After a brutal lion attack Sergei Kravinoff is saved from death by a young girl and the rare serum gifted to her by her grandmother. The serum not only saves his life, it heightens his senses and increases his strength to superhuman levels. Searching for purpose and looking to get as far away from his criminal father as he can, Sergei becomes ‘The Hunter’. Utilising those newfound skills, he looks to rid the world of evil men.
So the Sony Spider-Man Universe (SSU) has come to an end. And it is about as far from a glorious death as you can get. Kraven the Hunter is yet another pretty standard origin story for a Marvel character owned by Sony, in which said character does not get to meet the Web-Head. This one - which inexplicably opens to the soundtrack to The Hunt for Red October - centres around a rather uninteresting family dynamic in which a father attempts to keep his children close by continuing to be the despicable man they have always loathed. Surprisingly, this doesn't prove to be in any way compelling. Even Russell Crowe is unable to inject some life into this rather bland family drama. Although he does make young Sergei's decision to run away into the wilderness at least understandable. What isn't so understandable is the odd - and rather forced - subplot surrounding his relationship with 'Calypso' (Ariana DeBose), the woman who saved his life.
On the bright side, the vigilante hunter does find himself a very nice house. So nice in fact, it makes you wonder why he'd ever want to leave. But leave he does, and when he's not crossing bad people off his list - which I admit, isn't all that often - he's getting into trouble thanks to that annoying family he can't stand. Meaning there is at least a fair amount of action throughout, although none of it is particularly imaginative. The chase through London in which a bare-footed Kraven leaps and dives in pursuit of a van and a helicopter is probably the highlight. That and a scene involving a crossbow. Some terrible visual effects don't help matters, but Sony did finally allow a little gore into one of their Spidey-light movies - something I've been arguing for since Venom first hit cinemas.
Much like the the central family, the villains aren't particularly interesting. Everything about them - who they are, their motives - is all so inconsequential, the movie doesn't even bother to explore them. They're simply doing bad guy things for bad guy reasons. The fact that Alessandro Nivola's crime boss is at least named after a certain Marvel villain with particularly thick skin is neither here nor there. Nivola does a good job of playing unassuming but psychotic, it's just that his little feud doesn't have any bearing on proceedings. While Christopher Abbott's 'The Foreigner' looks like he was borrowed from the Kingsman universe. He has a strange habit of taking off his glasses and counting, which is usually when somebody dies. This uncanny ability should be both terrifying and intriguing, but it's just another part of the movie that is painfully unexplored. In other words, you spend so long trying to figure out what he's actually doing, and how, that before you know it the quirky assassin has made his move and already has his glasses back on.
The thing is, despite my criticism, Kraven the Hunter is a sign of improvement for this Spider-Man without Spider-Man universe. Albeit slight. It may be irritating and bland, but it is less so than Morbius and Madame Web. Not a particularly high bar, I admit. But Aaron Taylor-Johnson can't be accused of lacking enthusiasm or commitment to his role - unlike other SSU stars. And there is a little action to liven things up here and there, some of which was even done for real. This includes an actual confrontation with Nivola's hard-headed villain. Said villain may have looked a little silly, but his fight with Kraven is still better than a mere fall or something that later turns out to be a vision. None of which was ever going to be enough to save the movie or the SSU, but I think it's worth noting that J.C. Chandor was able to raise the respective bar ever so slightly... even if I can't figure out why he borrowed the soundtrack from The Hunt for Red October for the opening.
Yet another generic live-action origin story for a Sony owned Marvel character. Kraven the Hunter isn't exactly exciting or compelling, but it is better than Morbius and Madame Web.
2/10
What did you think of Kraven the Hunter? Leave a comment below or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Threads. You can also email us at moviemoustache@gmail.com.
Comments
Post a Comment