Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) keeps losing things. Though it might be his life, most often it's his shoes. He starts off the movie in a pair of crocs, which, after an opening fight scene, are replaced by a dead gangmembers' cowboy boots, followed by a pair of black leather dress shoes when he hits Vegas, baby. What he doesn't lose is Venom, the outspoken, chocolate-loving, human-devouring toothy symbiote attached to Eddie through two previous films, making him do all kinds of things, legal and sometimes illegal. And now we have the final installment - Venom: The Last Dance.
And what a dance it is. Though previous scripts have danced around exactly why Venom is here on Earth, is it for good, for evil or are we merely his playthings, The Last Dance breaks it all down for us.
Apparently, Knull, the God of the Void, creator of all the symbiotes, is currently imprisoned on the planet Klyntar. Once he is awakened, he devises a plan to get his evil henchmen to find the Codex which will release him from his prison. The Codex happens to be on Earth, currently ensconced in, of course, the heart of Venom. Yes, I admit I had to Google most of that because though Venom does eventually tell us the whole fantastical tale over the course of the almost 2-hour film, it might get a little confusing to people like me, who aren't exceedingly familar with Venom's origin story.
That story, as usual, flies totally off-kilter. Eddie may have killed a detective, or maybe it was Venom. He's now a wanted man. So Eddie goes on the lam, trying to outrun those hunting him down, which isn't easy when you're off the 
blocks in a pair of crocs. There are multiple CG battles in the film: between Eddie and some dog-kidnapping no-good thugs; between Eddie and the US Army, lead by Rex Strickland (Chiwetel Ejiofor) in a roiling river. And lastly, inside Area 51, between Eddie and those evil symbiotic henchmen from Klyntar, who will stop at nothing to pull the Codex out of Venom and bring it back to Knull.
Of course it turns out that the detective isn't really dead. He's carrying another secret. And some of those secrets are alive and being held captive underneath Area 51. The entire aliens among us project has been decommissioned. Shut down. Lights out. Nothing to see here folks, but some captured symbiotes. The entire secret operation is under the 
jurisdiction of Dr. Teddy Paine (Juno Temple). She and her team have been the caretakers of the captured symbiotes for quite some time. And now the Government is shutting down the program, even though no one has discovered the symbiotes purpose.
Last Dance is a jambalaya of funny bits including a crazy dance number with Venom and Mrs. Chen, the woman who enjoyed sparring with her favorite alien in previous films. Plus a cross country ride in a VW bus with Martin (Rhys Ifans) and family, determined to sing the life out of Bowie's "Major Tom/Space Oddity", ad nauseum. The family, and especially Martin, are true believers that there IS life out there, though Eddie keeps telling them that they're mistaken. The action all comes to a head at Area 51.
Gotta say, I did NOT recognize Andy Serkis, but isn't that usually the point of casting him? Lots of fun CG work put on the big screen. And it does tie up the whole Venom as antihero buddy-movie bit in a neat little package. Or does it??? As usual, stay through the credits, so you'll know what I know.
Lisa Blanck is the Associate Editor / Movie Reviewer for In Focus-Magazine.com and is a member of the Critics Association of Central Florida. Her background includes 30+ years of digital editing for NBC and CBS News affiliates. She also edits national promotional spots for Matter Of Fact, the #1 nationally syndicated news & information program. For 30+ years she has covered the Florida Film Festival & the World Peace Film Festival, and has additional award-winning experience in advertising, marketing, promotions and live special events with MTV Networks.
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