Kraven the Hunter

But here we go again, with Kraven dusted out of his supervillainy from Spider-Man comics with this origin story that starts emotionally strong but never soars to the kind of kinetic energy a superhero film such as this requires. Taylor-Johnson, in his first such high-stakes solo lead, has a long way to enter superhero heaven. There is little we have not seen before or seen done better.

The storytelling is ham-fisted, lame-brained and doesn't really know how to lean into the fun of it all. Save the occasional flourish, Kraven The Hunter is limp, tired, uninvolving superhero fare.

Only the robust presence of Russell Crowe – and what might conceivably be a sly visual joke about exiled Russian plutocrat Mikhail Khodorkovsky – make this generic slice of superhero action worth watching. Kraven is a so-so character in a so-so film and the superhero revival is as far away as ever.

An inspired villain turn from Alessandro Nivola is all that elevates this above a 'Madame Web'-level misfire.

Despite being far better than Morbius and Madame Web, Sony's latest and possibly final superhero outing, Kraven the Hunter, still misses its mark by miles. But almost everything apart from these aspects is a royal mess and that's where the film falters.