Shadows on the Wall | Kraven the Hunter

Kraven the Hunter

dir JC Chandor
scr Richard Wenk, Art Marcum, Matt Holloway
prd Avi Arad, David B Householter, Matt Tolmach
with Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ariana DeBose, Russell Crowe, Fred Hechinger, Alessandro Nivola, Christopher Abbott, Levi Miller, Billy Barratt, Yuri Kolokolnikov, Michael Shaeffer, Murat Seven, Chi Lewis-Parry
release US/UK 13.Dec.24
24/US Columbia 2h07

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While there's an intriguing anti-hero thriller in here, this film feels badly compromised by interference from things like focus groups and nervous studio bosses. As a result, terrific moments and solid performances are undone by a simplistic and predictable script. Effects work looks like it was rushed, and the entire movie seems choppily re-edited, losing key themes while creating odd transitions between the quirky drama and rip-roaring action.

It's been 16 years since young Sergei (Miller) was almost killed by a lion in Ghana while on a hunting trip with his crime boss dad Nikolai (Crowe). And a healing potion gave him special feral powers. Today, Sergei (now Taylor-Johnson) has reinvented himself as a hunter who takes out criminals like his father. He also tries to protect his half-brother Dmitri (Hechinger) from the violence that surrounds their father, turning to London lawyer Calypso (DeBose) for assistance. Then when nastiness kicks off, dad's rival Aleksei (Nivola) wades in, as does the mysterious Foreigner (Abbott).

Frankly, it's frustrating to see another intelligent filmmaker like Chandor get lost in the studio system (although this isn't as messy as Triple Frontier). It's clear that this was intended to be a clever take on toxic masculinity, but that has been subverted by painfully obvious rewrites and a narrative that jumps awkwardly between dramatic scenes and kinetic mayhem, which is strikingly well-staged but often feels randomly pasted into the running time. And key characters pop up and vanish haphazardly.

The actors try to indicate some depth in their characters. Taylor-Johnson is always interesting on-screen, and has an engaging, magnetic presence here, even when he's grappling with a clumsy bit of declarative dialog. Sergei is a properly conflicted character, but none of his connections are explored. Crowe has a great time with his gruff rooskie accent and godfather physicality. Hechinger is enjoyably quirky as the fragile Dmitri. And DeBose simply refuses to be sidelined by the plot, even turning up in her own super-outfit for the extended climactic sequence.

But it's hard not to feel that everyone in this talented ensemble has been wasted here, as the way scenes are cut reduces the characters to their most basic issues. So ideas about identity and security are lost in a father-son tussle that never surprises us at all. If the studio had allowed for a more ambitious approach, this might have been the best entry in Sony's uneven Spider-Man adjacent series.

themes, language, violence 11.Dec.24

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