Kraven The Hunter: Brutal, But Sadly Doesn’t Smash Through The Superhero Movie Fatigue

And so, another American superhero blockbuster hits the screens. Kraven the Hunter is a 2024 superhero (or is it more aptly supervillain?) movie which features the Marvel Comics character of the same name and is also the sixth chapter in the Sony Spider Man Universe.

The production budget was reportedly $130 million, and studio chiefs must be nervous as the movie is being released during a weekend when the continued box office might of Wicked, Gladiator II and Moana 2 may pose a serious threat to its box office potential.

From childhood Kraven had a very toxic relationship with his father who was a drug lord. This ultimately set him on a course of vengeance and was the catalyst for his becoming the greatest and most feared hunter on the planet. He had superhuman strength and speed but eventually the hunter would become the hunted by the villains.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson portrays Kraven, and he delivers a good performance but with his limited volume of experience does he have the star power to carry a film? Russell Crowe plays the support role of his father, the only well-known name in the cast that may aid in getting bums on seats.

The audience should be captivated by Johnson’s performance in the fast-paced action sequences and many will doubtlessly be drooling over his well chiseled physique and handsomeness.

Soon after the first act audiences may ponder whether this movie has the potential to be a hit. There’s plenty of blood curdling violence and intense action sequences to keep enthusiasts of this style of film at the edge of their seats, but snippets of unremarkable acting, detectably bad ADR and unrealistically cartoonish backdrops owing to cheapish CGI degrade the movie somewhat.

Several of the previous superhero movies notably Madame Webb and Morbius were of such poor quality that they were actually fun to watch and laugh at. Will Kraven The Hunter break this mold or carry on with what may have become a tradition?

There has unquestionably been an oversaturation over the years of these superhero blockbusters which have led moviegoers suffering a condition known as ‘superhero fatigue’, so it remains to be seen whether they will spend their hard-earned cash to watch a Marvel movie that is selling a pivotal character they know nothing about.

However, it was refreshing watching a Marvel movie which wasn’t the umpteenth sequel of an established superhero franchise, but ultimately Kraven The Hunter is the ‘same old same old’, that offers nothing that moviegoer haven’t seen before. Kraven The Hunter is raw and brutal, and perhaps audiences may surprisingly find it entertaining if they don’t expect too much at all.

The finale leaves the path open for a potential sequel, but this will depend on how this initial instalment performs at the all-important box office. Will Kraven go hunting for an audience to fill empty seats in cinemas? Time will tell….

**1/2

In cinemas now.