‘Kraven the Hunter’ review: Marvel scrapes the margins

Every December, a hero comes to save us all from prestige awards-season movies. Need to turn off your brain? Never fear, “Kraven the Hunter” is here, a big ol’ side of comic-book beefcake with no contemplation required. For some, it may be just what the doctor ordered for a mid-December mind vacation.

“Kraven the Hunter” is a Marvel movie from Sony, the studio that has been churning out standalones for various obscure Spider-Man characters like Venom and Madame Web. Think slightly goofy and somewhat self-aware about the silliness of the whole endeavor. But if the surprisingly successful “Venom” films are highest on the scale of knowing humor, “Kraven the Hunter” is the lowest — only a few participants have the wink down pat.

The character of Kraven is a foe of Spider-Man from the comic books who has an affinity for animal prints and is so charming, he’s more of an antihero than a supervillain. Aaron Taylor-Johnson and his abdominal muscles slither into Kraven’s leathers for the film, which is an origin story much like Spider-Man’s: A boy has a near-death experience with a deadly animal and, through a mystical, inexplicable transference, receives specific qualities from that animal that comprise his superpowers.

Privileged but sad teen Sergei Kravinoff (Levi Miller) is attacked by a lion on a hunting safari with his Russian gangster father, Nikolai (Russell Crowe). He’s revived by a mysterious potion and then runs away from home, taking to the wilds of eastern Russia, where he lives in a yurt and hunts bad guys for sport, shedding Kravinoff and taking on the name of Kraven, a.k.a. “The Hunter.”

Miller and then Taylor-Johnson approach the part straight-faced, playing someone who loves animals and hunts only those he deems predators, like mob bosses imprisoned in deepest Siberia. Director J.C. Chandor (“A Most Violent Year”), working from a script by Richard Wenk, Art Marcum and Matt Holloway, is also earnest about the film. But many of the character actors in supporting roles came to work ready to go big.

There’s Russell Crowe and his Russian accent, playing the big, bad bear of a father, against whom Kraven rebels. He claims his dad is an evil drug dealer, even though we never see him do anything but take his kids on hunting trips and shame them about being weak. Not a great parent, fine, but his criminal bona fides are not onscreen. Fred Hechinger co-stars as Sergei’s younger brother, Dmitri, torn between a sibling who abandoned him and a father who criticizes him.

Then there’s Alessandro Nivola, delivering a creepy-camp performance as Aleksei Sytsevich, a.k.a. “The Rhino” (played previously in “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” by Paul Giamatti). Nivola seems the most in on the joke, or the most willing to get weird, and with his strange accent and bizarre mannerisms, he makes the whole thing worth watching (his transformation is especially ridiculous). There’s also the shocking appearance of indie darling Christopher Abbott as “The Foreigner,” a character who can control time by counting “1, 2, 3.” Hopefully he had a good time beating up Taylor-Johnson.

We’re not done: Ariana DeBose plays Calypso, operating in a similar register as Michelle Williams in “Venom,” but more out of her depth, with a wig that’s wearing her and a selection of costumes that seem to be stolen from a 1990s Janet Jackson music video. Poor DeBose is saddled with some clunkers to deliver — her character is constantly pronouncing what’s happening onscreen — but her stilted line readings don’t help matters.

It would have been more fun to watch Kraven hunting, but the action of the film centers around the kidnapping of Dmitri and Kraven’s desperate attempts to rescue his little brother. But the structure and edit is so strange, there seem to be huge chunks of exposition missing, though they weren’t really necessary in the first place. Dodgy CGI, especially for the animals, and obvious green-screen inserts also show the seams on this project.

There’s a certain pleasure to be had in watching Taylor-Johnson (or his stunt double) grapple with a speeding minivan or parkour around “London,” and the star has enough charisma to just barely hold this thing together. You’ll give a hearty chuckle when he finally dons his cropped, fur-collared vest at the end of the film, much in the same way Ms. Web finally revealed her signature specs at the end of her film. But aside from the obviously unintentional humor, the quality of “Kraven the Hunter” is severely lacking. Perhaps that’s all the recommendation you need for some dumb fun at the movies.

Katie Walsh is a Tribune News Service film critic.