentially both – are not going to make it to the end credits. It is a very different tactic for Marvel to engage but I have to admit it raises your emotions and tension for the entirety of the film.
Plotwise we find Eddie/Venom return to America as fugitives on the run – wanted for murder. They have a plan to try and get to New York but at the same time two other key things are happening. First of all the creator of the symbiotes, Knull (Andy Serkis – The Lord of the Rings), has decided it is time for revenge on the species that betrayed him. Second, Rex Strickland (Chiwetel Ejiofor – 12 Years a Slave) grows tired of the scientific program, run by Dr Teddy Payne (Juno Temple – Atonement), researching the symbiotes and goes all out to end symbiote life on Earth.
The result is while trying to get to New York Eddie/Venom find themselves not only being pursued by creatures sent by Knull to obtain the codex found inside Venom but also by elite soldiers who want to capture them and take them to Area 51.
While the plot seems pretty light, the emotion that this film puts its audience through is not. There is a shadow of death over these two beloved characters all the way through the film while the seriousness of the matter is further enhanced by a brilliant acting performance from Hardy who makes sure that the audience realises just how much Eddie is struggling to cope with what is happening this time around.
His performance allows this film to take a character deeper than most comic book movies would. Eddie’s story here is reminiscent of a person struggling with mental illness tired of having to live with the ‘voices inside their head’ and never knowing what those voices might tell them to do next. The film allows the audience to see that while Eddie loves his ‘buddy’ that lives inside him at the same time it has ruined his life to the point where he doesn’t even bother to change his clothes at all and he has nobody to turn to.
You realise just how low Eddie has got when he starts talking about the fact that he feels like he has a constant hangover and how society now views him is brilliantly summed up when a drunk person turns around and urinates on him without giving him a second thought. It is a part of the movie that will have every audience member doing some deep thinking.
To their credit Marcel and Hardy do something that few Marvel films have done previously – found the right mix of comedy, drama and action. The Guardians of the Galaxy movies have done it well, but few others have. Here, though, the action sequences happen when they need to, but are kept so brief that they don’t overstay their welcome, while the comedy elements are kept more to a hippie family ‒ Martin (Rhys Ifans – The Amazing Spider-Man), Nova Moon (Alanna Ubach – Bombshell) and their two children ‒ in search of aliens.
Even then the comedy is kept to what works. There are some funny scenes between the out-there Martin and the desperate Eddie but the filmmakers make sure that the family are not just there for comedic relief. Not only do they allow for moments where Eddie realises that he will probably never have the chance to have a perfect family like that but their journey to Area 51 becomes a pivotal point of the plot later on.
The biggest complaints about Venom: The Last Dance will be that the action sequences are a bit lacklustre, although I felt that matched the tone of the film, and that perhaps we wanted to see more of the other symbiotes – Toxin, Agony, etc.
But at the end of the day this film does what it needs to do and takes its audience on a bit of an emotional roller-coaster in order to get there. It is a worthy finale for two characters that we have come to love.
Venom: The Last Dance is currently screening in Phuket and is rated ‘13’
3/5 Stars
David Griffiths has been working as a film journalist for over 25 years. That time has seen him work in radio, television and in print. He currently hosts a film podcast called The Popcorn Conspiracy. He is also a Rotten Tomatoes accredited reviewer and is an alternate judge for the Golden Globes Awards. You can follow him at Facebook: SubcultureEntertainmentAus