'Kraven The Hunter' Review: Nothing Can Save The Sony-Verse
Following in the footsteps of the abysmal madame web, kraven the hunter seemingly ends Sony’s extended universe with a limp, lifeless comic book film that fails to excite or intrigue.
Kraven The Hunter follows Sergei Kravinoff (Aaron Taylor Johnson), a hunter who uses his special skills and abilities in order to track down the world’s most infamous, sadistic criminals and eliminate them one by one, leading him down a dark, violent path that has numerous consequences as he becomes one of the most feared hunters known to man. Rounding out the supporting cast here is Russell Crowe, Ariana DeBose, Fred Hechinger, Christopher Abbott, and Alessandro Nivola as The Rhino.
The beloved Spider-Man villain has a rich, interesting backstory that had boundless potential for the silver screen, especially with the film being helmed by J.C. Chandor, who has directed excellent character driven films like Margin Call, A Most Violent Year, and All Is Lost. Unfortunately, none of that potential is followed through on, resulting in a stunning waste of talent in front of and in behind the camera. Chandor’s direction is bland and quite flat, the talented filmmaker feeling out of his depth when it came to the action set pieces and scope of the film. As a result, the action sequences are forgettable and unexciting, made worse by some shockingly awful special effects work that elicits far more laughs than excitement.
In the perfomance department, the view is stunningly bleak, every performer seemingly on a different page in a different book here. Taylor Johnson, a talented, versatile actor, is very miscast unfortunately. He certainly physically embodies the role, but he never feels like his comic book counterpart, struggling to maintain a convincing American accent and comfortability throughout. It’s clear he didn’t have a firm grasp on this character and he simply falls flat. It also doesn’t help that the supporting cast isn’t alleviating this issue, Nivola delivering a laughably poor performance as The Rhino, trying to straddle the line between goofy comic book villain and sinister foe, failing miserably in the process. Crowe is the only member of the cast to walk away without a scratch, the only performer who is able to show a glimpse of what this film could’ve been in the right hands and with a far better script.
Speaking of the script, that is the real issue here. Not only is the dialogue painfully subpar, but the attempts at character work and world building are ineffective and lazy. The relationship between Kraven and his brother Dmitri had a terrific foundation and could’ve been an effective emotional through-line for the film, but every time the two characters interact and reunite, it feels forced and awkward. Hechinger is acting circles around Taylor Johnson as their scenes fall flat with a audible thud. The same can be said for the relationship between Kraven and his father, the impetus for his vengeful quest and descent into becoming Kraven The Hunter. Again, the potential was there, but it wasn’t on the page and it sure didn’t come across on screen despite Crowe’s best efforts and palpable screen presence. Then there’s the world building, which not only draws far too much attention to itself, but feels noticeably out of place for this story. The fact that Sony is apparently ending this cinematic universe following the film makes matters worse and the attempts at teasing a future all the more pointless.
The film is also R-rated, the first and only film to have that benefit in Sony’s extended universe films. What’s truly disappointing is that the film doesn’t take advantage of that asset, never doing anything creative or visceral with the blood and gore. The over the top violence feels unnecessary and the uses of profanity also feel tired and cheesy. The film could’ve easily been a PG-13 action film with a different cut, making the decision to go R-rated a disconcerting head scratcher.
Kraven The Hunter drives home the fact Sony genuinely doesn’t know what to do with this eclectic roster of Spider-Man villains. There has a been fundamental misunderstanding of these characters in each of their films, this entry being one of their most baffling misfires. What could’ve been a fascinating, exciting exploration of one of the web crawler’s most beloved foes is unfortunately one of the year’s worst films. If this universe has proven anything, it’s that with great power comes great responsibility and some can’t handle that burden.