Beebom Score
The final chapter of the Venom franchise has finally knocked on our door and I was there in the theater to answer it. However, what I saw on the other side of it was not exactly what I expected. Honestly, I don’t know what to feel about Venom 3. The movie walks on a really tightrope where it keeps slipping and gaining its balance along the way and somehow manages to get itself through, barely preventing itself from falling apart. Now you might wonder what makes me say this, well, let’s find out in this Venom 3 review!
If Storywriting Was Oxygen, Venom 3 Would Choke
Out of all three Venom movies, the final installment of the franchise features one of the weakest and the most generic plots I have ever witnessed. “A supervillain wants to take over the whole world and wants something only the hero has and in the final showdown, the hero sacrifices himself to save his best friend and the world.” Yeah right, I have definitely not seen this same plot 5000 times before. Come on Sony, you had one job. ONE!
The plot shows us that Eddie has come back from the MCU to his original world. However, in this world, he is now a fugitive being hunted down by the authorities for the murder of Patrick Mulligan who was actually killed by Carnage.
On the other hand, Knull has sent Xenophages to hunt down Venom and Eddie and to retrieve the codex from them so that he can free himself and attack the universe. Meanwhile, Venom and Eddie decide that going to New York to start a new life is a good idea. Seriously? Who on Earth wants to go to New York to escape from the feds? After this decision, most of the movie is just a trek documentary where Eddie and Venom are either attacked by Rex Strickland or by the Xenophages.
If I want Sony to take away one thing from this review I am writing for Venom 3, no matter how much attention to detail you pay to the other aspects of a movie, a flick cannot win over people without a story to remember. It is high time Sony understands that they cannot keep doing this to fan-favorite franchises or people will stop watching their superhero movies and if you are someone who believes that not to be true, I’ll throw a Madame Web at you.
Is It a Sony Movie? Yes. Is It Filled with Unnecessary Elements? Of Course!
I’m not sure if you can expect a good superhero movie to come out of Sony but what you can definitely expect is for it to have a truckload of unnecessary elements. First of all, when the trailer for Venom 3 came out, a lot of commotion was in place regarding the role Rhys Ifans is going to play in the movie. However, as it turns out, Rhys Ifans’s involvement in the story is nothing but an unnecessary element that was a waste of screen time.
He appears in the story as a Hippie named Martin who is taking his family in an age-old van to Area 51 in hopes of spotting an alien. On his way, he meets Eddie and Venom and gives them a lift. That’s it. That is all the fuss was about. Other than that, when Eddie meets Mrs. Chen at the Paris Casino, in Las Vegas. She takes Eddie and Venom to her penthouse and urges Venom to dance with her.
Knowing well that the Xenophage can find Venom as soon as he takes his full form, he starts dancing with Mrs. Chen. Like?? What?? I remember Eddie saying ” I did not just see that”. Yep, I feel you, Eddie. Overall, if these elements were not in the movie, a lot of things could have been done to make it slightly better.
If Underutilization of Villains Was an Award, Venom 3 Takes It Home
The highlight of Venom 3 or the entire hype around Venom 3 revolved around Knull. He was the one a majority of people went to see in Venom: The Last Dance and I doubt Sony did not know that. The overall screen time Knull had on screen was less than 10 minutes. So, yeah that is that. Along with that, for the entire movie, Knull is sitting with his head down and the only time we see his face is during the post-credit scene. Sony, if you thought this was your ‘Thanos reveal moment’ I’m sorry to tell you, it wasn’t.
Not Everything Was Bad Though
If you have made it so far in this Venom 3 review, you must be thinking there’s nothing good about Venom 3. However, that is not the case. When it comes to acting, the cast did a good job. Chiwetel Ejiofor who plays General Rex Strickland did a phenomenal job playing the character. Along with him Juno Temple who plays a scientist named Doctor Payne also did praiseworthy work. Of course, nothing needs to be said about Tom Hardy, as always, he continues to prove why he is counted as one of the best actors out there.
The bromance between Venom and Eddie is as hilarious as always but at some points, unnecessary as well. The one thing I liked the most about Venom 3 was the last fight sequence. Yes, it was a bit overstuffed with characters but it was equally enjoyable. So yes, if you are looking for a movie that might get you to laugh, sure, go ahead and watch Venom 3, but if you are hoping to see a spectacular conclusion to one of the best bromances ever seen on the screen, I’d recommend you wait for the movie to be released on OTT. With that being said, I conclude my review by saying that Venom 3 is a movie that defines “All that glitters is not gold” but still, it does glitter.
Aparna Ukil
