Tuesday, November 5, 2024

Venom: Save The Last Dance (2024)


Plot
Blamed for the murder of Detective Mulligan, Venom and Eddie find themselves on the run. While seeking a way to clear their name they find themselves hunted by the forces of the symbiotes' creator Knull.
Review
I'm just going to start by saying, if you enjoyed the previous Venom outings, you'll enjoy this one.  They aren't as epic or serious as the MCU films, but I love them. They have a weird charm, primarily because of the dynamic between Eddie and Venom (both played by the phenomenal Tom Hardy). I didn't cry but I got emotional thinking about their journey through the films and bond. 

Michelle Williams and Reid Scott do not return as Anne and Dan. This was kind of odd because of their prominent roles in the previous films, but honestly they would've been superfluous to the plot. Honestly, Peggy Lu's Mrs. Chen returning was just that, but just fit the bizarre but lovable nature of the trilogy better. Juno Temple and Clark Backo serve in supporting roles as scientists for Imperium, the government's symbiote taskforce. 

There are three previous Marvel actors returning in different roles. Chiwetal Ejiofor (the MCU's Mordo) plays Rex Strickland, the commander of the government's anti-symbiote forces. His character is the standard military hardass. The second actor retuning is Rhys Ifans (Curt Conners fro the Amazing Spider-Man) as Martin Moon, a hippie alien lover. His character is goofy and sweet. The final actor is Andy Serkis (Klaw) as the villains BBEG, Knull. Knull is such a powerful character and doesn't have too much screen time, but he's quite memorable and will have much more screen time in the future. 

As far as effects go, the symbiotes and xenophages look cool. The way the xenophages essentially woodchipper whatever they eat is pretty gross and awesome. There are some fantastic fights and great scenes of Venom bonding with various animals. The credits include more Venomized animals than the actual story (my favorite being turtles and an elephant). 

Even if one story ends with this film, another has been set up. I look forward to future symbiote stories and seeing Knull again. The movie starts in the MCU and I can see Knull making the leap to that universe.
Your Game 

Xenophage
Large Aberration, Unaligned 

Armor Class: 16 (Natural Armor)
Hit Points: 152 (16d10+64)
Speed: 50 ft.
Challenge: 10 (5,900 XP)

Str 25 (+7) Dex 18 (+4) Con 18 (+4) Int 6 (-2) Wis 10 (+0) Cha 4 (-3)

Saving Throws: Con +8
Damage Immunities: poison, fire, lightning, cold
Condition Immunities: charmed, frightened, poisoned
Senses: blindsight 60 ft (blind beyond this radius)
Senses: passive Perception 10
Languages: -

Unique Trait
Find Codex: Despite their blindsight's typical range a Xenophage can sense an active Codex in a 25 square mile radius.  
Regeneration: A Xenophage regains 10 hit points at the start of its turn. If Xenophage takes acid damage, this trait doesn't function at the start of its next turn. A Xenophage only dies if starts its turn with 0 hit points and doesn't regenerate.

Actions
Multiattack: The Xenophage makes three attacks, two with its claws and one with its bite.  
Bite: Melee Attack. +11 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 21 (4d6+7) piercing damage.
Claw: Melee Attack. +11 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d6+7) slashing damage.

Bonus
Shredder: If the Xenophage hits the same target with all of his claw and bite attacks in one turn he deals an addition 21 (4d6+70) piercing damage.

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