Aaron Taylor-Johnson brings a primal edge to J.C. Chandor’s uneven superhero saga.
By James Verniere/Boston Movie News
Directed by J.C. Chandor of the Bush-era stock market meltdown drama “Margin Call” (2011), “Kraven the Hunter” is more “X-Men” than “Avengers.” Sometimes unintentionally funny, the R-rated effort is an uneven origin tale from Sony’s Spider-Man “Spider-verse” about a young man named Sergei Kravinoff (Levi Miller as an adolescent, Aaron Taylor-Johnson as an adult). Sergei is the older brother of the more sensitive and vulnerable Dmitri (Billy Barratt as an adolescent and Fred Hechinger as an adult), whom he strives to protect from their brutish father, the Cronus-like crime lord Nikolai Kravinoff (Russell Crowe, sporting a Russian accent thick enough to beat you over the head with). Nikolai, whose tormented wife committed suicide, repeatedly tells his sons that their mother was “weak,” the greatest sin in his dark world. Notably, Academy Award-winner Crowe, who won his Oscar for “Gladiator” (2000), is nearly twice the size of the actors playing his sons.
The action begins with the adult Sergei, aka Kraven, in a Russian prison, where he seemingly is about to be killed by a gangster fellow inmate. But this is when he reveals himself to be some sort of mutant with limited super strength and the ability to leap up and down walls and buildings and run like an antelope. Shot by Ben Davis (“The Banshees of Inisherin”), “Kraven” looks great (I saw it in IMAX) and features subwoofer-pounding sound design. After we flashback 16 years, we learn how Sergei became Kraven on a hunting trip in Africa with Dmitri and their father. This will involve the participation of a tourist named Calypso Ezili (Ariana DeBose as an adult), who administers a voodoo potion, given to her by her “mystic” grandmother, to Sergei after he is attacked by a giant lion.
(Jay Maidment/Sony Pictures)
Written by Richard Wenk of “Equalizer” fame and the writing team of Art Markum and Matt Holloway (“Men in Black: International”) and shot in London, Wales, Turkey, and Iceland, “Kraven the Hunter” weaves a Freudian tale of two brothers under the dark spell of a domineering, criminal father. Dmitri, who plays piano, becomes a London nightclub owner known for his ability to imitate artists such as Tony Bennett (Does this qualify as a superpower?). In London, although he also has a retreat in the steppes, Kraven goes into business as a vigilante (also an equalizer?) who tracks down men like his father and eliminates them. “I hunt” are his favorite two words. In London, Sergei is reunited with Calypso, who has become an attorney for a London firm with high-powered clients. She is Kraven’s love interest in the comic books. But the romance angle is oddly not part of this film.
Kraven starts out as an environmentalist of sorts, trying to protect the stampeding CG herds of bison, which are hunted for their horns by murderous poachers armed with automatic weapons. The film does not explain how Kraven, who is presented as sympathetic and even semi-heroic, will evolve into an evil adversary of Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man. Taylor-Johnson is reportedly in the running to be the next 007 and is certainly buff enough to play a superhero. As Kraven, the actor runs faster than a speeding car, leaps, bounces, and kicks ass. But he is not physically imposing like his costar and former romper-stomper Crowe. A nightclub shootout seems more suitable for an “Equalizer” film (or a Bond movie). Ditto for the fleets of big, black vehicles. A London foot chase culminates in a nicely staged scene where Kraven tries to hold back a helicopter in flight. As a character named the Foreigner, Christopher Abbott removes his sunglasses, makes time shift, and later fires hallucinogenic darts at Kraven. As a villainous Russian named the Rhino, Alessandro Nivola disconnects a tube connected to his ribs and devours scenery. We are reminded that in addition to hating his father, Sergei/Kraven feels guilt for not “being there” for his brother, over and over. A sequence was filmed outside the Sumela Monastery, built into the side of a mountain in northeastern Turkey in the 4th century. Despite its age, the monastery is more spectacular than the CG animals in the film, including a giant snow leopard. By the end, you may, like me, be left wondering why Calypso did a vanishing act. Is that her superpower?
‘Kraven the Hunter’
Rating: R for strong bloody violence and language.
Cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Fred Hechinger, Ariana DeBose, Russell Crowe
Director: J.C. Chandor
Writer: Richard Wenk, Art Markum, Matt Holloway
Running Time: 127 minutes
Where to Watch: AMC Boston Common, AMC Causeway, Alamo Drafthouse Seaport, AMC South Bay and other suburban theaters
Grade: B
Boston Movie News 