Sony Pictures’ Sony’s Spider-Man Universe (SSU) remains an enigma. With Venom The Last Dance, we’re a whopping five movies into this cinematic universe but the superhero we know and love is still nowhere to be found. Almost all of the movies in the SSU so far have had mixed or negative reactions so far. Does the end of the Venom trilogy offer more of the same or does it finally give us something to cheer for? Read on to find out.

Weak Waltz

It still feels unbelievable that we’re in a timeline where we have three Venom movies without Spider-Man in any capacity. Venom The Last Dance is perhaps the worst of all three movies. It doesn’t even feel like the epic end of a trilogy. Instead, this movie mostly feels like yet another pointless and unnecessary sequel. There are so many contrived events happening in this movie that it feels like a mishmash of random scenes instead of a properly coherent or cohesive movie. The barebones plot definitely doesn’t help, as this doesn’t even feel much of a continuation of the previous two movies.

Tom Hardy looks like he was forced to make this movie, with a constantly taut and grumpy expression throughout the movie. In the first two Venom movies, at least it looked like he was having fun and that made watching those movies somewhat fun as a result. The comedy in Venom The Last Dance feels the most forced. A lot of what happens in Venom The Last Dance feels like padding and they don’t contribute to the overall narrative. These include the scenes with a returning Peggy Lu as Mrs. Chen and a family that Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock hitchhikes with in this movie. For no reason, that family is led by Rhys Ifans with no hidden meaning or plot purpose (even though Ifans previously played Dr. Curt Connors AKA the Lizard). Other wasted characters include Stephen Graham’s Patrick Mulligan, reprising his role from the previous movie.

The elephant in the room is the inclusion of Knull, who is plastered all over the movie’s trailers, marketing and promotional material. He might as well not be in the movie at all because it’s pretty much a glorified cameo, not unlike Thanos in the original 2012’s The Avengers. Venom The Last Dance also features a rushed and unsatisfying third act that will leave a bad taste in the mouth of many fans, while at the same time, having the audacity to tease more coming in the future (there are two post-credits scenes in Venom The Last Dance).

Perhaps the only good thing about Venom The Last Dance is that the movie explores more of the emotional connection between Eddie Brock and Venom, but the movie should have focused more on that instead of wasting time on other random characters and families. This movie might also be an entertaining popcorn flick for those looking for mindless fun but that’s ultimately all there is to the movie.

Where Is Spider-Man When We Need Him?

At the moment, it’s hard to say if Venom The Last Dance will be the final nail in the coffin for Sony’s Spider-Man Universe (SSU). If even the likes of Morbius and Madame Web couldn’t kill it, maybe there’s no stopping this train wreck of a cinematic universe. Not to mention, we still have another one coming soon (Kraven). At this point, the recently-confirmed Spider-Man 4 is the only hope for comic book fans.

FINAL SCORE: 40/100

We attended a press screening of Venom The Last Dance courtesy of Sony Pictures Malaysia. Venom The Last Dance premieres in Malaysian cinemas on 24 October 2024.