Looking back over my notes, I was disappointed with 2018’s Venom but more impressed with the 2021 sequel, Venom: Let There Be Carnage.  That’s not to say one film was better than the other but rather, my viewpoint had shifted.  I’m more willing to look past the inconsistencies within the screenplays and appreciate the franchise more for its comedic qualities.  Oscar nominee Tom Hardy (The Revenant) is pivotal in creating those laughs.

If new to the character, Venom is an off-beat superhero who is the mishmash of a human journalist named Eddie and a cheeky alien life form.  Neither controls the other.  The alien provides incredible agility and strength, but Eddie still has influence in how it’s used.  This unlikely duo has become closer, physically and metaphorically, over the last two movies but there’s still plenty of debates and disagreements.

Promoted as the third and final instalment of the series, Venom: The Last Dance isn’t exactly reaching for the clouds with its storyline.  It’s a ho-hum sequel that uses templates established in other alien and superhero flicks.  We learn that an incredibly nasty creature, who wants to destroy the universe, has been incarcerated on another planet.  The “codec” (aka key) which can release him lies within Venom and so he’s sent an unfriendly, spider-like alien to Earth in retrieve it.  If successful, it won’t just be Venom who meets his demise but rather, every living thing on the planet.

In terms of new additions to the cast, Rhys Ifans (Notting Hill) plays a father who has cashed in his life savings and gone on a trip with his sceptical family to Area 51 in hope of seeing an alien.  Juno Temple (Ted Lasso) is an intelligent scientist studying alien life forms in a secret underground laboratory.  Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave) chimes in as a hard-line military guy who makes a few rushed, misguided decisions in trying to save the day.

There’s nothing wrong with their performances but at the same time, they’re not the most interesting characters (nor are their related subplots).  The key attraction of Venom: The Last Dance remains the humorous interactions between Eddie and the “symbiote” who lies within.  I don’t think there’s as many good one-liners as the previous movie but there’s just enough material, with a splash of heart for the finale, to hold audiences’ attention.

With the first two flicks making a combined $1.3 billion at the global box-office, the producers have played it safe with Venom: The Last Dance and whilst it won’t win prizes for originality, it’s likely to be a hit.