WatchingKraven the Hunter, I felt something I dont usually feel in the movie theater.
Directed by J.C. Chandor,Kraven the Hunteris the latest (and maybe last?)
Spider-Man adjacent film from Sony.
The shirt is coming off in Kraven the Hunter.Image: Sony
Hes a villain with a code, and supernatural aids to give him enhanced strength and speed.
Here Kraven (Johnson) is only partially that.
Hes a full-time superpowered assassin who jet-sets around, killing villains like a murderous jungle Batman.
Rhino and Foreigner inKraven– Sony
The whole thing is obvious, long, and dumb.
But thankfully, we do eventually get back to the present day.
At this juncture, you may still be holding out hope for this movie but the hope quickly fades.
Watch out, Kraven is coming – Sony
Wait, we thought he was a hunter?
Why does he need her?
And why did it take so long to find her?
No real explanations are given.
(This, mercifully, does have an explanation.)
Rhino wants to take over the underworld and sees Kraven as his biggest threat.
So, he hires the Foreigner (Abbott), another superhero, who goes on the hunt.
Things move on from there.
Dimitiri (Hechinger) becomes a big part of it and theres lots of jumping and killing and whatnot.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson doesnt have a lot to work with here, but hes suitably charismatic and menacing.
Crowe is classic Russell Crowecool, scary, not trying too hardand then theres DeBose.
Most of the guilt I was talking about earlier is directed toward her.
DeBose does what she can but even she cant save the awful writing.
You have to adjust because something noteworthy just happened.
Thats not the norm forKraven, which for the most part is rather repetitive.
A few of the action scenes are okay, others with big giant CGI animals are less so.
And then, as previously stated, all of it is just stuck together with spit and bubble gum.
The fact that such rich, meaty subtext is only sprinkled in haphazardly is beyond maddening.
The best things I can say aboutKraven the Hunter are that its better thanMadame Weband probably slightly better thanMorbius.
Which is the saddest part.
Kraven the Hunteropens Friday.
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