A CACOPHONY OF UNFINISHED IDEAS

OME films are made from screenplays that have gone through multiple drafts, a sign of a thoughtful pursuit for perfection. Some films make it very apparent that they are made from a careless, scribbled-out first draft.

Venom: The Last Dance is peculiar in the way that it somehow precedes a first draft. It feels like you are seeing a real-time AI render of ideas thrown out by a room full of writers with different tastes, sensibilities, and ideas of what constitutes a film.

- PRASHANTH VALLAVAN

Straight out of the gate, you see a menacing CGI villain (who looks like a character from a 2005 video game cinematic trailer) spouting exposition at an extraordinary speed that it reaches you before you reach for your seats. And even if you somehow imbibed all of his dialogue, you will be disappointed with how the set-up of the film is supremely unoriginal and uninteresting.

Tom Hardy is back as the neurotic, twitching, morally ambiguous Eddie Brock. However, he shines more with his voice acting for Venom. The alien symbiote's comic timing is perfect and comes as a respite. Ironically, the only interaction in the film that feels human is the one between Eddie Brock and Venom. You can feel their camaraderie, the wry sarcastic humor that only develops after years of friendship, and the perfect rhythm in which their lines play off each other.