Family relationships is an issue most of us have to deal with, and it is also a popular theme in film. From parents disappointment with their children and the other way around, it is one of those things that because of how relatable it is, it makes it into a lot of stories on the big and small screen. Now, add to that a comic book spin and you have Kraven the Hunter.
J.C. Chandor (Margin Call) directs here with a cast that includes Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Fred Hechinger, Russell Crowe, Ariana DeBose, Christopher Abbott and Alessandro Nivola and is based around Sergei Kravinoff (aka Kraven, played by Taylor-Johnson) and his brother Dmitri Smerdyakov (Hechinger) who are sons of a international drug dealer named Nikolai Kravinoff (Crowe). This relationship between father and sons and the relationship with the father is strained, especially after their mother has passed. After an accident with a lion on a hunting trip as a child, Sergei ends up having superhuman strength and animal-like reflexes. He leaves the family and lives in the wilderness while using his abilities to take out high-level criminals.
The cinematography is well-done here, covering a number of locales around the globe. There is a good amount of CGI here, but it was high quality and done right. The acting is fine overall, with Taylor-Johnson leading the way, but my shout out goes to Nivola who does great as “The Rhino,” really mastering a calm demeanor during high action and high intensity situations. On the other hand, Crowe’s his attempt at a Russian accent fell very flat and got annoying after a while.
Kraven the Hunter is just over two hours long, which is about the right length for me coming out of the gate strong with a good action scene then spent about thirty minutes showing the backstory, and that works. The thing I liked most here is that in the realm of superhero films, this really turns out to be a thinking man’s movie. Instead of a long runtime with a mindless plot made up with a bunch of action to fill the time, this film has a great mix of action along with family relationships and at the same time dealing with Kraven’s personal mission of going after the criminal lords. Out of all the superhero films I have seen, this is one of my favorites for that reason. There wasn’t much I did not like about this film, so I will definitely recommend it with my “coveted” full price in the theaters recommendation, and if you can see it in a premium format, it is worth it.
Commentaires