It’s unfortunate, but it seems that “Kraven the Hunter” was dead in the water before it ever hit theaters. It’s all because both audiences and critics have long lost faith in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe. Sony’s superhero endeavor began with some early cynicism (especially from a segment of MCU loyalists). But it was the disappointing quality of the movies that eventually led to the negativity.

But is that fair to “Kraven the Hunter”, the sixth and some believe final film in Sony’s struggling Spider-Man Universe? Probably not. But the movie doesn’t exactly make a strong case for itself. “Kraven” falls in line with other SMU movies in that it takes a genuinely interesting character and completely underwhelms in its effort to bring them to the big screen. ”Kraven” isn’t bafflingly bad like “Madame Web”. But it’s hampered by problems that have plagued most of these films.

What’s frustrating is that there is a good movie somewhere inside of “Kraven”. It has a strong lead in Aaron Taylor-Johnson. It backs him up with two Academy Award winners in Russell Crowe and Ariana DeBose. It’s made by an intriguing director, J. C. Chandor. It certainly has plenty of compelling source material to draw from. And it’s grittier and bloodier than any of the previous movies.

But none of those things are able to overcome the script from the screenwriting trio of Richard Wenk, Art Marcum, and Matt Holloway. It’s all built around an undeniably silly premise which can be okay if the movie has fun with it. “Kraven” doesn’t seem to recognize its own silliness. Worse are the underdeveloped characters who are given more bad dialogue than believable motives or emotional range. The cast tries hard to work through it. But it’s too much for even this level of talent to overcome.

The film’s flashback opening introduces us to Sergei Kravinoff and his kid brother Dmitri. They’re the sons of Nikolai Kravinoff (Crowe), a ruthless crime lord who is as tough on his boys as he is his enemies. Nikolai clearly favors the older Sergei who he hopes will be a worthy heir in his hyper-masculine eyes. And while Dimitri is starved for his father’s approval, he’s repeatedly shunned for his supposed weakness.

While in Ghana on a big game hunt with their father, Sergei is attacked by a massive lion while protecting a terrified Dmitri. The lion savagely maims Sergei and drags him away where he’s later found near death by a young girl named Calypso. She slips him a mystical healing potion that mixes with a little lion’s blood. Sergei makes a miraculous recovery but never meets the girl who saved him. And after his father berates him for showing weakness, Sergei runs away from home.

Years later, Sergei (a chiseled Taylor-Johnson), now imbued with unexplainable powers from the potion, secretly hunts and kills certain criminals under the name Kraven. In between kills he has been trying to find Calypso (DeBose) who now is a successful lawyer in London’s largest firm. In the meantime Dmitri (Fred Hechinger) is kidnapped by one of Nikolai’s rivals (Alessandro Nivola). With his father unwilling to pay the $20 million ransom, Sergei reveals his Kraven persona and sets off to rescue his brother.

The movie has several good ideas working simultaneously but not harmoniously. There’s a bonkers superhero movie; a bloody action flick; a piercing family drama; a gritty crime thriller. Those are a lot of threads and they speak to the movie’s attempt at doing something different. They add some decent drama to the Kravinoff’s family dynamic and fuel some brutally fun action sequences. But Chandor can’t weave them together into something cohesive.

An argument can be made that “Kraven the Hunter” is the best movie in Spider-Man Universe. You could also say that’s a pretty low bar. Regardless, it’s not as bad as the critically- charged shredding it has received. At the same time, it’s not what I would call a good movie. Even with a well cast and fully committed Aaron Taylor-Johnson doing everything he can to earn our investment, it’s hard to find much to rave about in what may be the death knell for Sony’s Spidey-Venture.

VERDICT – 2.5 STARS