“Venom: The Last Dance”: symbiote madness in the finale

It's parasite time again! Eddie Brock has now come to terms very well with his dark resident, but the outside world doesn't leave the two dissimilar guys in peace. Therefore are Eddie and Venom this time on the run and finish her Film trilogy with a bang effect.

Knull as the new supervillain

The whole world seems to be after the symbiotic duo: police, military and dangerous creatures that don't come from our planet. Because in “Venom: Last Dance” a new supervillain named Knull makes his debut. Fans of Marvel Comics will know him as the creator – or even king – of all symbiotes since 2018; In the film, however, he hangs his head because he was imprisoned in a dark dimension. But there is a key that could free him – unfortunately Eddie/Venom of all people has it within him. So Knull sends out hordes of monsters to find this artifact and it doesn't take long for his giant beasts to pick up the right trail: the hunt is on!

Battle turmoil in Area 51

On such a wild escape you can't be choosy, you have to take what's available: that's why Eddie travels barefoot through the desert, traveling on the outside of a passenger jet in the best Tom Cruise style, doing a lot of whirling as an ambitious bike rider Sand or swing on the back of a horse transformed by Venom – which of course turns out to be the most original way of getting around.

Main venue is then the infamous one Area 51 – the restricted military area in Nevada where, according to persistent rumors, UFO technology is being researched. In the film, the area is about to be closed, but in one underground complexwho specializes in symbiote research, things really get down to business again and a wild alien battle begins to rage, at the center of which is of course Eddie/Venom.

Venom as a dancer and cocktail shaker

However, the escape is not completely headless, because there is a declared destination: Venom has New York in mind with the Statue of Liberty as a place of longing. Whether he and Eddie will get there remains questionable, because the film doesn't have its subtitle “The Last Dance” for nothing. The symbiote is actually allowed to dance: When he meets the over-the-top shopkeeper Mrs. Chen (Peggy Lu) in a gamer's paradise, they put on a performance that looks like “Let's Dance” to ABBA tunes. And the symbiote has another hidden talent: Right from the start, it wants to make a name for itself as the perfect cocktail mixer and manages to do that (as long as you ignore the pile of broken glasses). This time there is hardly any time for further typical Venom comedic actions because the plot is far too hectic.

Three stars and one famous voice

New additions include Chiwetel Ejiofor (“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”) as a militarist who opens the hunt for Venom, Juno Temple (“Ted Lasso”) plays a scientist who also has a great interest in symbiotes, and Rhys Ifans (“The King's Man – The Beginning”) goes on an alien vacation full of unexpected dangers as a family man who believes in UFOs. Knull, on the other hand, can be heard above all because his voice belongs to Andy Serkis, who was no longer able to direct this time due to time constraints.

Directorial debut as a worthy finale

In his place, Kelly Marcel stepped in, having previously contributed the scripts for parts 1 and 2 and now also taking over the production herself. The story was developed by her again together with Tom Hardy, who apparently knows all the Venom comics inside out. In fact, the debutant director does a good job and helps this trilogy reach an appropriate finale in which the symbiote madness really breaks out once again. After the two previous parts weren't really convincing, this time it's almost sad to have to say goodbye to the well-rehearsed duo Eddie/Venom. But especially with Marvel, you can never be sure whether an announced end won't become a new beginning within a year at the latest.

3 ½ out of 5 heads bitten off as Venom snacks.