I came into the Venom franchise quite late as I just didn’t care for it initially, despite being a big fan of Tom Hardy. Then I saw the mid-credit scene of Spider-man: No Way Home featuring Hardy’s character Eddie Brock with his alien parasite in a Mexican bar talking to a bartender played by Ted Lasso’s Cristo Fernández and somehow I got hooked. So The Last Dance starts out with this scene which reminds me just how fun it is to see Hardy portray this dual character in only he can. He’s so incredibly captivating that he kept me glued to the screen in Locke, where he’s the only one there, just driving and talking on the phone the whole time. I probably wouldn’t have bothered with this franchise if it weren’t for Hardy who has a knack for portraying a mesmerizing antihero.

In the final film in the trilogy, Eddie and Venom are on the run, chased by enemies from both their worlds. By now Eddie has seemingly left his former life as an investigative reporter and has found a certain groove with Venom and there’s even a hint that Venom found a teeny bit of humanity after being with Eddie for so long. Like a duo in a rom-com who didn’t get off on the right foot (or head/spine, what have you), by now Eddie and Venom simply can’t quit each other. It’s truly the most peculiar kind of movie bromance but somehow it works thanks to Hardy’s performance. How he alters his voice as Venom is incredible and provides the biggest laughs.

Kelly Marcel has written for all three Venom movies and is now finally given the rein as director. She pulls all the stops and packs the movie with non-stop action, including an exhilarating underwater sequence, a fight atop a flying plane (with Eddie screaming ‘How does Tom Cruise do this??!’), and the riotous Venom horse riding scene! Hardy obviously adores this character, throwing himself into every silly shenanigans with his expressive personality. But he’s also able to add a layer of vulnerability and even emotional depth to an otherwise ridiculous concept.

While the Xenophage is an ominous threat to humanity, the main story is about Eddie and Venom’s swan song. The Vegas sequence, especially the casino scene is a laugh riot that ends with a literal last dance with Venom’s only human friend Mrs. Chen (Peggy Lu). This musical moment is so absurd but tinged with sweet nostalgia. The Eddie in a tuxedo scene immediately made me think of Hardy as Bond, which I read in interviews is a direct reference to 007 not only because Hardy has long been rumored to play Bond but also the fact that Marcel was at one point rumored to possibly direct the next Bond movie.

The movie is the most fun when Eddie and Venom are on screen, and we get to see them hang out in the daylight in the desert before Eddie encounters a family trying to get to Area 51. Even small moments like Venom throwing away a plate of food given to Eddie are hilarious. The film really drags whenever Hardy isn’t around however, I found myself zoning out during the scientific mumbo-jumbo or whenever we see glimpses of Knull, the alien god supervillain (played by Andy Serkis) that only fans of the comics would be familiar with. Luckily, we never have to wait too long for another dose of goofy symbiote humor or some droll banter between this bizarre couple on steroids.

The casting kind of took me out of the movie, as it’s chock-full of British actors all playing American. There’s MCU alum Chiwetel Ejiofor (who was in Doctor Strange) as an Army General hunting Venom and SONY’s Spider-man alum Rhys Ifans as Martin who’s obsessed with trying to see aliens. Juno Temple stretches credulity as a scientist Dr. Paine specializing in Symbiotes who’s still haunted by her brother’s death. At least they get to speak, unlike the talented Stephen Graham who’s relegated to brooding and muttering behind a glass box.

I was in the right mood for this kind of mind-numbing action comedy as I had just watched two dramas with heavy themes back-to-back. I didn’t go into a Venom movie expecting a tightly woven plot, I wanted to see a silly good fun movie and it delivers on that front. I don’t even mind the bombastic and messy finale showdown involving a whole bunch of Symbiotes that were captured in Dr. Paine’s lab. It’s all very silly but feverishly entertaining if you don’t overthink it.

Have you seen VENOM: THE LAST DANCE? I’d love to hear what you think!

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