The Reel Rejects - Just Watched VENOM: THE LAST DANCE!! Instant Reaction & Review!

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Starting point is 00:01:08 Plans vary. SMS available as add-ons. Visit MailChimp.com. Citizens of the Rejection. We have just watched here at IMAX. Venom 3, The Last Dance. John, how you feeling? I am feeling a lot of feelings right now. I'm in mourning because it's the last Venom movie.

Starting point is 00:01:25 I'm going to miss these opportunities to have some weird, wacky fun at the theaters. I didn't think I would miss these opportunities in this movie franchise, but it was hitting me, like, close to the end of... I'm going to miss doing this. You miss these movies. Yeah, absolutely. Guys, while you're here, leave a like on this video. We'll just give our short opinions, and then we can just ramble on and talk in whatever direction we want to talk about. That we don't have to think about it too much.

Starting point is 00:01:49 You get your short opinion, you can leave if you want. If you want a little bit more details, stick around. I like that planety! My short opinion about this movie is I really felt like, and this does not seem to be the the popular opinion based off of walking out of the theater. What did you think there? I feel like it's the best venom movie that they've done. Of course it's not without its fault.

Starting point is 00:02:09 It's a venom movie. At times it's like cheesy when it doesn't want to be cheesy, sure. At times it does it feel like clunky in the ADR and the editing? I'm like, yeah, like the venom movies do. However, I felt like this movie did take itself more serious. I was kind of concerned that the movie might actually be at conflict with itself a little too much about that. I can imagine that some people will feel like it

Starting point is 00:02:29 was. For me, I actually thought it worked. I thought that the drama and the melancholy that it would actually present, allow me to get more invested in it. I thought it had great scene work. I feel like this is the best finale out of any of the Venom movies. I found myself getting enthralled. It was exciting. I was not expecting to say this. I had not anything I think I would be the Vennon defender, but I really did enjoy the hell out of this movie. I didn't realize I shot some of this with IMAX cameras. And like watching some of the aspect change, watching some of those action scenes, especially that big creature that they keep advertising. I was surprised by like how great that looked and how cool some of the violence was like the action in

Starting point is 00:03:03 this movie i thought was really good too some really great chase sequences and and and cool choreography all around and fun venomy fun in games i dug it there's flaws for sure but i have the pros really outweighed it for me on the experience i'm glad that you had that experience and i feel like this is a movie i'm going to be chewing on all week this is one you reflect on well this is one that you ponder the thing is the new joker too it's for well you know some movies surprise you and this is a momentous occasion because ostensibly for now it is our final it is our last dance i mean that's the thing is like the the feeling it's left me off with is a bit different from the actual just feeling i had experiencing the movie for the first time because just looking

Starting point is 00:03:43 back on the totality of the movie i'm like yeah i still had a lot of fun i am sad to let go of these movies like there is a sense of grieving and not to you know say anything about what happens actually in the movie but just the knowledge that yeah tom hardy's moving on everybody's moving on i am going to miss that and that feeling is hitting me right now. I will say as a movie going experience sitting in the theater in real time, it was sort of one of those where it kind of, it picked up qualities and things I was enjoying the further it went. It took about halfway into the movie for me to really kind of click into it and not be focusing on all these different kind of disparate elements that weren't coalescing the way I had hoped they could. I feel like you bring up a good

Starting point is 00:04:23 point because it's like, how do you criticize a venom movie when you look back at the previous ones and you're like, the charms and the flaws are kind of all intertwined. And that's something that I think is fair to acknowledge, especially when looking in a movie like this. And I agree. Like, there are certain things about it that are like surprisingly touching, surprisingly dramatic here or there. And there's the wacky, like you said, 90s comic book movie stuff.

Starting point is 00:04:43 This did to me, especially in the first third, first half, feel like a movie that started off as a different movie and then got massively overhauled into something slighter, maybe more streamlined or something. because especially in the first third, like the editing was kind of getting on my nerves, and there were so many scenes that felt at least like they were stitched together with very just blunt, straightforward ADR lines. It's weird. What kind of depth do you want from a Venom movie and the characters therein?

Starting point is 00:05:11 Probably not a lot, but yeah, it took me a while for the movie to feel like it had a groove or a rhythm and for me to be able to, through that, enjoy scene work or characters interacting with each other. And that actually did finally happen. maintained more and more as the movie went. I feel like it gets better as it goes along. But it was definitely like a shotgun blast of disparate elements. I feel like I've been using the words movie magic a lot lately.

Starting point is 00:05:35 I feel like this movie starts off in the first third. I was like, the movie magic's not kicking in because I can just feel the weird editing and this odd tone and these very slight bits of dialogue that I can't fully imagine the person who wrote all these movies and is now directing all these movies had ideally in mind for some of this stuff. But again, once you get about halfway in, there's a great sort of chase that segues into sort of the direction of the movie for here on out. And once we got to there, it did start clicking together and I did start being able to enjoy

Starting point is 00:06:06 it for the right reasons rather than, you know, any kind of number of maybe not right reasons. Those are our overall opinions about the movie right there for you guys. We'll just talk a little bit further about it. And a good way to do that is kind of explain what the plot of the movie is. And it's actually very straightforward, and it's technically in the trailer. I was surprised by this. The presence of Null is actually laced throughout the film throughout its entire runtime. I thought it might just be a short little thing that they pop in and there and maybe say one time.

Starting point is 00:06:36 But no, like, Nol's presence is kind of a thing that is at least brought up, and you could feel like the impending aspect of Null coming into the universe. There's basically this thing called the Codex that exists within Venom and Eddie Brock. And that's why they're after them is to obtain this code. which can essentially let Null be free. If you're like, oh, my God, you're spoiling the movie. I'm like, there's like the first 30 seconds of the film. The movie starts with like a PS5 cut scene that explains all this to you.

Starting point is 00:07:03 It's just like so fast. And so I understand what you mean because at the offset of this film, I was like, okay, yeah, we're walking into a typical venom movie. This movie is insanely expositional. Much of the dialogue are like, who are you talking to when you're explaining this? Like, you know you people know this already? It's got that touch to it. But it's also something that I felt about the other ones.

Starting point is 00:07:20 To me, outside of like the very first couple of scenes, the rest of it that would do that, they would still be a little something extra in each one of those scenes that I thought added a little bit more heart to it. Like there's this, Juno Temple is the actresses name, the main blonde girl. Yeah, the other Ted Lasso actor in this movie. Yeah, so there's this scientist who is studying the symbiotes and has this whole, like, purpose behind like the trauma that she's had. A really cheesy way they portray the trauma, but it's, but there's something that happens towards the end of the movie. that I thought brought a really nice heart and warmth to it. Yeah, even with her.

Starting point is 00:07:54 Like, she's given a lot of those kind of lines that just feel like weird ADR that are inserted in there. But I really like the caring side of her. You could see that she is someone who really cares about these symbiotes. I like how it didn't feel like cheesy in the way she did it. Or like, there must be another agenda. Like, there was something that felt genuine from that character, yeah. Yeah, like, I liked how genuine she felt. Chibletal Ejafar plays a very cliche, you know, soldier who doesn't like scientists.

Starting point is 00:08:20 Yeah, yeah, yeah, and who's never, ever going to open himself him to the possibility that alien life forms could be all right. But I thought that he elevated that character. When he starts to find this mission getting personal for him, I really believed him. There's a very big turning point for this character when it's like, this is real for this guy now. I bought him. Like, he does some one thing in this movie. You're like, oh, come on, dude. And I, he's like, but it makes sense that this guy would do it.

Starting point is 00:08:48 Sure, sure, sure, sure. after that certain point. I appreciate it, too, how this movie seemed to really embrace that it's an alien movie. They constantly remind you of that, but it really embraces the fact that it's an alien film. And there's a bit of like a sci-fi horror overtone at times. Sure, yeah, I mean, this, yeah, the symbios lend themselves to that just by sheer force of their, like, imposing design. And the, I forget the name of them because I'm a bad nerd, but the big creatures who are tracking them down and trying to eat them. They're like Xenogos or something.

Starting point is 00:09:17 I remember Zeno, yeah. Once I said Zeno, I was like, oh, like, Xenomorph. Then I got caught up my own thoughts about that. They make you think of the xenomorph dogs in what predators or whatever. And, yeah, there's some, like, really kind of icky details that they put into those, you know, creatures. And the just variants of symbiotes that you get to behold on screen. And there's moments where, of course, this is one of those movies that at times the CGI will not look great. But there's other times where I was really impressed with the CGI, especially when it came to that Zeno thingy thingy.

Starting point is 00:09:47 yes there's a one moment in like the daylight where like repairs itself and I was like this looks so real right now yeah I think I know exactly what shot you're talking about too because yeah and even the physics of how that works is like kind of fascinating in a way that the movie doesn't need to go like look at this but you're just beholding it and you're like oh wow I would like to look a little closer at that that's interesting and it's a nice counterpoint to the symbiote venom let there be carnage the way that was written felt reactionary towards the response of the first Venom movie. There was that bromance quality that like, they're a couple, but they're not. They were like, let's just go hardcore. There's a lot of couple in here.

Starting point is 00:10:28 That's what they did. I thought a movie was just messy and loud. Even though nothing really will ever look as cool as carnage, I don't really remember the fight scene. I remember that just being like kind of obnoxious. When it comes to this movie,

Starting point is 00:10:43 I really feel like the friendship of them have how they take care of each other has a nice warmth to the film. That genuinely does, yeah. The interaction, I would like, Tom Hardy does such a great job at making you forget that he's doing a voiceover for Venom. He's not interacting

Starting point is 00:10:59 with anybody. And it's always like helping him have something to look forward to. Even when you can tell he's feeling hopeless, he doesn't impose that hopeless. Sometimes he like gets cynical and lashes out because he's like cranky in the they balance each other out. Yeah, it's that thing of like when cranky guy realizes

Starting point is 00:11:15 he's over crankied or he sees that his buddy is like really in need and kind of is able to transcend that and actually be a genuine friend or whatever like you really do feel the bond as it's grown over three movies in this movie i thought it was the most heartfelt like i found myself getting actually emotional towards the end of the film and i feel like this is the best finale out of any of any venom venom movie hands down i was like whoa this is kind of intense i have never said the word intense in any of these movies and i'm kind of yeah And I'm feeling the weight of the circumstances a little bit, even though it is, you know, broad and fun in certain ways.

Starting point is 00:11:49 Like, when the, in the third act, especially in, like, the big finale fight, that's when I felt like the movie's more serious aspirations clicked in and kind of complimented everything else. Well, you see, then I start to wonder when we talk about the serious stuff about this movie. I'm like, okay, well, will the serious stuff be actually off-putting? Because I think this movie's tone overall, because you get like the, the comment. comedy moments for sure, like that this franchise has kind of been known for. But the first trailer for this movie, and it seemed like they were pretending to be serious. Like, no, this one actually is more of that tone for most of this film. It is more of a serious movie. And I'm kind of wondering if perhaps like comic fans might be happier about that. But will those who really grew to love this franchise and what it does, especially for the second one, just like double down on the cheesy B movie that it is? Will they like how they're taking an approach for it being more serious?

Starting point is 00:12:49 You know what I mean? Yeah. It had me questioning that. I have no idea. This is the first time I'm like, I have no idea what, like, what fans of this particular franchise will think? Fans of just comics and venom in general will think. Like your average moviegoer who's not an expert on any of that will think.

Starting point is 00:13:04 And, you know, I think we should also shout out to while we're here. There's one returning character they see in the trailer, and there's a new character in here, Risa Fons. All right, I'm not going to get your hopes up. It's not freaking Spider-Man tie-in with the guy. All right, he's a totally new character. You know, they did a fine job of taking actors who you've seen in a bunch of Marvel and not actually distracting you that much with the fact that you've seen them in a bunch of Marvel.

Starting point is 00:13:26 Like, it worked better than I thought it would. Well, they make a multiverse joke at the top of this movie that felt right out of the Deadpool. Yeah. I was like, did they see Deadpool 3? Because that joke seems like it's taken right there. Yeah, it totally does, yeah. But there's Verisa Fonz in here. he's actually in a lot is this i mean they don't really tell you in the trailer you see them

Starting point is 00:13:47 on the road at some point but he plays like a hippie guy with one arm who later becomes a lizard it becomes a lizard it's not connected to spiderman movies completely unrelated i thought he was really funny he was very funny and he made the character feel human honestly when he first shows up i'm like uh this movie's just pushing like such a generic character i'm so worried about it but he made that role work, and especially for the amount of screen time that guy gets in this film. I was really surprised by, this is really working, and that was the last thing I expected when this character showed up on screen. Yeah, his character and the other characters who are the little family that surround him bring a lot of heart and fun, but they also, like, weirdly

Starting point is 00:14:33 find a way to compliment the rest of the story while being, you know, kind of a subplot within it as well. Like, I was actually kind of pleased to to see, yeah, that easily, I imagine Sony is using that to some degree as stunt casting, but it was one of my favorite elements of the movie, Risa Fons, and the sort of circumstances surrounding him. And that stuff also lends itself to what you mentioned earlier about. It's being like an alien movie and an appreciation of alien movies, you know, without doing too many like, oh, here's a shot from a movie you know, and here's another shot from a movie

Starting point is 00:15:03 you know, and here's a line you know. There's one line in there where I was like, I think that's a reference to the thing, but even the movie wasn't like, see? Yeah. Which is kind of nice, you know? This seems more like perhaps what I feel like this writer wanted to do with the first one. She right the first movie? I don't know.

Starting point is 00:15:18 I don't know if she did. Let's assume she did. And by assumption, I feel like this is probably more of what she sort of envisioned that the first movie could be totally. Because, yeah, the trailers for this movie, I get why it's tracking low. The trailers don't really look the most exciting. They don't look like a truly unique, like finale to the Venom series. So much as just another Venom adventure in this.

Starting point is 00:15:38 This looks like a lot of desert and a lot of random venom, like. Which we've seen a lot of desert fight scenes lately in cinema. But there's more of the cool usage of the symbiote. And I really thought that, like, there's surprises that happen in here. Nothing that's like groundbreakingly surprising. Like, holy shit. But there's some cool stuff that happens in this movie. And I was, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I actually found myself going.

Starting point is 00:16:04 This is mad at me. I really like this. And I think this is the best. one. Well, and I remember walking out of the first Venom thinking to myself, like, that was very odd. What was that? And then in the coming days, I was like, you know what, though? That was so charming. And like, yeah, the things that work really save it. And I can see in a couple days being like, you know, the things that work, you know, really might have elevated that, you know, I'm still going to sit and kind of think on that. But even the stuff, it's like here sitting now talking about it with you, like, I do kind of want to watch it again because the fun elements and the elements that are, you know, speaking to the total. of this little series that they've created that seems like in a lot of ways it should never have existed or at least like it seems like the product of like very strange

Starting point is 00:16:46 circumstances that aren't the norm you know I appreciate that yeah I appreciate the journey and from what like I recall about like venom in comics like this feels the most akin in some ways to what I recall from and I believe Tom Hardy's

Starting point is 00:17:02 is they had a story by credit on this one maybe you might have happened in the last one they both came up with the story the thing that really separates this movie for me from the other two is I actually believe the stakes, which is what made the finale engaging, is that there was actual stakes at hand. The other two are big, but there's no stakes to them. And it doesn't matter what genre of film you're making. Like, take Superbad, like, that's a comedy, but the stakes are so big for them, you know? Yeah, yeah. I've watched Diary the Wimpy Kid here, and it's like, it's like a teenage, not even teenage boy, it's like, the little boy's problems is like junior high kid you really believe like the stakes for and this movie which is like a comic book movie they need to have stakes and they might not be like the biggest stakes in the world but it's the first venom movie where i felt like it had the big i actually had stakes that i bought it to you now the big question is what i like this movie

Starting point is 00:18:01 if the other ones weren't what they were i like the first movie but like if they if they weren't what they were i don't know we don't live in that world there's no point of playing that what if game. The reality is this is a part three. Unless you are seeing this as your first Venom movie, like, yeah, the mess is going to exist in context. Yeah. And, like, how you process that mess is going to exist within that greater context.

Starting point is 00:18:22 Yeah, so, I don't know, I guess I'd give it like a, yeah, eight out of ten nipple chills. Not bad. Yeah. Why not send enough? Give me nice for the last one. Sure. I'll give it like a... Probably won't get, like, I have a rating any rules.

Starting point is 00:18:36 From anybody else, but you heard it here. I'll just give it, yeah, give it away. Give it away. Don't give it like a 6.8. That's fine by me. We've switched roles today, John. Well, and I mean, this is like the inverted Venom movie where it's like, yeah, the first one is like, oh, the first two-thirds is really fun. And then you have a kind of generic finale.

Starting point is 00:18:52 And this is like the first third is odd and then you build to a pretty great finale, you know, which is like kind of a nice inverse at least. And yeah, like, I'm going to be sitting and chew it on this for sure. Okay, part that did let me down a little bit before we go. Oh, what? No, the usage, can't back track now. There's a usage of Stephen Graham in this film, which at first when introduced, I thought, okay, cool, I like how he's bringing in, like, there's a bit of a horror aspect to what they're doing with him. To me, I think this movie is paste, like, it's shot, and the way the scenes breathe feel like more of an actual scene to me than a lot of the other bit of movies. Once you get about halfway into this movie, scenes begin to breathe, and Stephen Graham is a part of some of those seats.

Starting point is 00:19:36 but Stephen Graham's character here I just feel like if you bring him back you could better utilize him for the caliber of talent that is Stephen Graham he is such a good actor yeah and I thought they were going to like one up or pay off in some way with his connection to the symbiotes

Starting point is 00:19:56 you know something in this movie that would top or build on what we got in the last movie and punctuate his presence here rather than just like he's back he's here Yeah. Yeah, yeah. I was a bit of a letdown. While there's aspects to it, I for sure liked, I would say, in terms of that return. I'm like, yeah, come on. Maybe a lot of you guys don't know, but he is like an amazing actor. He is an incredible actor. He's a phenomenal actor. Anyway, yeah, that's it for today. I recommend watching this on IMAX because we're here and they want us come here. So, you know, keep watching an IMAX. So we can keep in these screens. It did look good.

Starting point is 00:20:36 It did look good. It has some IMAX shot. Any movie that has, like, I'm seeing shot with IMAX cameras. The only way to experience is that is on IMAX. So, go to I-M-A-M-AX. And, I mean, they threw down for those effects because, like, you know, the 70-millimeter is double the size of 35, so, you know, there's extra detail in every frame. Thank you guys so much for being here.

Starting point is 00:20:54 Leave a like on your way out. Tell us what your favorite Venom movie is, and we'll see you all soon. Bye. Thank you.

The Reel Rejects - Just Watched VENOM: THE LAST DANCE!! Instant Reaction & Review!

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