KRAVEN THE HUNTER: The Death of Sony’s Marvel Universe

By Harrison J. Bahe

Kraven the Hunter is the action-packed, R-rated, standalone story of how one of Marvel’s most iconic villains came to be. Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays Kraven, a man whose complex relationship with his ruthless gangster father, Nikolai Kravinoff (Russell Crowe), 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.

Sony’s infamous slew of Marvel movies is a doozy. The Venom Trilogy, Morbius, Madame Web, and now Kraven the Hunter have all been lauded as unintentionally hilarious cash grabs to cash in on the Spider-Man name without actually featuring Spider-Man. A feat which may confuse some viewers because, let’s face it, who wants to watch a Spider-Man movie without Spider-Man? Regardless of that poor decision, the films themselves have often become parodied and became instant classics in the meme fashion. If you follow social media waves, you’ll know all about those pesky memes. Fortunately, Kraven the Hunter marks the end of the Sony Marvel movies.

So, what’s so wrong with Kraven the Hunter? Well, I suppose in the face of other comic book movies, the entirety of Sony’s Marvel movie lineup suffers from a case of “if this movie had come out in 2006, it would have been the best thing ever.” Despite the dedication of Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the titular Kraven, the film still suffers from boring, bland characterization and always teeters and ultimately collapses into schlock. Which, I suppose to film goers knowing just what kind of movie this is going to be, can be enjoyed in such fashion. If you go into this expecting some C+ level generic action comic book movie, then you’re surely going to have fun with it; memes and all. It’s very difficult to take this film seriously when there’s a man who literally transforms into a rhino in the finale and a man who says, with utter seriousness, “I’ve always been a chameleon,” only for them to become a shapeshifter (somehow) by the end. Whether these characters are faithful to their comic book counterparts remains to be seen, but looking back at Paul Giamatti’s robotic take on the Rhino in The Amazing Spider-Man 2; perhaps we treated him too harshly.

Kraven the Hunter is a bad movie and can only be enjoyed if you’re in on the joke that is the Sony Marvel Universe. Just because it’s Rated R and features a ton of gratuitous blood and guts and F-bombs galore does not make it a good movie. I found myself gawking at it more than being shown a fun comic book movie. I looked over to my father who was watching it with me saying, “I swear to God, if this guy turns into a rhino, I’m going to lose it.” Well, the dude turned into a rhino I just gave in to the schlock. For some reason, the film does end on a potential for a sequel but at this point, it really doesn’t matter anymore. It’s a generic, bland, bloody, unintentionally hilarious movie that heralds the end of the Sony Marvel Universe, which is why I give Kraven the Hunter—

2 Lions out of 5

Kraven the Hunter is Rated R for strong bloody violence and language. It is currently playing in theaters nationwide.