Kraven the Hunter limps its way to Blu-ray after a dismal box office run from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
The Production: 2/5
For years, Sony was eager (that may be too mild a word) to turn many of Spider-Man’s lesser-known villains into anti-heroes with franchises of their own. While the Venom movies worked (sort of), nearly every other attempt was an utter failure both critically and commercially – Morbius, Madam Web and finally Kraven the Hunter. After the theatrical release of Kraven, Sony removed all of the Sony’s Spider-Man Universe films that were in development from their release schedule, the notable exception being the second sequel to the animated Spider-verse series.
When their mother dies, brothers Sergie and Dmitri Kravinoff are pulled out of the boarding school in the United States by their father Nikolai (franchise killer Russel Crowe – The Mummy, The Pope’s Exorcist). In mourning, Nikolai takes them on a hunting safari in Africa. While the men go off to hunt a lion, Sergei and Dmitri are left alone, only to be hunted themselves by a large lion. As an attempt top protect his younger brother, Sergei has been taken by the lion. A young girl, Calypso, finds the badly wounded Sergei and gives him a serum said to have magical healing powers then finds help. The Kravinoff’s are quickly taken to the nearest hospital and Sergei makes a remarkably quick recovery, and realizes that he now possess animalistic traits such as quick reflexes and superb tracking ability.
Sixteen years later, Sergei has become a vigilante going by the name of Kraven (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and has honed his skills as he stealthfully enters a high security Russian prison to assassinate a known arms trafficker. That assassination, however, sets off a trigger of events, leading another arms dealer and rival to Nikolai, Aleksei Sytsevich aka The Rhino (Alessandro Nivola), to find Kraven and take him out. To lure Kraven out of hiding, Aleksei has Dmitri (Fred Hechinger) kidnapped, making a unachievable ransom demand to Nikolai. As expected, it brings Sergei out of hiding. Sergei turns to Calypso (Ariana DeBose), who is now a successful lawyer representing mostly criminals for help by passing on possible suspects that could lead Kraven to his brother’s kidnappers.
Kraven the Hunter has lots of problems. The story is cookie-cutter origin story as Kraven seeks to find what his destiny is while hunting for his brother. The movie is also incredibly dull, especially the action sequences. The CGI effects, particularly when Aleksei makes his full transformation into The Rhino, are just atrocious. Speaking of Aleksei, Alessandro Nivola is laughably over the top as the villain who also isn’t all that threatening. The only thing that almost work is Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s portrayal as Kraven, but the actor is no stranger to playing comic book characters (Avengers: Age of Ultron, Kick Ass, Godzilla, The King’s Man, Bullet Train). Ge’s about as good as one can be in a mess of a movie like this, but that is not enough to save the film.
Video: 4/5
3D Rating: NA
Kraven the Hunter was captured natively in 4.5k using Arri Alexa LF and Mini LF cameras and completed as a 4K digital intermediate in the 2.39:1 theatrical aspect ratio. Sony’s 1080p AVC encode for this Blu-ray release is mostly good. Colors are often bold and vivid. However, there are several portions of the movie where the image appears softer than it should be, and those do not necessarily have CGI in them. The drone shot of the Kravinoff estate at the beginning of chapter 4 may appear with lush greens, but the lawn appears more like a green tarp. Contrast and black levels is a problem, particularly in the more darkly-lit scenes. Blacks only appear as deep as a very dark grey, with shadow details getting lost in those dark greys. Since I have not seen the film in 4K HDR, it is hard to say if contrast and black levels are improved in that version.
Audio: 5/5
Default audio on this disc is a very active DTS-HD MA 5.1 track when it needs to be. The sequences on the Savanh and the forest make great demo moments. Sounds emanate from all of the available speaker channels. LFE is strong when it needs to be, adding emphasis to rolling thunder, explosions, crashes, etc. Dialogue is clear and intelligible throughout.
Special Features: 2/5
Most of what is included on this disc is recycled EPK materials.
Becoming Kraven (1080p; 5:00): A look at the character of Kraven and the actor who played him, Aaron Taylor-Johnson.
Beast Mode: The Stunts of the Hunt(1080p; 5:15): As the title implies, a look at the many stunt sequences in the film.
Outtakes & Bloopers (1080p; 2:36)
Kraven’s First Hunt: The Direction (1080p; 5:11): A look at the director, J. C. Chandor, with the cast and crew heaping praise on him.
Allies & Antagonists: The Killer Cast (1080p; 5:52): A look at the movie’s casting.
Deleted Scenes (1080p; 4:14): Five deleted sequences are featured.
Digital Copy: A Movies Anywhere code is included to redeem an HD digital copy.
Overall: 3.5/5
Kraven the Hunter is the curtain call of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, although you would never know it from this film. Although not the worst film in the series, it is very close.
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