The oddly titled Sony Spider-Man Universe has finally ended after a string of mostly poorly conceived and executed films that all struggled at the box office. This news hit the internet just a few days before the release of its latest entry, Kraven The Hunter. Sony announced that the Kraven film would be the final movie after the studio failed to achieve critical and financial success with any of their Spider-Man villain vehicles. So now, Kraven is in theaters and concludes the series. It ends the franchise, not with a bang, a whimper, or any genuinely impactful ways, but with unintentional laughter.
Kraven The Hunter is not only poorly written, but the direction, editing, special effects, and some of the acting are some of the worst I have experienced in cinema this year. Fans of the Marvel comics will be less generous than I am with my review. The movie takes some creative liberties with the source material, often in some outlandish and bewildering ways. These choices are guaranteed to anger any diehard Marvel Comics fans who love the characters, Kraven, The Rhino, Calypso, and The Chameleon. So, it is just as well that Sony put this universe out of its misery until more capable hands decide to take over.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson stars as Sergei Kravinoff/Kraven, a superpowered human with incredible strength, speed, and agility who uses his powers and resources to protect wildlife from poachers. Following the death of their mother, Sergei (Levi Miller) and his younger half-brother Dmitri Smerdyakov (Billy Barratt) are taken into custody by Sergei’s father Nikolai Kravinoff (Russell Crowe), a Russian crime boss. Nikolai is a hardened alpha male who wishes to toughen up his boys and make them men. During one of Nikolai’s game hunts, a ravenous lion attacks the boys and nearly kills Sergei. Some of the lion’s blood mixes with Sergei’s and in addition to that, a young girl on a safari with her parents offers him a special potion that completes his transformation into a superpowered predatory beast.
After falling out with his father after the incident, Sergei runs away and chooses to live on his father’s wildlife property, where he hones his strength and skills to become the legendary Kraven the Hunter. Years later, Kraven uses his abilities to take on poachers connected with the Russian mob. This incident leads him back into the lives of his father and the now-adult Dmitri (Fred Hechinger), a talented musician and performer who can mimic any legendary singer he chooses. After drawing first blood, Kraven becomes the target of a ruthless mercenary named Alexei Sytsevich (Alessandro Nivola), aka The Rhino.
Written by Richard Wenck, Art Marcum, and Matt Holloway and directed by JC Chandor, Kraven The Hunter is a strange and often bizarre mess of a movie with some thrilling moments but also many laughable ones. The story is nothing particularly original or exciting. I see shades of John Wick mixed with the supernatural elements often accompanying comic-inspired stories. The story and character development are terrible, the dialog is awful at times, and the plot is mostly obvious. Visually, the CGI effects, particularly with the animals, are awful. Though some of the action sequences are solid, others look ridiculous.
As far as the acting is concerned, the movie offers a mix of good and horrendous acting. As Sergei/Kraven, Aaron Taylor-Johnson gives a solid turn with a few cringe-worthy moments. The same can be said about Russell Crowe’s turn as the ruthless Nikolai. Alessandro Nivola looks like he is having a great time with his villainous turn, but the writing and direction of his character make his performance look worse. The movie also features performances by Arianna DeBose as Calypso Ezili and Christopher Abbott as The Foreigner, a mercenary and assassin with bizarre powers. These otherwise talented actors come across as horrible due to the bad writing, editing, and direction.
Though Kraven The Hunter is not the worst movie I have watched this year, it isn’t good. I cannot recommend this movie at all. People who enjoy dumb and mindless action films might have some fun, but the comics fans will absolutely hate it. So, it is just as well that Sony put this universe out of its misery until more capable hands decide to take over.