Kraven the Hunter
⭐️ ⭐️ (out of 5 stars)
Kraven the Hunter is one of the most ferocious and feared villains in Spider-man’s universe. Still, only the most devoted fans would recognise his name (and shutter with fear). His tenacious skills and willingness to take on any challenge will be needed as this character enters the world facing a carnage-laden landscape. Within this world of Sony's Spider-Man Universe, he has a formidable road ahead as his predecessors, such as Morbius and Madam Web, struggled to make their mark in cinemas while Venom had moderate success. As the hunter enters theatres after various production issues and strike delays with an MA15 (R-US) rating, time will tell if he can break the box office trend and lure in his targeted prey, the holiday movie audience, to the cinemas this Christmas season.
As one of the lesser-known members of the Spider-verse, Sergei Kravinoff (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) is introduced as the son of the brutal Russian crime lord Nikolai Kravinoff (Russell Crowe) and half-brother to Dmitri Smerdyakov (Fred Hechinger). The boys are raised in an abusive but privileged environment where they are challenged to be hunters and powerful leaders. After an African hunting trip and a vicious lion attack, Sergei comes in contact with Calypso Ezili (Ariana DeBose), who saves his life and unwittingly gives him powers that turn him into the world's most feared hunter. After breaking away from his family, he heads off to the wilderness. He decides to take on the legendary moniker Kraven. As a hunter, his list of prey is all of the world's most powerful criminals, which eventually has him crossing paths with Aleksei Sytsevich (Alessandro Nivola) and his father once again. The tensions fly, and the familial trepidations are torn to shreds as the seemingly invincible huntsman is pushed to the limits of his abilities and may have found his key nemesis.
Unlike many of Spider-man's other foes who need little development for audiences before getting into the superhero action, Kraven the Hunter needs an extensive introduction to those who live outside the world of his graphic novel fanbase. Director J. C. Chandor (The Most Violent Year) travels through the hunter's origin story during the film's first half to such a degree that most might forget the violent opening in a Russian maximum security prison as they try to comprehend all that is being said of this warrior. Yet, despite this exceptional level of detail, the laborious pacing sets the tone for the remainder of the film. The screenplay needs to work on timeline jumps, the introduction of an endless barrage of characters, and enough monologues to qualify this film as a family drama, along with its action superhero status. This project shows cracks early on in all that the screenwriters were trying to do with this character and franchise.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Russell Crowe embody their characters with convincing form and look to be set up to formidable enemies. Especially as they unpack Fred Hechinger's role as the weaker brother and his potential future in Kraven's battles. The family drama is only one storyline amongst many that vie for the audience's attention along the way. Multiple antagonists and potential allies get introduced to such a degree that it is difficult to know why they exist or if we should even care about their roles in the storyline after a while. Each layer and new character causes this film to become a muddled, unnecessarily comical and confusing bloodbath that fails to establish its identity or what audience they are trying to please. (Wasn't Ariana DeBose supposed to become a love interest within this storyline?) The plot holes and forgotten characters make this a disjointed experience between the otherwise engaging action sequences. This causes blurred lines regarding Kraven's development into a foe for the friendly neighbourhood Spider-man, or is he meant to be another anti-hero within this universe?
Kraven the Hunter may not be the debacle that Madam Web proved to be and Taylor-Johnson may be a more appealing lead for fans than Jared Leto as Morbius. Still, this film needs help to capture its desired outcome within Sony's Spider-Man Universe to lure new fans to this wounded franchise beast.
Reel Dialogue: Power in the blood
One thing that stands out in the hunting scene when Sergei Kravinoff is attacked by a male lion is the mixture of their blood. Granted, other magical components were introduced in the scene, but there were multiple scenes where the mixing of the teen's blood with that of the lion was meant to show a transfer of power and strength.
As a Christian, my mind quickly brought forward teachings within the Bible of the power in the blood of Christ. In these New Testament references, this term is meant to signify Jesus' sacrificial death and how his blood became a payment for the world's sins. Also, it states how all who believe in that blood sacrifice will find salvation. The reference to the lion isn't lost on me, but that is a discussion for another day as we continue to consider the significance of the blood. Amazingly, the blood of Christ not only redeems believers from sin and eternal punishment but also "His blood will make our consciences pure from useless acts so we may serve the living God" (Hebrews 9:14). This means that anyone who believes can be free from having to offer sacrifices or "useless" works to obtain salvation or to please God.
Unlike the mixing of the lion's blood and Kraven's in the film, Christ's blood carries all of the power and strength to redeem people's lives. Have you ever taken the time to consider this about the blood of Jesus and how it can impact your life?
If you would like to discuss the topics from this film, reach out to us at Third Space. We would love to chat with you about this and more.
