‘Kraven’ will leave you craving a better film

On December 15, 2024By Littum

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — This is less of a review of “Kraven the Hunter” and more of an obituary. This foray into the world of movies based on Marvel Comics characters is the last for Sony Pictures, as the rights have now gone to Disney and its Marvel Universe.

The company had some success with “Venom,” “Ghost Rider” and “Spider-Man,” but over the past few years, efforts have been painfully poor with “Morbius” and “Madame Web.”

It was up to “Kraven the Hunter” to send the company off with a proper burial. The effort comes in an R-rated stand-alone story that shows how one of Marvel’s most iconic villains became so bad.

In this case, I come not to praise “The Collar”, but to bury it. The memory of any previous success has been tarnished by this failure, which almost reaches the gloomy quality of “Madame Web.” The story is so slow that when the action scenes finally start, they have a disjointed feel to the rest of the film.

Sergei (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) – also known as Kraven – grew up dealing with an unhealthy relationship with his gangster father, Nikolai Kravinoff (Russell Crowe). The less-than-fatherly father is reinforced during a very long and laborious opening sequence when Kraven gets his super hunting skills from the blood of a mysterious lion and help from Calypso (played by Diana Babnicova as a teenager and by Ariana DeBose as an adult).

The best the team of writers Richard Wenk, Art Marcum and Matt Halloway could come up with to explain how Sergei became a bloodthirsty vigilante is that he says, “something changed me.” The film has a running time of more than two hours and is full of wasted scenes. A little more could have gone into the transformation information.

There is a real lack of originality when it comes to the action scenes. Scenes of Kraven running barefoot through city streets or hanging from a car are mundane at best. The action scenes are poor in several cases, such as when the special effects are the worst since the “Twilight” tree-climbing scenes.

Unfortunately, the lack of effort and originality is the norm. The writers tend more toward snarling scenes of Crowe using a strange accent and Alessandro Nivola’s manic ranting as the thick-skinned rhinoceros. Someone forgot to tell him that he wasn’t hired to be the comic relief of the production.

Taylor-Johnson is doing his best, but the odds were against him. The best thing that can come out of all this is that he gets cast in better roles. He would be hard pressed to find someone as weak as “Kraven the Hunter.”

The biggest glaring flaw with Sony’s Spider-Man spin-offs is that none of them have featured Spider-Man. Trying to make Kraven an anti-hero doesn’t work, and that’s immediately a minus when it comes to interest in the film. Only Venom has had a story interesting enough to work despite the lack of the famous webslinger. As seen in “Morbius” and “Madame Webb”, the lack of the hero that made these supporting characters famous leaves the film already half-empty before the opening credits start.

The final painful moment from the film is that with the introduction of Kraven and Chameleon, every member of Marvel’s Sinister Six (actually seven) has made a film debut.

Alfred Molina brought Doctor Octopus to life in “Spider-Man 2,” while Thomas Haden Church portrayed Sandman in “Spider-Man 3.” Jamie Foxx was Electro in “Amazing Spider-Man 2,” and Jake Gyllenhaal took on the role of Mysterio in “Spider-Man: Far From Home.” The last member of the team, Vulture, was played by Michael Keaton in “Spider-Man: Homecoming”.

The chances of getting the team together for a Disney project are dead and buried.

Sony’s days with Marvel Comics have come to a sad end. There were good days, but it is the work that happens just before the cinematic coffin closes that will be remembered the longest. Rest in peace Kraven, Morbius and Madame Web. Parting is such a bitter sorrow.

Movie review

Kraven the Hunter

Degree: D

Director: JC Chandor

Cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Russell Crowe, Arian DeBose, Alessandro Nivola

Rated: R for language, gory violence, disturbing images

Driving time: 127 minutes.

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