Sony hasn’t had the best of luck when it comes to superhero films starring Spider-Man villains with no Spider-Man. For every ok Venom, you have a horrendous Madame Web, and Sony hasn’t broken that track record since they first set out to create their own cinematic universe. And that leads us to today, talking about what may be Sony’s last attempt at making this universe work: Kraven the Hunter. Starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the titular hunter, this next instalment in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe (SSU for short), from all the trailers looked to be at least on the same level as Venom. So, is this potential last hurrah for SSU worth your time or should it be forgotten instantly? Let’s find out.
Let’s kick things off with what I did enjoy about this film. The action scenes, for one, weren’t half bad. They had a visceral punch to them that differentiated Kraven from the rest of the SSU, and I rather enjoyed them. The first fight of the film, in particular, was probably my favourite because of the small environment it took place in and the creativity of the weapons used (tiger tooth to the neck, sucker!). There were also fights later on that had me wincing from the graphic nature of them, such as seeing someone get their head crushed by a bear trap or being split in half by a sharpened log. They definitely earned their R rating (MA 15+ here in Australia).
Besides the action, Aaron Taylor-Johnson did a decent job with the material he was given. The writing wasn’t anything special, but he was able to make some of the cringe scenes less so. It also looked like he did a lot of his own stunts, which is something I always appreciate (and he was jacked as fuck). I also enjoyed Russell Crowe as Kraven’s father, but not because of his importance to the story or anything like that, but because it was another film where I got to experience Russell Crowe’s European accent that is almost identical to every other time he has played one. I wouldn’t say it’s a good accent, but it makes me laugh, and that’s enough for me.
But with that, I’ve run out of things that I enjoyed.
Bloody hell, where do I even begin? Let’s begin with the most egregious part of this film: the story or lack thereof. The story of Kraven the Hunter is nearly non-existent and only starts to pick up any sort of momentum after nearly two-thirds of the film is done. And that story is a contrived mess that tries to tell an origin story, a family drama, and commentary on protecting the environment. It tries to do so many things that it forgets to be interesting altogether. I found myself thinking, what the hell is the point of this? Is it Kraven’s daddy issues? A gang war? His relationship with this woman he met like once as a kid? Or is it about a lion with magic blood? Who the fuck knows because the writers certainly didn’t.
The characters fared a little better, but not by much. I’ve already mentioned Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Russell Crowe’s performances, but the rest of the cast doesn’t hold their own (not really their fault). This is due to the fact that the writing is downright atrocious throughout most of the film. While some actors are able to salvage some value from the script, most come off as robotic or bad fan fiction. I feel for this cast because I think they could’ve done well if the script had been better, especially Ariana DeBose and Alessandro Nivola, who are constantly let down by poor writing.
The nail in the coffin for me, though, was the overuse of ADR that isn’t edited together well at all. I noticed so many times when characters’ lips would not match up with what they were supposedly saying. One instance in particular had a character talking, yet their mouth was shut. This problem was also present in Madame Web, and I desperately hoped that Sony wouldn’t repeat the same mistakes, but it looks like they haven’t learnt anything.
I’m not surprised with my reaction to Kraven the Hunter. I didn’t expect much going in, and what I got was at least slightly better than Madame Web, but that’s a very low bar to clear. But, at some point, Sony has to see how much these films are bombing. With the exception of the Venom trilogy (which is finished now), every other film in the SSU has been panned by critics and fans alike, but nothing seems to change. They keep putting out these Spider-Man villain films with no Spider-Man and expect them to do well.
It’s not going to happen, at least not with the current system you’ve got. With rumours floating around that Sony is not going forward with any future SSU plans, one can only hope that this cinematic universe of mediocrity (putting it lightly) is now over. But who knows, maybe Venom: The Last Dance gave them enough money to pump out two or three more (I fucking hope not).
Kraven the Hunter is another film in a long line of disappointments from the SSU. The little entertainment I got from the action and a handful of performances couldn’t save a fundamentally flawed film. It’s not as bad as Madame Web, but I won’t be in a rush to watch this film again. Now, please, Sony, put the SSU to rest; it’s never going to work.
Have you seen Kraven the Hunter? What did you think? Do you want the SSU to continue? Let us know in the comments where we can discuss our worst films of the year.
