The conclusion of screenwriter Kelly Marcel’s trilogy paying cinematic homage to one of Spider-Man’s most popular archenemies moves to ultra-high definition home theaters in Venom: The Last Dance — Collector’s SteelBook Edition (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, rated PG-13, 2.39:1 aspect ratio, 110 minutes, $65.99).
The story finds former reporter Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) and his oozing and black-gooing symbiotic buddy Venom returning to Earth-688’s version of San Francisco (after a brief visit to the Marvel Cinematic Universe).
Now as a fugitive for the apparent murder of Detective Patrick Mulligan (Stephen Graham), Eddie and Venom decide to flee to New York in a cross-country buddy adventure.
Meanwhile, the imprisoned creator of the symbiotes, Knull, sends his parasitic Xenophage minions (massive, insectoid looking creatures) out through the galaxy to kill all of his symbiotes as well as find a rare codex hidden in Eddie as Venom that will free the supervillain.
The covert government organization the Imperium, led by Gen. Rex Strickland (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and scientist Teddy Paine (Juno Temple), has captured various symbiotes for nefarious research, including a now bonded Detective Mulligan, and is hunting for Venom.
Too many ancillary characters and subplots here obscure why viewers really cared about the series: Mr. Hardy embracing the often amusing relationship of his two characters.
The continual inner dialogue and external partner antics between Eddie and his permanently attached extraterrestrial have been the highlight of all the movies, and I could have used more here.
When concluded at roughly 90 minutes, with a head-shaking 16 minutes of credits, “Venom: The Last Dance” offers a gush of computer effects for the tweens, and a pinch of emotion and entertainment, but its lack of Knull closure will disappoint the hardcore lovers of the superhero universe.
Furthermore, and most egregious, without Spider-Man making an appearance, Sony’s final ode to Venom lacks any potential teased expansion of the character’s universe that its entire audience had been hoping for.
4K in action: The UHD presentation does not disappoint, especially when focused on the incredible special effects transformations of the symbiotes, such as Venom’s undulating tendrils, slithering red tongue and razor-sharp rows of teeth.
Viewers will take the time to examine some of the epic visually drenched scenes including Eddie riding a Venom-bound wild horse and a final battle with an army of symbiotes including the comic book fan popular Agony, Phage and Lasher versus the Xenophages.
Best extras: A collection of five featurettes (averaging five minutes each) focuses on positively promoting the movie, including the cast and crew sucking up to the first-time director Marcel; action scenes mixing practical and computer effects; cast comradery highlighting Peggy Lu’s dance number with Venom; acting mates espousing the skills and virtues of Mr. Hardy; and a look at the “Venom” film legacy.
Among the featurettes and extras, it was great to see the occasional comic book cover and panels interspersed with the interviews and a visual storyboard comparison of the scene with Venom hanging on the side of a mid-flight airliner fighting a Xenophage.
As for the packaging, embracing the character’s comic book roots, the shiny metal case first offers a vibrant front and rear cover spread featuring a torso perspective of a wild Venom, not attached to Eddie, being pulled apart in strands in front of a fiery red-and-orange backdrop.
The detailed illustration would fit very well as cover art for any of the Venom sequential art series.
The interior cover spread is equally slick with Eddie atop a reared-up Venom-bonded horse amid a mountainous desert area in front of a yellowish fiery sky.
• Joseph Szadkowski can be reached at jszadkowski@washingtontimes.com.
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