However, none of Sony’s previous standalone models Poison Movies were cinematic gems, their strange mix Strange couple The humor and bloodless body horror were enough to send them straight into territory so bad it’s kinda funny. It was hard to imagine one Poison Feature – let alone a franchise – really works without a Spider-Man in the mix. But the films’ box office success made it clear that something about Tom Hardy’s take on the deadly protector was working for audiences, and all but ensured that Sony would opt for a third installment.

Venom: The Last Dance by writer/director Kelly Marcel is neither better nor worse than its predecessors. It feels like a film trying to stick to the beats it knows it can execute well. Instead of delving into the multiverse to wow you with crossovers, the film capitalizes on the franchise’s strengths with a story that’s mostly about the ups and downs of a long-term relationship. And during The Last Dance doesn’t exactly deliver the questionable but fascinating comic book madness that Sony promised, but it does bring a worthy ending to this sticky, bloody, ridiculous adaptation.

As chaotic as the first two Poison films, they were also a fairly direct depiction of how the life of disgraced journalist Eddie Brock (Hardy) is repeatedly disrupted by the arrival of Venom (also Hardy), one of many parasitic aliens who crash-landed on Earth turned upside down. Unlike other symbiote-host bonds that proved deadly, Eddie and Venom grew stronger because of their connection and found meaning in each other as they adjusted to sharing a body. The two had their struggles and experienced major emotional crises, but when faced with a new deadly threat, they always managed to pull through. The Last Dance picks up speed soon afterwards Let there be a bloodbathwhich ended with a cliffhanger in another dimension.

At first glance, it seems like the film will use its multiversal connection to the MCU to deviate from its narrative past and start over in a world full of Marvel-branded superheroes. But The Last Dance Instead, she decides to focus on how much happened to Eddie and Venom in her universe in the surprisingly short time they were together.

Especially afterwards Deadpool and Wolverinethe way The Last Dance Basically gives the multiverse the middle finger, it’s kind of refreshing and has the feel of Sony and Marcel – who also wrote the first two Poison Films – try to stay in a very specific lane, similar to Madam Web‘S.

As much as fans want to see Venom team up with Spider-Man in New York, that’s just not what this franchise is built for (yet). These are films about an emaciated failson trying to hold his life together with the help of a clever, sticky monster who craves the taste of human brains. And The Last Dance ends Eddie and Venom’s story by confronting them with the consequences of their past adventures.

When the government finally realizes how many strange deaths and incidents involving symbiotes he has been linked to, Eddie finds himself on the run somewhere in Mexico The Last Dance opens first. It seems like Venom and Eddie have nowhere to hide without special forces soldier Rex Strickland (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and his team finding them. But the duo assumes – somewhat unreasonably – that if they just make it to New York City, they might have a chance of disappearing into the shadows.

Since it is the climax of a trilogy, the fleeting aspects have an understandable logic The Last Dance‘s story (to which Hardy contributed). After a rocket is blown up Poison and the creation of a new serial killer symbiote Let there be a bloodbathDoes it make sense that Eddie and Venom would become high-profile targets and be forced to go off the grid. But it’s harder to follow the narrative as it unfolds The Last Danceis the larger plot about a symbiote invasion.

A lot of the same way Let there be a bloodbath introduced his Cletus Kasady with a handed down info dump, The Last Dance tries his best to explain the whole thing with the symbiote god Knull (Andy Serkis) using a CGI-heavy exhibit from the comics. Knull created the symbiotes, who then betrayed him by trapping him in the center of their homeworld. And after eons of being locked up and contemplating ways to punish his parasitic children, Knull suddenly realizes that Eddie and Venom’s unique symbiosis has created the MacGuffin needed to free him.

There is a certain irony in the manner The Last Dance makes a Thanos joke in the opening act and then clumsily tries to establish Knull on the throne as his own big bad. The film constantly reminds you how afraid Venom is of Knull, making his alien villain seem like a threat that has always been lurking in space. But Knull’s plan is to send other types of monsters through Doctor Strange-like portals to find things for him – is designed to keep his presence in The Last Dance feels like the result of there not being that many Poison-related characters to which Sony owns the film rights.

This “scraping the bottom of the barrel” property becomes stronger as the speed increases The Last Dance contains even more symbiotes whose names are never mentioned, but which comic fans may recognize because of their coloring. And while Knull’s alien thugs are visually very cool and frightening, the threat they’re meant to represent feels hollow because the film knows it can’t afford to deaden his emotional center.

As in the previous films, Hardy’s performances as Eddie and Venom are, depending on your opinion of silly slapstick comedy, The Last Danceis his greatest strength. While his accent is still insanely shaky, Hardy this time gives Eddie a believable weariness that feels right for a man who’s been living with an alien infection for about a year. And Venom is even more subtly emotional, underscoring how much deeper the connection between him and Eddie has become during their time together.

Although the plot is weak, the supporting characters are woefully underdeveloped and the visual effects leave much to be desired. Venom: The Last Dance Almost works if it’s just Eddie and Venom getting involved in nonsense or thinking about their life together. That’s not nearly enough to make a solid film, but they’ve never been solid films Poison The strength of the franchise is, and Sony doesn’t change the formula this late in the game. If you wanted to be silly with me Poison and it was fun Let there be a bloodbath, The Last Dance will probably keep you easily entertained. But for people who’ve never been able to understand why Sony makes these things, the only real appeal here is that the studio appears to be done – at least for now.

Venom: The Last Dance Juno Temple, Rhys Ifans, Peggy Lu, Clark Backo, Cristo Fernández and Stephen Graham also star. The film hits theaters on October 25th.