NEW YORK (OSV News) — A trilogy of Marvel Comics adaptations that launched in 2018 comes to a dull close with “Venom: The Last Dance” (Columbia). Hobbled by the apparent exhaustion of the franchise’s trademark wit, writer-director Kelly Marcel’s wrap-up feels less like a waltz out the door than a stagger to the finish line.
Tom Hardy reprises his role as Eddie Brock, the accidental and reluctant human host of the titular super-strong alien who alternately inhabits his body and takes it over altogether. By turns truculent and impulsively enthusiastic, Venom’s constant bickering with Eddie helped pace the mayhem of the earlier outings.
This time around, as the fused duo simultaneously battles a race of fierce predators from Venom’s home planet and try to evade capture by the authorities here on Earth – led by Army Gen. Strickland (Chiwetel Ejiofor) – the humor of their quarreling has mostly evaporated. As a result, Marvel’s action-reliant production has little to offer.
A sequence in which, having hit the road, Eddie and his companion encounter Martin (Rhys Ifans), an Area 51-obsessed hippy who’s taking his family on a pilgrimage to the sacred spot, does offer both amusement and some pathos. But this uptick in the quality of the proceedings proves short-lived.
Most of the combat is sanitized. There are a few scenes, however, in which the hellhound extraterrestrials pursuing Eddie/Venom chow down on the odd extra, after which all the blood in the consumed victim’s body is seen shooting in a flood out of the back of the creature’s head.
Additionally, the script contains a bit of mushy mythos about Knull (Andy Serkis), the “god” who created Venom and his ilk. Together with the crimson tide emitted by those unwelcome visitors from outer space – as well as some gritty dialogue – this fleeting foray into wrong-headed metaphysics suggests that this is not a good viewing choice for impressionable youngsters.
The film contains brief intense bloodletting amid mostly stylized violence, passing references to nonscriptural ideas, a few instances each of profanity and milder swearing, at least one rough term and considerable crude and crass language. The OSV News classification is A-III – adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG-13 – parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.