Kraven’s complex relationship with his ruthless father, Nikolai Kravinoff, 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.
Sony’s Spider-Man Cinematic Universe meets its end with “Kraven the Hunter,” signaling the finale of a daring but unsuccessful attempt to build a superhero world lacking its central character. Despite “Venom” finding its audience and success, the series faltered with its later releases. The numbers paint a grim picture: “Kraven” barely scrapes by with 15% positive reviews, while “Madame Web” sinks lower at 11%, and “Morbius” matches “Kraven’s” score. Even with slight enhancements in “Kraven,” celebrating these minor gains feels like overstating the merits of “Revenge of the Sith” among its prequel siblings—praise that loses its luster when viewed alongside its companions.
The story centers on Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s Sergei Kravinoff, whose life takes a dramatic shift after surviving a lion attack during a family safari in Africa. He is saved by a local voodoo priestess named Calypso Ezili (Ariana DeBose), who gives him a special herbal potion passed down through her family’s generations, which gives him superhuman capabilities—becoming faster, stronger, and nearly immortal. This metamorphosis shapes him into a vigilante who targets both wildlife poachers and big-time criminals. The action escalates when kidnappers capture his younger brother Dmitri (Fred Hechinger), forcing Sergei to tackle both his father’s emotional detachment and powerful enemies: Alessandro Nivola’s Rhino and Christopher Abbott’s time-bending Foreigner.
“Kraven the Hunter” stands as a study in contrasts—captivating yet lacking. Taylor-Johnson, who played Quicksilver in “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” brings unexpected complexity to Sergei Kravinoff, outshining the script itself. DeBose adds weight to her role as Calypso, while Russell Crowe tackles the stereotypical Russian father figure Nikolai Kravinoff with his characteristic skill, proving his talent for enhancing standard roles.
The film’s strongest asset lies in its use of genuine locations. Eschewing excessive CGI environments, it showcases real-world backdrops from London to Iceland and Turkey. Though its action aims for grandeur, it often feels derivative of better-executed sequences in other films. The finale introduces us to Chameleon—a shapeshifting antagonist and adversary of Spider-Man and Kraven whose abilities could rival X-Men’s Mystique, but we will never see them engage in battle as Sony redirects its focus toward projects featuring Spider-Man himself. This strategic change not only closes this film but also concludes Sony’s bold gambit to craft a Spider-verse without its namesake hero.
In Theaters Friday, December 13th
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