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.
