As I wrote in my review of Venom: The Last Dance, this is a movie at war with itself. It is both a sci-fi drama about alien invasion and a buck-wild road trip movie about buddies on a mission. There's plenty to like about writer/director Kelly Marcel's spin in the Spider-Verse, including the comic mayhem her dual anti-heroes get up to. But my absolute favorite bit of business between interstellar BFFs Eddie Brock and Venom (both played by Tom Hardy) is the movie references they drop.
Some might snark that in the way of Shrek, quoting movies like Thelma & Louise, Swingers, and E.T. the Extraterrestrial is a lazy shorthand to laughs. Admittedly, it's absolutely hilarious to hear Hardy's Venom voice boom with excitement, "You look so money and you don't even know it!" A zany thrill of recognition ignites when he explains that more alien beasts are coming their way by saying of a chirping xenophage, "She phoned home!" And maybe most of all, there's a giddy delight in hearing Venom and Eddie refer to each other as Thelma and Louise as they bicker about their next move.
Sure, there are some superficial similarities in each allusion. Venom and E.T. are both aliens who befriended humans. Thelma and Louise were also a dynamic duo prone to violence and determined to get out of their situation by hook or by crook. And Swingers, like part of Venom: The Last Dance, is about two best bros living it up in Las Vegas. But more than these ties, it's what these references suggest about Eddie and Venom that makes my heart sing.
They must have movie nights!
Thelma & Louise, Swingers, and E.T. the Extraterrestrial mean something to Venom.
While Venom came out in 2018 and its sequel, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, debuted in 2021, in the world of Venom: The Last Dance, the titular symbiote and his human host Eddie have only been together for one year. In that time, they've gone for a dip in a lobster tank, become friends with the endearing bodega clerk Mrs. Chen (Peggy Lu), gone into self-imposed isolation, and gotten rip-roaring drunk, much to the dismay of their Snap-traumatized bartender. And somewhere in all that, they also watched at least these three movies together.
While The Last Dance offers plenty of opportunities to chuckle and thrill at the odd couple that is Eddie and Venom, it tickles me to imagine these off-screen moments. What did Venom think of the end of Thelma & Louise? Did he cheer or cry — or both? What brought the once-iconic, now vintage Swingers into their watchlist? Is Venom a fan of Vince Vaughn's comedic chops, or does he prefer Jon Favreau's blend of heart and humor? What did Venom make of E.T.? Was he charmed by the binocular-headed critter who loved chocolate just as this cinephile symbiote does? Or did he snark at E.T.'s non-violent approach to humans who would capture him?
While Venom: The Last Dance offers extra doses of symbiote fun with both mid-credits and post-credits scenes, I can't help but wish for one more. Maybe a short film that's just Eddie and Venom having a quiet night in, arguing over the remote, and settling in for a movie sure to blow this alien's hive mind.
Venom: The Last Dance opens exclusively in theaters Oct. 25.
