“Kraven the Hunter” is an excellent action picture based on a Marvel character of the same name. The script carries the film along at a steady pace with few slow scenes. The characters are interesting and bring a fresh look to the superhero genre.

The movie begins with a scene of prisoners stopping for a potty break in the middle of Siberia. One of the convicts is a man who will be revealed as Kraven (Aaron Taylor-Johnson).

After assaulting two men in the prison yard, Kraven is brought by a clearly corrupt guard to the jail office of Semyon Chorney (Yuri Kolokolnikov). A melee breaks out as Kraven kills everyone in the room. Kraven escapes the prison and is airlifted out of the area by a female pilot.

Flashback to an earlier time 16 years in the past. A young Sergei Kravinoff (Levi Miller) and his brother Dimitri (Billy Barratt) are enrolled in a private school in New York. They are summoned by an administrator to their father’s car. Nikolai Kravinoff (Russell Crowe) explains to his sons that their mother has committed suicide. She was a weak person according to him. To toughen up his sons, he takes them to northern Ghana to hunt for a man-eating lion. Whoever kills the lion will be a legend, according to Nikolai.

Cut to another scene in Ghana. A young Calypso Ezili (Diaana Babnicova) is playing with tarot cards. Her grandmother warns her to put the cards away before her parents arrive. Grandma gives Calypso a liquid potion that has been handed down for generations in her family. Calypso is told that she will know when to use it.

Back to the Kravinoffs now on the hunt for the lion. Sergei and Dmitri suddenly see the desired lion right in front of them. Sergei tells Dmitri to run. Sergei makes eye contact with the lion but does not shoot. The lion mauls him and drags him off.

From a nearby truck where Calypso and her parents are taking photos of a giraffe, the girl hears the commotion. Running to the noise, she finds the lion standing over Sergei. The lion drops some blood of his own into an open wound on the injured boy’s body and leaves. Calypso gives a drink of the potion to Sergei and leaves a “Strength” tarot card with him.

In the hospital, Sergei is declared dead. After 3 minutes he comes back to life to the amazement of everyone. The next day Nikolai discharges Sergei early.

Back in England, Sergei and his father argue. Sergei wants nothing to do with his criminal-syndicate drug-dealing dad. That night, he leaves home after apologizing to Dmitri about leaving him alone with Nikolai. He goes to an abandoned summer location in Russia to hide out.

In the present-day, Sergei reconnects to Calypso (Ariana DeBose). He wants help in killing bad guys. He has a list and hands it to her. She hands it back because she is a lawyer who wants to do things the right way.

Soon Dmitri will be kidnapped and Kraven must track him down.

This movie starts strong with a no-nonsense prison sequence and continues strong throughout the script. The ending brings in a new villain in the series and so seems to promise a sequel, even if there is not going to be one, which seems likely.

I was unfamiliar with this character or his cohorts in the Marvel Comics Universe. Thus this picture seemed like a breath of fresh air among what seemed to be endless rehashes of various MCU characters’ singular and joint arcs. I enjoyed the premise, the origin story, and the characters throughout the movie.

The film does not waste time on lengthy exposition of what the magic potion is, what exactly Nikolai Kravinoff does for a living, the mourning over the mother’s loss, and what exactly is the range of Kraven’s power. Sometimes the lack of exposition is frustrating. The character called simply the Foreigner seems to stop time in its tracks by taking off his sunglasses and using his eyes to mesmerize people. It is never quite clear what is going on, but I could accept at face value what I was seeing.

The movie does do a good job despite this lack of exposition in showing the bond between the young Sergei and young Dmitri. There is no doubt of their brotherly love.

I did think that the various animals seemed to be obviously computer-generated. A little extra effort on this score would have been welcome.

Overall though, the special effects in the action sequences are well-done and exciting. There are several chase and combat sequences that take advantage of the skilled artists working the movie. In particular, Kraven’s unique powers are displayed in a believable way.

Russell Crowe is at home chewing the scenery. His displays of bravado and ruthlessness ring true, even if Crowe is sometimes over the top. Alessandro Nivola is perfect as the villain Rhino. He is the opposite of Crowe in being more affable, but displays the same cunning and ruthlessness. I have to give credit to Christopher Abbott for his work as the Foreigner. His suave demeanor effectively counterbalances how dangerous he really is.

Ariana DeBose as Calypso is not given enough scenes. I am glad that she is a strong character, both resourceful and no-nonsense. It would have been easy to give in to a clichéd romance between her and Kraven, or worse, one of them having unrequited love.

The real standout is Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Kraven. He is in most scenes and successfully carries the film. He looks like he could be that strong but also nimble. He can be both normal and focused. It is a great piece of casting.

This is not a movie for younger children. Tweens might be OK watching this. It deserves its “R” rating for its violence, although ironically it is one of the least sex-filled superhero stories I have ever encountered.

Four and a half out of five stars

Kraven the Hunter is the action-packed, R-rated, standalone story of how one of Marvel’s most iconic villains came to be. Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays Kraven, a man whose complex relationship with his ruthless gangster father, Nikolai Kravinoff (Russell Crowe), starts him down a path of vengeance with brutal consequences, motivating him to become not only the greatest hunter in the world, but also one of its most feared.

Cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ariana DeBose, Fred Hechinger, Alessandro Nivola, Christopher Abbott and Russell Crowe
Directed by: J.C. Chandor

Based on the Marvel Comics.