Kraven: The Hunter

Six stars is probably generous. This movie is NOT good. In many aspects, it's actively bad (see below). But I was still able to enjoy this in a dumb-fun kind of way. Here are a few factors that helped.

First, I am a big Spider-Man fan and remember liking the Kraven character from the 90's animated series. I also regularly find entertainment from stupid, lower quality movies. And I've enjoyed many of the other Sony-Marvel side universe movies.

There are also some cool actions scenes. I'm ecstatic they went for an R rating instead of being cowards (looking at you, Morbius). But by far the best part of this movie is Aaron Taylor-Johnson. His acting talent is on full display and he elevates every scene he's in.

Okay now the bad. This movie is all over the place, unfocused and pretty dumb. There are multiple moments of unintentional humor, including one of the funniest character reactions I've ever seen. The dialogue and line delivery is bad. The CGI is bad. It's a generally poorly-made movie.

But by far the worst part is the performance by Ariana DeBose. I really don't like being mean, but this is third thing I've seen her in (Argylle and I. S. S.), and she does NOT belong. I couldn't stop noticing how unconvincing she was. Her line delivery made me laugh. In scenes with her and Taylor-Johnson, the contrast in talent could not be more stark.

Look, you already know if this is something you would enjoy. If it looks stupid to you, don't watch it. If you aren't as picky and can still enjoy something with major flaws, you might have a good time.

(1 viewing, opening Thursday UltraScreen 12/12/2024)

I wasn't expecting much with Kraven the Hunter. The recent run of Sony Marvel films has been pretty dismal and i wasn't holding my breath.

It's unfortunate to say that Kraven follows suit. The screenplay felt like it was written by a 5 year old playing with Marvel toys. It felt fake and awkward. A poor screenplay makes everything else the film brings uneventful and lame. The skilful actors of Aaron and Russel couldn't save it.

What the film had going for it (if anything) was the look of Kraven and the action sequences. His beast like movement and sequences where he is tearing up was awesome to say the least. However, the villians are basically not worth mentioning. One dimensional.

To sum up, Kraven the Hunter doesn't provide anything new or inventive to the superhero genre. The awkward screenplay and basic villains suffocate Kraven's better moments as a character.

It's a shame that a character so loved in the Marvel universe gets such poor treatment.

While i wasn't overly enthusiastic about this film I had better expectations than the other lacklustre entries of this so called disjointed mess of a shared Universe attempt by Sony. The few reasons are listed as below:

R rating

A serviceable actor

A veteran powerhouse like Russel Crowe

A decent enough track record holding director JC Chandor

Mildly talented supporting cast like Ariana Debose and Alessandro Nivola.

A crazy hunter as the titular protagonist

and of course Action thriller plot

Sadly none of these barring maybe r rating is utilized in this trash.

As the Crown jewel of a kingdom is never to be seen a.k.a Spider Man one could hope nothing short of the disastrous results as seen here.

The adaptation of the source material couldn't be farther away dare i say.

The titular protagonist or antagonist as i like to say is nowhere near his comic book counterpart.

Sergei Kravinoff a.k.a Kraven the Hunter is only interesting for audiences when he hunts for certain wall crawling arachnid but even if we let it slide, all other ingredients here spells disaster.

Subpar plot, atrocious dialogues and poor editing has led to this utter non sensical adaptation rife with plethora of flaws.

Aron Taylor looks and sounds absolutely nothing like Kraven we all know and enjoyed till now in the characters sporadic appearances throughout his miniscule appearances throughout media.

Where is the deep baritone Russian accent that makes him instantly recognizable?

His wide and thick trademark of a mustache, his herculean stature, his bolas to capture his prey?

His iconic lion mane's vest ?

Other actors are wasted as they put little to no effort at all in the movie. Russel Crowe seemed very nonchalant about his role so much that he came to collect a paycheck like Jared Harris did for Morbius.

Ariana Debose as the intriguing and mysterious witch doctor Calypso has nothing substantial to add in the plot, Fred Hechinger's Dmitri better known as the master of disguise Chameleon is equally worthless.

Most disappointing has to be Alessandro Nivola's Rhino who transforms into a human rhino hybrid voluntarily instead of being a victim of inhumane government experiment gone awry as in the source material.

Rhino who is usually depicted as a mindless brute is a much sympathetic character when you learn he has been wronged by corrupt bureaucrats and wants to cease his existence by separating from the surgically grafted exoskeleton.

But ofcourse none of layered backstory is adapted her instead of being made into some kind of mutated abomination both literally and figuratively.

The only highlights of this mediocre half hearted attempt is the brutal and blood filled action scenes sprinkled throughout. But that alone can't save a movie from being a complete failure.

I for one am elated that Sony's decision makers have finally accepted defeat as their spin off films have ceased to be produced as of now as per The Wrap's authentic sources claim.

After destroying the Venom franchise by handing over the directorial duties to the nepotistic snake like Kelly Marcel (a close confidante and off screen quasi concubine of lead actor Tom Hardy), Sony has witnessed the fall of their cash cow with the Last dance earning less than half of the first Venom film.

Alienating audiences has never been easy in the history of movies and killing off waning interest in the future entries.

Save your money and catch it on streaming if you are desperate for this utter nonsense.

This was a great popcorn movie, I really enjoyed it! It had some good humor, and I liked that Kraven went after bad guys. I didn't know anything about the character or story beforehand, so it was all new to me. I was surprised that Kraven wasn't the only enhanced human (Rhino, Foreigner), but it just made it a bit more interesting.

I am bothered by how many people denigrated Ariana Debose, who was fine with what she was given. Fred Hechinger (who was also on Gladiator II) was decent as the brother.

Was it perfect? Heck no. But it was much better than I expected! It is a fun movie to see, better than many out there. Oh, and shockingly no extra scene during or after the credits!

It's far from a disaster. While the dialogue occasionally veers into awkward territory, and not the greatest CGI, the film delivers well-executed action sequences that keep the momentum going. Aaron Taylor-Johnson is particularly impressive, showcasing both physical prowess and screen presence, further cementing his status as a compelling action star.

The second half does feel a bit rushed, but at just 120 minutes, the filmmakers seems to just want to quickly wrap things up. That said, this story might have worked even better as a mini-series, giving more time to flesh out characters like Dimitri and Calypso. A longer look at Sergei's transformation into Kraven during his isolation in Far Eastern Russia could've added more depth and made his journey feel even more impactful.

It's a very decent movie for a Saturday night with your brain in park. Just don't take it so seriously. Definitely worth a watch just because of Aaron Taylor-Johnson's wild action sequences. No pun intended.