Jakarta. Kelly Marcel’s “Venom: The Last Dance” has officially hit Indonesian theaters as the conclusion to the trilogy of the Marvel antihero known for his black liquid-like form.

Tom Hardy returns as Eddie Brock, an investigative journalist and the host of Venom. Eddie and Venom are now on the run after the events of the previous film: “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” (2021). Knull -- the creator of the symbiotes -- has ordered killer monsters to go after Eddie-Venom’s so-called “codex”. This codex is key for Knull to break free and destroy the universe.

The Jakarta Globe got to watch “Venom: The Last Dance” in a recent press screening sponsored by the smartphone manufacturer Oppo and Sony Pictures. Oppo also introduced its latest Reno12F Series 5G during the event. 

“Venom: The Last Dance” has its ups and downs as the finale to the antihero trilogy. “Venom 3” serves a good amount of Eddie-Venom’s love-and-hate relationship, which becomes the bedrock to the franchise’s success. Unfortunately, the misleading intro causes the action to feel somehow flat despite the visual effects. “Venom 3” kicks off with a Knull-focused opening, and this causes the audience to expect the white-haired supervillain to be the story’s main antagonist.

Instead, Venom faces Knull’s nameless, no-personality monsters. This shows how giving a splash of personality to the villains is necessary to keep the audience entertained.  Even so, “Venom: The Last Dance” delivered an emotional goodbye to Venom and Eddie’s story. The montage of Eddie’s moments with Venom -- with Maroon 5’s “Memories -- become a nice touch to the nearly two-hour-long film. 

But “Venom 3” has not beat the first movie that came out in 2018. Ruben Fleischer’s “Venom” delivered a full package of action, humor, and even romance. Not to mention the wordplay-packed “Venom” soundtrack by the rapper Eminem. The second movie “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” -- directed by Andy Serkis -- was also a good sequel. 

Still, “Venom: The Last Dance” s delivered an emotional conclusion to the trilogy albeit the lack of Knull versus Venom battle, among other things. But the first dance is still the best one out of the three movies.