Venom: The Last Dance (2024) Review

With good box office performances but pretty weak acclaim, the Venom films have been interesting over the last few years and now we have the third and possibly last film in the franchise with Venom: The Last Dance and here is my review for the film. The premise of the film sees Eddie & Venom on the run when they are hunted by an intergalactic hunter and The U.S Government. 

Main Character

Tom Hardy is back as both Eddie Brock & Venom and I really like his performance and the buddy performance that he has captivated here. He is less weird in this film and though they bicker, this is the film where both Eddie & Venom feel like friends and that they have a singular goal and that is a nice change of pace. Hardy adds a lot to the performance and this is probably my favourite performance that he has as the character. 

Supporting Characters

Rhys Ifans plays Martin and he is probably my favourite supporting character in this film. He is an Alien enthusiast that bumps into Eddie on the road with his family and he just came across as pretty likeable and endearing and I actually cared a little about him. 

Unfortunately, the rest of the cast do not do so well. Chiwetel Ejiofor plays General Strickland and he just feels like a really generic character which is such a waste of his talents. He is this typical army guy and he offered very little to this role, especially with the ability of the actor. 

Juno Temple plays Dr Teddy Paine and I really don't like this character. She is introduced into this film and they give her this really weird backstory and tries to make you care about her character and I really didn't. She offers incredibly little and her character isn't given any satisfying conclusion here. 

Stephen Graham reprises his role as Mulligan and he is totally wasted here, this is one of the most talented actors out there and he is just here for exposition and that frustrates me, especially where they set his character up in the previous film. 

Story

The film does a great job in continuing the relationship between Eddie & Venom and this is where the film is at its best. The duo are at there best here but the rest of the story just falls short. The whole reasoning as to why they are on the run doesn't quite make sense and feels like a last minute decision and certain storylines and characters are weak and not given enough time and complexity. The films ending mostly works but I just think it could have been better if certain things happened in the film. 

Script

This film has a good blend of humour and drama but that mostly takes place between the characters of Eddie & Venom. It is inconsistent with the other characters as the majority of humour doesn't work and only a little bit of drama works and that is just strange. 

Style

The film is a comic book film and does embrace that, especially over its last act where we see all these aliens fighting in comic books style. The film is pretty brisk and moves at a fast pace but that has its pros and cons, it makes it an easy watch but it also tries to balance too many things and thus things feel undercooked and are not developed enough. 

Overall

Overall, Venom: The Last Stand is an Above Average Film and in my opinion is the best Venom film. It is messy but is pretty entertaining that at some point is probably worth a watch but it still falls way short of being a great or even good comic book film. 

Rating - 6/10

Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) Review

It's been a busy week but I have finally found the time to watch Venom: Let There Be Carnage and now here is my review for it. The premise of the film sees Eddie Brock and Venom have to figure out their relationship while going against a serial killer and his own symbiote. 

Main Character

Tom Hardy plays Eddie Brock and voices Venom and he does a pretty good job. I just find his performance as Brock entertaining and clearly somebody who is enjoying himself. He doesn't get much character development but I think there is just about enough here to give Hardy props for his role in the film. Venom is actually given more development and it is executed pretty well, I actually felt feeling towards the symbiote. He is also pretty funny and for me the dynamic between Venom and Eddie Brock is probably the highlight of the film. 

Supporting Characters

The first Venom film suffered from not creating interesting supporting characters and it is a shame that this film is the same. Woody Harrelson reprises his role of Cletus Kassidy/Carnage from the post credit scene of the first film and I just never got invested in his character. He just came across as a weirdo and a guy with no character. Harrelson is clearly enjoying himself but the character of Carnage is not given the justification that he deserves here. Naomi Harris plays Shriek and unfortunately, she is even worse. She just has these terrible one liners and her over the top bizarre performance is just too much for me and does nothing for me. The great Stephen Graham plays a police officer and it's not even that he is bad, he is actually alright but his character is dull and there is literally no reason to care and it is a shame that such a talent is wasted here. Michelle Williams is back as Anne from the first film and she is just as boring here, I just don't like the character and I have felt like Williams phones it in and signed a contract that she had to be here as she does very little here. 

Story 

The relationship between Eddie and Venom is represented quite well here and I like how we saw more things from Venom's point of view this time around. But it is flawed, the dynamic between Carnage and Venom fails and the dynamic between Brock and Cassidy doesn't work either. The characters don't get enough time to develop and you won't care about anybody apart from Venom and maybe Eddie. 

Script

The script is okay, the humour was something I was worried about in the trailer but I can't deny that it worked for me. I chuckled quite a few times with Venom having some funny one liners. But the drama falls really flat and is so rushed that when it comes to the big showdown I kind of didn't care. 

Style

Both Venom and Carnage both look great and the clash between them is way easier to follow then the action in the first film. But the pacing is all over the place, it starts off at 100 miles an hour and then slows down and ties to focus on way too much. It needed a longer runtime to make the audience care about the characters. 

Overall

Overall, Venom; Let There Be Carnage is an average film that doesn't rise above its predecessor. It is okay and I don't think will bring any new fans but there is a huge post credit scene and that is all that people will be talking about coming out of this film. 

Rating - 5/10

Venom (2018) Review

With Venom: Let There Be Carnage coming out in The UK tomorrow, I thought that I had to go back and watch the original Venom film which I have only seen once before and here is my review for it. The premise of the film sees a struggling reporter bonded with an alien parasite who have to save the world. 

Main Character

Tom Hardy plays Eddie Brock and he does a decent job here. You can tell he is fully committed and giving everything to the role and because he is a good actor it mostly pays off. It's not one of his best performances but he has a bit of charm and humour to him that does enough and his interactions with Venom is the highlight of the film. Hardy also voices Venom and is really good at it, the dynamic between the two of them is really good and I just wish there was more of it in this film. 

Supporting Characters

Michelle Williams plays a romantic foil for Eddie Brock and I just couldn't get invested in her as a character. The dynamic between her and Hardy is just never there for me and it just feels like that there has to be a love interest but they didn't put much time and effort into it. Riz Ahmed plays a bad guy and honestly, I have never been a huge fan of his and he is just really bland in this film. This is a mixture of poor writing and a weak performance that doesn't hold up against Hardy who is really trying. This cast is so small and unfortunately, apart from Venom and Eddie there are no character that stands out.  

Story 

The story is also a mess, things just don't make sense and none of it is interesting at all. The bad guys plan doesn't add up and the plot is really not given the focus that it needs. It takes way too long to get to the meat of it and even then it doesn't do enough to keep your interest. 

Script

The script actually has some funny moments, the dialogue between Eddie and Venom is decent and thank goodness for that because the drama is poor. The relationship drama doesn't work and the conflict between our protagonist and antagonist is not done well to say the least. 

Style

Venom himself looks great, the CGI is really good and I really like how large he is compared to the previous iteration that we saw in Spider-Man 3. Some of the action scenes are decent as well, but I do wish they could have pushed the violence a bit more as it seems a bit tame for Venom. The pacing for the film is a bit all over the place too, it takes too long for Venom to actually come on screen with the film being quite short, it doesn't use its time effectively. 

Overall

Overall, Venom is a below average film. Tom Hardy really tries but the rest of the cast aren't great and the story is all over the place so lets hope the sequel will be better. 

Rating - 4/10