A Final Nail in Sony’s Superhero Coffin
Sony’s attempt to carve out its own Spider-Man Universe—without Spider-Man—has been an ongoing experiment with mixed (mostly negative) results. The ambition to spotlight villains and side characters from Spidey’s lore sounded intriguing on paper. But in execution, it’s been a collection of misfires, plagued by weak scripts, inconsistent tones, and forgettable characters. While Venom and its sequels drew crowds despite their flaws, films like Morbius and Madame Web were widely panned. Now comes Kraven the Hunter, the latest and potentially final chapter in Sony’s fractured superhero experiment. Is it a bold turnaround or just more of the same? Unfortunately, it leans heavily toward the latter.
The Plot
Sergei Kravinoff (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), son of Russian crime boss Nikolai (Russell Crowe), struggles to break free from his father’s brutal legacy. After a traumatic hunting accident leaves him gravely wounded, Sergei is saved by Calypso (Ariana DeBose), a mystic healer who fuses his blood with that of a lion. This transformation turns him into a super-powered, animalistic warrior.
Years later, now known as Kraven the Hunter, Sergei wages war on criminals and poachers. But his past refuses to stay buried. His brother Dmitri (Fred Hechinger) returns, reigniting old tensions, while the rise of Aleksei (Alessandro Nivola)—soon to become the monstrous Rhino—threatens everything Sergei stands for. As family secrets unravel and allegiances shift, Sergei is forced to choose between revenge and redemption.
What Works (Barely)
There are glimmers of potential scattered throughout Kraven the Hunter. The action, elevated by its R-rating, delivers a few brutally entertaining sequences that feel more visceral than Sony’s previous entries. Director J.C. Chandor, better known for grounded dramas like A Most Violent Year, attempts to inject emotional stakes through the strained family dynamics between Sergei, Dmitri, and Nikolai. This aspect gives the film a slightly more grounded tone compared to its cartoonish counterparts.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson is, without question, the film’s strongest asset. He brings a fierce physicality and emotional edge to Kraven, doing his best to sell the character’s tormented psyche. He’s fully committed, even when the material around him falters. The production design is decent, and a few visual moments from cinematographer Ben Davis stand out. Unfortunately, those brief highlights are drowned out by everything else.
Where It Fails
For all its promises of a darker, grittier take, Kraven the Hunter collapses under its own weight. The script is muddled, unfocused, and bloated with half-baked ideas. The pacing veers wildly—from exposition-heavy lulls to rushed action beats—and the film never finds its rhythm. The story tries to juggle family trauma, moral dilemmas, mythological overtones, and comic book spectacle, but fails to connect them in any meaningful way.
The CGI is especially egregious. From obvious green screen backdrops to the laughably rendered transformation of Rhino, the visuals feel dated and cheap—closer to early 2000s superhero fare than a modern blockbuster. These shortcomings are only amplified by the film’s tone, which tries to be serious but frequently slips into unintentional camp.
Chandor’s direction, while ambitious in moments, never fully grips the genre. The emotional arcs feel unearned, the dialogue is clunky, and many characters are severely underdeveloped.
The Cast: Wasted Potential
- Aaron Taylor-Johnson does his best in the lead role. He’s intense and physically convincing, but even he can’t overcome the story’s predictability or tired tropes.
- Fred Hechinger shows promise as Dmitri, but the character is too inconsistent and underwritten to leave a lasting impact.
- Ariana DeBose, a talented actress, is sidelined for most of the film. Her role as Calypso feels hollow, and the forced romantic subplot with Sergei lacks chemistry or purpose.
- Russell Crowe, as patriarch Nikolai, hams it up with a heavy Russian accent and menacing glares, but the role quickly becomes a caricature.
- Alessandro Nivola’s turn as Aleksei/Rhino is cartoonishly bad. Between the stiff acting and terrible visual effects, his villain feels like an afterthought.
- Supporting characters (Christopher Abbott as “The Foreigner,” Murat Seven, Yuri Kolokolnikov, etc.) are barely fleshed out and add little to the story.
Final Verdict
Kraven the Hunter tries to position itself as a bold, R-rated reimagining of a classic villain’s origin—but ends up delivering a tired, formulaic mess. It’s marginally better than Madame Web (a low bar), but still plagued by all the issues that have haunted Sony’s Spider-Man Universe from the beginning: shallow characters, chaotic pacing, and uninspired storytelling.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson gives it his all, and a few action moments hit their mark, but the film overall feels hollow and unnecessary. This was Sony’s chance to break the cycle, to prove they could tell a compelling story outside the shadow of Spider-Man. Instead, Kraven the Hunter feels like the final proof that this franchise simply doesn’t work.
Verdict: Skip It.
A dull, derivative finale to a cinematic universe that never found its purpose. If this is truly the end, it’s a merciful one.