Plot: What’s it about?
Hey, the 2010’s called – they want their box office grosses back.
Thank you. Thank you. I’ll be here all week. Make sure and tip your waitress.
As we approach (as of this writing) the 20th year of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (henceforth referred to as the “MCU”), we’ve come to some conclusions. I think the most obvious is that we’re getting down to the “bottom of the barrel” when it comes to characters. Yes, Spider-Man, Iron Man and Captain America are all well-known but when you get down to Kraven the Hunter, well…Now don’t get me wrong, the character of Kraven the Hunter is actually one of the oldest of Spider-Man’s enemies first appearing in The Amazing Spider-Man #15. Yep, that puts him in the same timeframe as some of the aforementioned characters. But despite his “age”, it’s hard to make a film around a character like this (just ask director J.C. Chandor). Sony, to their credit, is trying to milk all they can from the few characters that they “own” and, as such, we’ve gotten films like a Venom trilogy, Morbius, Madame Web and now this. Was it worth the wait or are we waiting for the MCU to be great again?
We meet “Kraven” (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), the son of a Russian mobster Nikolai Kravinoff (Russell Crowe). As a teenager, he was given a magical healing potion by Calypso (Ariana DeBose) after he’d been attacked by a lion. The potion has given him the skills of said predators and additionally he’s got super speed, can leap and climb with the best of them. Later in life he reunites with Calupso in order to take down a poaching ring led by Aleksei Sytsevich (Alessandro Nivola). We also learn that his brother, Dmitri (Fred Hechinger) has been kidnapped. And, yes, folks in a nutshell…that’s it.
Those familiar with the character of Kraven know that he doesn’t pull many punches. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Marvel character kill another by putting his head in a bear trap but hey, there’s a first time for everything, right? Kidding aside, the appeal of this film was its R-rating which might have segmented the base, but it could have also given us what we know Kraven to be – a killer. Instead, it’s just Aaron Taylor-Johnson running and grunting showing us that he’s got the type of body that every guy would love to have. We’ve also got paper thin characters, a lackluster story and and underdeveloped ensemble cast. Other than that, it’s swell. I’d like to say that the film was worth the wait, but it just…wasn’t. And that’s too bad. But maybe the MCU will have a resurgence and we’ll be excited to see their films again.
Video: How’s it look?
Say what you will about the plot (or lack thereof), but I have to say that Sony’s 4K disc is spot on perfect. Detail is off the charts and that may or may not be a good thing when we see some of the ways in which the titular character “disposes” of his enemies. Colors are bold and bright and contrast is strong. It seems I can’t put a movie on these days without seeing Russell Crowe and his perpetual beard – guess what? It looks splendid. Even the darker scenes, of which there are many, look amazing. If you’re one that watches films for their technical characteristics – this is reference-quality material.
Audio: How’s it sound?
Adding a perfect compliment to the video quality is this Dolby Atmos track that, you guessed it, pulls no punches. I don’t think I’ve ever heard more “thuds” in my entire life (then again they needed something to distract us). Vocals are, as expected, strong, rich and crisp. One thing that had my head spinning were the surround effects. Let me tell you about how dizzying they are. I have to say that for a movie I had little interest in after 15 minutes – this one did deliver the goods in spades. It’s a top notch sound mix.
Supplements: What are the extras?
- Deleted & Extended Scenes – With a 127 minute running time, there were several scenes that didn’t make the cut. This was good news.
- Solitary Confinement
- Dmitri’s Birthday
- Sleep Interrupted
- Homecoming
- Kraven’s Dead
- Becoming Kraven – In an obligatory featurette with Aaron Taylor-Johnson, we find that he walks around the set in “beast mode” trying to embody the character.
- Beast Mode: The Stunts of the Hunt – Again, as we might expect, this one focuses on the stunts used in the film, how dangerous they were and so forth.
- Outtakes & Bloopers – Let your imagination run wild. Get it? Wild.
- Kraven‘s First Hunt: The Direction – Director J.C. Chandor does his best to justify his paycheck while lauding praise on the cast and crew.
- Allies & Antagonists: The Killer Cast – If you wanted a rundown on some of the ensemble cast, now’s your chance.
The Bottom Line
On one hand, I can’t fault Sony for trying to milk every last cent out of the few Marvel characters that they still “own.” On the other, it’d have been nice if they gave us a decent movie. Kraven the Hunter, in the comics, was one of my favorite characters and he’s been reduced to a one-dimensional character that has great abs. Putting that aside, Sony’s disc sports a beautiful-looking transfer with reference-quality audio.
