Venom: The Last Dance (2024) review

While hiding out in Mexico and getting liquored up regularly, Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) and his chocoholic parasite Venom find themselves being chased after by a spider-like monster called a Xenophage that was dispatched by imprisoned symbiote creator Knull (Andy Serkis) ... as well as government agent Rex Strickland (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and several soldiers from the soon-to-be declassified Area 51 (which I do not recommend anyone trying to "storm" in real life).  The Venom character remains one of my personal favorites from the comic book cash grab universe and I think Hardy plays the role well, although this entry is a bit of a step down from the previous two as it seems even less punchy than them and the action scenes are merely passable ... plus, it didn't really need that "mournful montage" set to "Memories" by Maroon 5 since it's not like any of these characters are truly ever "gone."  The only mystery to me is how it was given a PG-13 considering the number of heads that get bitten off and bodies ripped apart (when not ingested whole): graphic violence is okay for younger viewers so long as there isn't a single nipple exposed.