An absolute failure: Sony’s «Craven Hunter» launched with 15% on Rotten Tomatoes

Thought it couldn’t get any worse than “Madame Web”? But then Sony took on “Kraven the Hunter” and outdid itself.

Now, the film about Sergei Kravinoff has been rated a just (for a superhero-Russian) 15% on Rotten Tomatoes — based on 55 reviews. At one point, the rating even dropped to a 9% “freshness”, effectively outdoing last year’s Sony creation “Madame Web”.

The reviews brutally criticized, it seems, everything — from the script to the special effects and the oh-so-obvious dubbing. A few critics try to praise Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s performance, but these reviews are lost against the general backdrop. Here are some direct quotes from the reviews:

• Sidhant Adlakha, Polygon: “It’s mostly a sad affair that can’t decide on its tone — dramatic or comedic, not to mention a mix of both… Rarely does a superhero movie showcase so many talented performers. But with such material, can you blame them?”
• Owen Gleiberman, Variety: “I’ve seen far worse comic book movies than ‘Kraven the Hunter,’ but perhaps the best way to summarize my feelings about the film is to confess that I didn’t stick around to see if there was a teaser after the credits.”
• Avi Offer, NYC Movie Guru: “A confusing, awkward, and dull mess that becomes increasingly absurd and dumb. If you could imagine Spider-Man crossed with John Wick over a pizza for laughs, it would look something like this.”
• Andrew J. Salazar, Discussing Film: “The latest film featuring characters from Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, ‘Kraven the Hunter,’ could not end on a more miserable note. Unlike ‘Madame Web,’ where you could at least laugh at how bad it is. Just a waste of time.”
• Liv Scott, Inverse: “A clumsy script, murky visual effects, and painfully obvious ADR (dubbing) kill a promising premise. It lacks the confidence to carry its most ambitious ideas to the finish.”

Since the launch of “Venom” in 2018, which kicked off a series of films about characters from the Spider-Man universe, none have received the necessary approval from critics. “Carnage” in 2021 had the highest rating at 58%, while “Morbius” and “Madame Web” were rated at 15% and 11% respectively.

Box office results were corresponding — “Madame Web” ended its run with losses, earning just $100 million, and “Venom: The Last Dance” had the lowest revenues in the trilogy, signaling that audiences have lost interest in the story. Given all this, it’s no wonder Sony is set to end filming projects with “supporting” Spider-Man characters and focus on main work with Marvel Studios.

Regarding “Kraven the Hunter”, it had bleak forecasts even before the reviews came out — The Wrap reported that fans ignored the film’s showing at Brazil’s Comic Con, broadcasting it practically to an empty room.