Venom: The Last Dance, according to the hype and the presumption from the title, is the final part of the Venom trilogy. However, one wonders if there ever really is a “last dance” in comic-book movies these days.

As someone who has not given a positive review to any previous Venom films — save for citing the fact that Tom Hardy, as both Eddie Brock and his alien symbiote Venom, has been a hoot — I would’ve been inclined to say: good riddance to all Venom films … if only The Last Dance hadn’t been a miraculous save by writer-director Kelly Marcel.

Marcel is a former actress-turned-screenwriter-turned-director. As an actress, I don’t remember her work listed in IMDb; as a writer, she has written Saving Mr Banks (the film where Tom Hanks plays Walt Disney), won the Razzie Award for Fifty Shades of Grey (she deserved it), and cobbled together the last two unspectacular Venom movies. As a director this is her debut, and one thing is undeniable: somehow, she makes the fluff work better than the previous directors, Ruben Fleischer and Andy Serkis.

Once again, the story is hardly there — but then again, that’s old news by now.

In the opening, we’re introduced to Knull, the god of symbiotes who is trapped by his creations, yet seeks a “codex” that will free him to reign the universe. Soon Eddie, being the codex (duh!), finds himself on the run from Knull’s hunters, fights one of them off from the top of a flying aeroplane, runs away on horseback (after Venom takes over and mutates the horse), hitches a ride with a hippie family (the father is played by Rhys Ifans) that wants to see Area 51 before the place is decommissioned, and then fights the big climactic fight when Knull’s hunters find them there.

Side events include a stopover in Las Vegas, a dance with a fan-favourite character, and the introduction of supporting characters that include a commander (Chiwetel Ejiofor) who has been tasked to nab Eddie, and two female scientists (Juno Temple and Clark Backo — one of whom has a bit of a backstory), and the return of a semi-important character who was deemed dead (Stephen Graham).

Despite the trailer giving all of this info away, Venom: The Last Dance is still enjoyable. Again, other than Marcel, the credit goes to Hardy for holding together this film series. He is a fine actor who, before this movie, had been the sole reason why the Venom films have made so much money worldwide, despite their ineptitude.

Although The Last Dance is the end of the trilogy, with the introduction of Knull — who is a really, really big villain from the comics — and the way this story culminates, one now wants to see Venom return in a team-up with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man against the god of the symbiotes (it was a grand event in comics called The King in Black).

Now that would be a great film to wait for. If that film’s writers write it well.

Released by HKC and Sony, Venom: The Last Dance is rated U and is suitable for all audiences, whether or not they’re into comic-book movies (the plot and continuity never mattered in this trilogy)

Published in Dawn, ICON, November 3rd, 2024