IronWatcher’s review published on Letterboxd:
Watched in the cinema (161st visit in 2024)
Schocktober 2024 #26
"Venom" was certainly one of the big surprise hits of 2018: with a budget of just over 100 million US dollars, the film about the popular Marvel comic character grossed around eight times that amount and was therefore not far off the films about Spider-Man, whose antagonist it usually is. "Venom: Let There Be Carnage" was unable to match this result in 2021. However, with takings of around 550 million during the coronavirus pandemic, the second film was also a veritable hit. Now a third part is coming out with "Venom: The Last Dance". As the title suggests, it is supposed to be the last. Whether this will be the case remains to be seen. If the new film is also a big hit, the temptation to work with the character one more time might be great. However, if this is not the case, it would not be a major loss.
Sure, the first two films weren't really that good. But somehow these somewhat different buddy movies were fun, especially when they fully embraced the humor of this odd couple. This was especially thanks to Tom Hardy, who jumped around like a wild monkey and was not above excess. The scene involving the lobster in the first film is almost legendary. There is no shortage of jokes in "Venom: The Last Dance". But they are not particularly good. Above all, they are not imaginative. Kelly Marcel, who was involved in the script the last few times, had hardly any ideas on how to use this scenario. The air has gone out of it by now. The best thing is a running gag about Eddie constantly needing new shoes. But that's not enough to fill a movie.
Although the humor is only part of the film anyway. Of course, there is also a lot of fighting. But the result is not really convincing. In the attempt to create the greatest possible threat, the film overshot the mark and created a creature that is invincible. This is supposed to create suspense, but primarily leads to everything becoming arbitrary. A number of alien creatures are allowed to attack each other, and the special effects department has plenty to do. But none of it matters, because none of it has any effect. And when a plan does come to fruition at some point in "Venom: The Last Dance", because the story has to come to an end, it becomes completely arbitrary. A lot of things don't make sense at all. Admittedly, you don't watch these films because of the well thought-out content. But not making any effort at all can't be the conclusion.
Marcel, who is making her directorial debut with this film, wants to touch the heart in addition to humor and action this time. Logically, with a finale, this is inevitable. But even in this respect, "Venom: The Last Dance" is not very satisfying. It's too forced, too formulaic to generate any real emotion. When it's time to say goodbye towards the end, our own sympathy is limited. Instead, there is a mixture of shrugging and relief that the whole thing is now over. While the first two parts were at least still guilty pleasures that you could have fun with, the protagonist only reaches his goal by the skin of his teeth at the end. Despite a hyperactive plot, this is a rather tired performance that is hardly likely to provide any accents in the blockbuster-poor autumn. Too bad about the ensemble that was wasted on this.
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