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.
Overview
Following two years of delays, Kraven The Hunter is a 2024 superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character of the same name. The film is directed by J.C. Chandor and the screenplay is by Richard Wenk, Art Marcum, and Matt Holloway.
The film stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the title character alongside Ariana DeBose, Fred Hechinger, Alessandro Nivola, Christopher Abbot, and Russell Crowe. The film was produced by Columbia Pictures in association with Marvel Entertainment.
Kraven the Hunter is the sixth film in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe. The film goes on to explore the relationship between Kraven and his father all while becoming the greatest hunter in the world. Although finally receiving a standalone film, Kraven was considered for film appearances several times.
The film as of this article, has made $45.1 million on a $110-130 million budget.
Story
The origin story of Kraven The Hunter. Throughout the film, Kraven is said to be a legend, a myth. The story switches from the present day to the past showcasing the young life of Kraven and his brother and what they had to deal with from their father.
The story showcased how Kraven became what he was in the present day when on a hunting trip with his father, he was attacked by a powerful lion and nearly killed until Calypso heals him with a serum. The story then showcases that Kraven becomes one with the animals using their abilities to his benefit.
The film does a good job of separating Sergei from Kraven but also making Kraven The Hunter this legend who not many people believe in as they all believe that Kraven is some type of myth. It’s only proven that he’s real when The Rhino finds out that Kraven has a weakness… his brother.
Characters
Let’s start with Kraven. He was obviously one of the standouts within this film. Everything he did he did with the purpose of getting out from under his father, his father’s life, and just generally wanting to protect his brother. Aaron Taylor-Johnson was a fantastic casting for this film.
Russell Crowe as Nikolai Kravinoff was such a fantastic casting as well as he truly captured that powerful criminal figure as well as the harsh father style that Nikolai had throughout the film. Kraven’s brother Dmitri was also a very good casting who ultimately we get to witness his transformation throughout the film into the Chameleon.
Another character I want to speak about is Aleksei Sytsevich who was played by Alessandro Nivola. We slowly got to see him as this weak character in the beginning of the film who ends up being the main villain Rhino.
For the full cast list, you can visit IMDB by clicking here.
Hype
I honestly believe that the hype surrounding this movie was a mixed bag of emotions. Obviously, since it’s Sony you would get the haters that come out to hate on the films that Sony put out which they come out to speak about every film they can.
On the other hand, I did see some true hype for the movie from all aspects of fandoms from people who wanted to watch it casually to the true comic book fans who did defend the film leading up to the release.
Favorite Moments
1. The opening scene. I watched the early release of this opening 8 minutes or so of the movie and let me tell you right now, I was immediately impressed with the portrayal of the character, the movement of the character similar to how animals are and the opening 8 minutes set the tone for the film.
2. The slow tease of the Rhino. Seeing how this character is being done within this movie is a very interesting concept as the only other Rhino we’ve had teased was way back in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and that was just some guy in a suit.
3. The entire chase scene where Kraven is running after the group that has taken his brother is crazy good. Seeing how much Kraven loves his brother to literally stop at nothing to get him back to safety was insane and well done.
4. Seeing Kraven use his abilities to infiltrate a mansion to find his brother and take down an army of people while trying to find his brother was so good. We also get to see just how strong Kraven is when he jumps out of a building that is crumbling and covering him with a bunch of boulders.
5. Kraven vs Rhino. What a fight. Seeing Kraven go up against an immovable object was just crazy. Generally, after seeing this film and this fight, I see Kraven in a new light. After this movie and Spider-Man 2 video game, I’m such a fan of Kraven.
Dislikes
Honestly, I have no dislikes from this movie.
Recommend?
I would severely recommend this movie. I’ve been excited to see this movie since it was announced and I was surprised with just how good it was. 10/10 would recommend.
Verdict
Honestly, this film suffered due to the nature of it being “good” to hate on Sony films. This story within the film was actually an emotional one that focused on the father/son relationship and how one can go when they have a tyrant as a father. The action was second to none in the film with the action being so bloody.
Rating: 8.8/10
Kraven The Hunter is available in cinemas worldwide. You can visit here for more information on Kraven The Hunter.
The Review
Story - 9
Structure - 7.5
Quality - 8
Action - 10
Characters - 10
Entertainment - 10
Antagonist - 8
Hype - 8
8.8
Great
Honestly, this film suffered due to the nature of it being "good" to hate on Sony films. This story within the film was actually an emotional one that focused on the father/son relationship and how one can go when they have a tyrant as a father. The action was second to none in the film with the action being so bloody.
