Serguei Kravinoff, the son of a wealthy gangster, almost dies during a safari organized by his father. Attacked by a lion, he owes his life only to the absorption of a mysterious potion administered to him by an unknown young girl. Years later, when he turned his back on his father, Serguei became Kraven the Hunter, a vigilante who, thanks to his colossal strength and his extraordinary reflexes, tracks down the greatest criminals in the world…
After Venom or Morbius, here is Kraven the Hunter, another enemy of Spider-Man in the films or comics, who is entitled to his own feature film, in theaters this Wednesday, December 18. A work conceived in pain, since hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, then the strike of Hollywood actors. In the meantime, the Marvel cinematic universe has taken a hit and its little brother derivative within the Sony studio, “Sony's Spider-Man Universe”, has accumulated critical failures since 2018 (for all its productions, a feat in itself!) and commercial (with the exception of the three “Venom”). This “Kraven the Hunter” should also mark the end of this franchise where, despite his name, the spider-man never appeared…
This latest film, released Friday in the United States where it did not shake the box office, is however not the worst in the series. On the contrary, we rather enjoy watching this feature film whose narrative ellipses suggest that its ruthless editing has favored action scenes to the detriment of dialogue. Not really a loss, except when Russell Crowe appears, in the role of Kraven's evil father, Nikolai Kravinoff, the occasion for some insane histrionics enhanced with a Russian accent to cut with a knife.
We also appreciate the settings which change from the usual urban universe of Marvel superheroes, since the plot develops here in the African jungle or the Siberian Far East. Finally, “Kraven the Hunter” assumes its violence. Prohibited to unaccompanied under-17s in the United States, but apparently visible to all audiences in France, the film displays some very brutal deaths where blood spurts profusely, without turning into a pochade à la “Deadpool & Wolverine,” and that’s good.
