The Venture Bros.: Radiant Is the Blood of the Baboon Heart Review: An Emotional Finale

The Venture Bros. was originally planned to return for a Season 8 of the animated TV series before being cancelled by Adult Swim. Thankfully, this was far from the end of the franchise as The Venture Bros. series creators Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer were able to end things with a proper finale in a new feature film release hitting digital and Blu-ray. Publick and Hammer unfortunately then had to take their initial plans for the future and condense them down into a much smaller run time than first expected, but it's apparent from the start that there was no paring down of overall quality. 

The Venture Bros.: Radiant Is the Blood of the Baboon Heart has a tough balancing act because not only does it need to work as a standalone feature-film experience, but it also somehow needs to conclude years of work that went into the seven seasons of the animated series on Adult Swim. Needing to provide a satisfying final act for fans who were devastated at the cancellation of the TV series overall while taking The Venture Bros. franchise through this whole new format, there was a lot at stake in making sure it sticks the landing. And it does so with plenty of heart. 

Radiant Is the Blood of the Baboon Heart takes place immediately after Hank Venture (Jackson Publick) runs away at the end of The Venture Bros. Season 7. This is not the only hanging thread left from the final moments of Season 7 either. There are a lot of spinning plates at work here, such as a full search for Hank being kicked off, a mysterious plot involving a new villain named Mantilla (voiced by Nina Arianda, who has some important ties to some of the characters' pasts), a new villain organization threatening how the Guild and O.S.I. operate has emerged, and all the while has a deep dive into one of the biggest mysterious for the Venture brothers themselves that fans have been waiting years to find out the answers to.

As one would imagine, considering that Radiant Is the Blood of the Baboon Heart takes the bones of the previously planned Season 8, the film itself is quite fast-paced as there's not a lot of time to linger on some of the developments that fans would have likely seen in a fuller exploration of these various plot threads. But at the same time, its efficiency in delivering these elements is completely refreshing. Rather than feel like things are speeding towards the final moments, scenes instead feel like they're moving with an urgency that the Venture Bros. TV series never quite had. It helps to make it all more compelling with each beat. 

This is also reflected in its presentation, as Radiant Is the Blood of the Baboon Heart feels like a full, feature-film experience. While its story indeed comes from the TV series, action sequences feel grander, emotional beats hit harder, and there's just more attention paid to the cinematic experience of watching it all play out. It's admittedly not a huge leap from the already high-quality presentation efforts in the later seasons of the series, but it's definitely noticeable for fans who have been following along with the TV series leading into the grand finale. 

As a grand finale, however, there will unfortunately be some missteps, depending on what a Venture Bros. fan might be looking for in this final feature. The Venture Bros.: Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart won't answer many of the lingering questions fans might have about Hank and Dean (Michael Sinterniklaas) themselves, nor does it get to have a fully fleshed-out resolution from the brothers' fallout at the end of Season 7, but what is here is striking in how deeply it cuts through with emotion. 

Hank goes through a genuine crisis of identity in response to finding Dean and Sirena Ong (voiced by Cristin Milioti, who unfortunately does not appear in the film) together, and it's a side of Hank that has been brewing for the last few seasons of the TV series. Dean, unfortunately, does not get that same level of attention, but his penance is that he's reverted back to his more pathetic qualities in early seasons. The other major draw is the mystery of their birth mother and how it relates to the fact that Dr. Rusty Venture (James Urbaniak) and the Monarch (Jackson Publick) are related, and both of these mysteries are thankfully given satisfying answers by the time the end comes around. 

And that end is an emotional one. The Venture Bros. is best when it takes the wacky nature of each of its characters and pares it down to the real human heart of each of them. The same is absolutely true for Radiant Is the Blood of the Baboon Heart. Because, despite everything that goes down in this final act of the franchise, the final moments of the film are incredibly heartwarming and feel like the best ending it could have gotten under such strange circumstances. 

It's the kind of ending that leaves you wanting more. Not because the film itself was lacking, but because it leaves you with such a warm feeling that you don't want it to ever end. And for those who've watched The Venture Bros. for all this time, it'll likely hit a hundred times harder. 

Rating: 4 out of 5

The Venture Bros.: Radiant Is the Blood of the Baboon Heart is now available on digital, and releases on Blu-ray on July 25th.