KRAVEN THE HUNTER (2024)

Genre: Adventure/Action
Director: J.C. Chandor
Cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ariana DeBose, Fred Hechinger, Alessandro Nivola, Christopher Abbott, Russell Crowe
Runtime: 2 hrs 7 mins
Rating: M18 (Violence)
Released By: Sony Pictures
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 12 December 2024

Synopsis: Kraven the Hunter is the visceral, action-packed origin story of how and why one of Marvel's most iconic villains came to be. Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays Kraven, a man whose complex relationship with his ruthless father, Nikolai Kravinoff (Russell Crowe), starts him down a path of vengeance with brutal consequences, motivating him to become not only the greatest hunter in the world, but also one of its most feared. 

Movie Review:

After years of delay, the next outing from Sony’s extended Spider-man universe is here- Kraven the Hunter. Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays the titular character with the action flick directed by J.C. Chandor (Margin Call, A Most Violent Year) thus instilling a glimmer of hope for Sony after facing intense backlash for the disastrous Morbius and Madame Web.

Forget about all the negatives reviews online. Let’s be honest here. Kraven the Hunter is not that bad. At least not on the level of Morbius and Madame Web. It’s not a great comic book superhero movie certainly yet it is undoubtedly a well-put together popcorn movie that entertains from start to finish.

Kraven the Hunter serves as both a spinoff and also an origin story of the character. Kraven was established as one of Spider-man’s formidable foes in the comics but we probably won’t see it materialised under Sony so let’s got on with it. Kraven’s real name is Sergei Kravinoff and his dad is a big-time criminal Nikolai (Russell Crowe). Kraven also has a half-brother, Dimitri (Fred Hechinger) whom he dotes a lot. The story has it that Kraven got his superpowers from a potion given by a young Calypso (Ariana DeBose) after suffering a lion attack.

Now Kraven, the skilled hunter spends his days travelling the globe searching for the next biggest and baddest villain on earth. On his list is another bad guy named Rhino (Alessandro Nivola) and rather than waiting for Kraven to kill him, Rhino wants him dead first so he sent in an assassin with weird powers named The Foreigner (Christopher Abbott).

The story written by Richard Wenk, Art Marcum and Matt Holloway (The Equalizer franchise, Uncharted) doesn’t have a lot going on despite introducing no less than four Marvel lore characters. Calypso is supposedly a voodoo priestess but she is just a normal investigative lawyer with extremely good archery skills here. The Foreigner might be some unknown supervillain that is given a flashy introduction and nothing else. Rhino fairs better than the Amazing Spider-man 2 incarnation though still a forgettable attempt in pulling off a memorable villain.

As the entire story is familiar and predictable, the story frequently relies on the various action set pieces to make things work. Admittedly, the action are genuinely well executed, often bloody and brutal compared to the blurry CGI battles in Morbius. Those looking for in-depth character development for Kraven or his little brother or their fearsome father might look elsewhere as the takeaway message here seems to be something along the line of strength and weakness.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson is convincing enough to be the modernised version of Kraven the Hunter even as his character on the whole unfolds very little throughout. Crowe expectedly being the 2024 Russell Crowe delivers a snarling baddie character with a bad Russian accent. Interestingly, Fred Hechinger’s character evolved into the Chameleon by the end of the movie, something comic book fans might embraced.

To sum up, there’s probably a better J.C. Chandor cut elsewhere in the cutting room. For now, the finished product isn’t as embarrassing as Morbius and Madame Web. Save for the somewhat tacky CGI animals, Kraven the Hunter is middling for sure but it sure entertains as a superhero fare.

Movie Rating:

(Come for the dumb action and forget the shallow story)

Review by Linus Tee