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At 127 minutes, Sony Pictures Releasing's Kraven the Hunter, released on December 13, 2024, offers a decent viewing experience. Fans of the Marvel Comics character will especially appreciate how the story unfolds differently. However, for those unfamiliar with the comics, the movie may come across as somewhat slow and overly drawn out at times.
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers and reflects the author's opinions. Readers' discretion is advised.
The beginning of Kraven the Hunter offers sufficient backstory for the character, allowing audiences to understand his role in the story. So, everything makes sense by the time the movie concludes, and Kraven has achieved his revenge. However, the journey to that point feels overly complicated and laggy, often due to the presence of characters and their storylines, which could have easily been eliminated without an issue.
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What is Kraven the Hunter all about?
Kraven the Hunter is directed by J. C. Chandor, who has previously worked on projects such as Margin Call (2011), A Most Violent Year (2014), and Triple Frontier (2019). The film's narrative revolves around Sergei Kravinoff, who shares a complicated relationship with his father, Nikolai Kravinoff.
Nikolai is a drug dealer and criminal mastermind and wants his son to follow in his footsteps. Therefore, throughout the film's first half, he pushes Sergei to become exactly like him, ruthless and unfearful of anything. To achieve that, he even starts taking him on hunting trips where he kills wild boars and lions, pushing Sergei to do the same despite him despising it.
During a specific hunting trip expedition with his father and stepbrother, Dmitri, Sergei is affected by something life-altering. While trying to protect his brother from getting injured by an aggressive lion, Sergei gets severely mauled by the animal. He is then dragged a considerable distance into the forest.
His father and his men are unable to find him. However, Calypso, previously introduced in the narrative as the possessor of a mystical potion with rejuvenating capabilities, emerges in the scene. She is quickly drawn towards where Sergei is and offers him a few drops of the magical potion.
With the Lion's DNA entering his body due to the bites and a drop of the animal's blood entering his bloodstream, Sergei's body undergoes multiple genetic changes when he wakes up after receiving the potion. He is no longer Sergei but Kraven the Hunter (a name he takes on later in the narrative), a hunter with extraordinary skills.
Kraven the Hunter features some overly extended character arcs that fail to enhance its overall narrative
The beginning of Kraven the Hunter hints at the two main villains that would play a significant role in the film's storyline. The first is Aleksei Sytsevich, whose alliance is turned down by Sergei's father, Nikolai, during a hunting trip at the film's outset. The second is Nikolai, who has consistently pushed Sergei to his limits, forcing him to become someone he doesn't want to be.
Therefore, when it is already insinuated that these two individuals would be the primary hate mongers and anti-Kraven, introducing additional characters with unnecessarily convoluted backstories feels out of place considering the film's overall narrative.
The introduction of Foreigner, a character with superhuman abilities, midway through the film as a potential antagonist, made the story feel disjointed. There are two main reasons behind this. First, the audience was already aware of the main villains. Second, after all the backstory about Foreigner's motivations and the lives he took, Kraven the Hunter easily defeats him before the movie ends, making his presence and character development seem pointless.
Another disjointed plotline worth mentioning revolves around Calypso's character. While her role is crucial to Kraven the Hunter's narrative and superhuman origin story, the film handles it rather carelessly. The first time audiences see Calypso is when she tries to grasp her grandmother's art of reading cards. She is then given the potion that would ultimately save Kraven.
The next time audiences encounter Calypso, she is on a safari with her parents. Without any context regarding her abilities, she is suddenly shown leaving the car and walking toward the woods with the magical potion in hand. How did she know Sergei was there in a wounded state? Did she possess magical abilities? No explanation is provided for that.
Kraven the Hunter has some good action sequences that will keep the audiences on the edge of their seats
Kraven the Hunter's name suggests the film will feature several action sequences centered around hunting. Therefore, the action scenes in the film are more about "spotting your target, attacking, and killing" rather than the extensive chase sequences typically expected in superhero films.
However, towards the film's end, there is one significant chase sequence in which Aleksei flees with Sergei's brother, Dmitri, which is truly nail-biting. Sergei battles Aleksei's men for a significant portion of the conflict but never confronts him directly. Once his entire crew has been defeated, Aleksei is forced to rely solely on his own strength.
He becomes the Rhino for the first time in the film by cutting off his medication and faces off against Kraven, which is captivating to watch. He seems to match Kraven’s strength, perhaps even surpassing it, as he easily overpowers him during the fight. He is impenetrable, thanks to his rhino skin, which helps him dodge several knife hits.
After being defeated continuously, it takes all of Sergei’s brain power to devise a strategy to overcome the Rhino. Ultimately, he discovers the precise spot to strike to take him down—the area where his pipe had been attached, leaving a considerable gap in its place. His plan succeeds as he ultimately defeats him, with Aleksei meeting his fate before shifting into a half-human, half-rhino form.
Kraven the Hunter is a decent watch if you are keen on knowing the origin story of one of Spider-Man's well-known villains
Kraven the Hunter is an introduction to Kraven's character, who, in Marvel Comics, is a powerful villain against Spider-Man. Therefore, if his character appears as a main villain in future Spider-Man films, audiences will better understand his motivations if they see this movie.
However, if Marvel and/or Sony choose not to delve into Kraven's storylines, then Kraven the Hunter, as a standalone film, may not provide much narrative depth. Nonetheless, it's always worth watching the film to see the filmmaker's unique interpretation of the character, which is quite different from the comics. The film doesn't quite live up to its runtime or the expectations it set with its trailer and promotions.
Kraven the Hunter is currently running in theatres.
