Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ariana DeBose’s Film Shows Roaring Ambition, Tame Execution

Title: Kraven The Hunter

Director: J.C. Chandor

Cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ariana Dubose, Alessandro Nivola and Russell Crowe

Where: In theatres near you

Rating: 3 Stars

In this film, the latest entry in Sony’s Spider-Verse that doesn’t have Spider-Man, Aaron Taylor-Johnson flexes his physical and metaphorical muscles as Sergei Kravinoff, a Russian antihero gifted with the powers of a lion and a script that feels less jungle king and more declawed housecat. While the film occasionally claws at moments of intrigue, it mostly limps through its runtime, torn between brooding seriousness and the inherent silliness of its premise.

The story alternates between Sergei’s tragic childhood and his present-day exploits as a self-styled hunter of human predators. Raised under the shadow of his brutish father Nikolai (Russell Crowe, sporting an accent thicker than a Siberian winter), Sergei’s empathy for animals and disdain for his father’s violence set him on a path to, well, becoming a man who commands animals and slashes throats. The lion-related superpowers, bestowed via an unfortunate safari encounter, might sound thrilling, but they’re undermined by clunky CGI and vision sequences better suited to a mid-2000s video game cutscene.

Taylor-Johnson does his best with the material, channeling Sergei’s tortured soul with a mix of smouldering intensity and nimble action choreography. His combat sequences are visceral and, at times, inventive—particularly a scene where Sergei uses his heightened agility to leap from a wall, disarm multiple attackers, and incapacitate a poacher with a single swipe of his claw-like weapon. But for all his animalistic prowess, Sergei’s supposed connection to the animal kingdom feels disappointingly superficial. His furry allies are more tools than companions, existing to serve the plot rather than enrich it.

The supporting cast fares no better. Fred Hechinger adds a twitchy vulnerability as Sergei’s brother Dimitri, a lounge singer with a penchant for dodging their father’s wrath. The sibling dynamic hints at an emotional core, but the script merely scratches the surface, leaving the Kravinoffs’ family drama to languish in half-baked clichés. Russell Crowe, meanwhile, chews scenery with gusto, his performance teetering between menacing patriarch and cartoonish mobster.

Ariana DeBose’s Calypso—a character who could have brought nuance or a moral counterweight to Sergei’s blood-soaked crusade—lands firmly in the “thankless love interest” category. Her chemistry with Taylor-Johnson is fleeting, and her presence is largely ornamental, a missed opportunity to add depth to a film already struggling under its thematic contradictions.

The film falters most in its tone. Director J.C. Chandor seems unsure how to balance the pulpy ridiculousness of a lion-powered vigilante with the gritty gravitas the film aspires to. The result is a movie that takes itself far too seriously while delivering dialogue that begs for a smirk and action sequences that lack polish. Even the villainous Rhino (Alessandro Nivola), whose campy energy briefly threatens to enliven the proceedings, feels underutilized, leaving the film without a strong antagonist or memorable stakes.

Despite some entertaining moments, Kraven the Hunter feels like a predator that’s lost its edge—competent in parts but fundamentally lacking in purpose and personality. For fans of comic book cinema, it’s not an unbearable experience, but it’s also not a necessary one. If the Spider-Verse insists on spinning more of these standalone tales, let’s hope the next one doesn’t leave audiences hunting for substance.