The Sony Spider-Man universe has expanded with the latest addition revolving around the anti-hero and villain Kraven the Hunter.

It proves once again that Sony should perhaps leave the superheroes – and villains – to the experts.

Sony has been looking for a Marvel-level superhero success for some time now, and while 2017’s “Venom” was well-received by audiences, its ploy to create its own superhero movie universe has shown that comic book Heroes, villains or anti-heroes are no guarantee butts in seats or good reviews.

That sentiment also applies to the latest addition to Kraven the Hunter, which stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson (“Tenet,” “The Fall Guy”) as Sergei Kravinoff, aka Kraven, or “The Hunter.” A promising premise with disappointing direction, “Kraven the Hunter” has all the interesting material to work with, but none of the fun of a Marvel film.

What is the story behind Kraven the Hunter?

Kraven the Hunter is known in the comic book world as one of Spider-Man’s most iconic villains, and the JC Chandor-directed film adaptation (A Most Violent Year, Margin Call) explores the complex path Kraven takes and from he deviates from teenager to antihero and supervillain.

Kraven is born into a wealthy family and his father Nikolai (Russell Crowe) was never the loving, supportive type. After their mother’s death, Kraven and his brother Dmitri, played by Fred Hechinger (“The White Lotus,” “Gladiator II”), are taken from boarding school in New York by their father so he can mold them into mini versions of themselves .

During a hunting trip, Kraven is attacked by a lion and dragged away after failing to shoot it. A young girl saves his life with a special potion her grandmother gave her that turns Kraven into the Hunter. The lion’s blood seeping into Kraven’s open wounds, mixed with the potion, grants him animal-like abilities, including increased strength, agility, vision, and hearing.

After an explosive fight with his father, Kraven flees into the forest, leaving his brother behind and begins his new life as an independent man with a mission to never be like his father.

Instead, Kraven becomes a vigilante with plans to take out corrupt people in the hopes of ridding the world of men like his father, returning to his remote natural hideout after each successful mission.

As I said, an intriguing premise, and I love the focus on not telling a story about a good, two-shoes superhero, but instead a story about a man who believes he’s doing good, only to have the results of his actions ruin him a superhero turned villain.

So what went wrong?

A shirtless Aaron Taylor-Johnson can’t cover up awkward acting, miserable action and lack of emotion

I admit that the first 15 minutes captivated me.

A thrilling action sequence in which Kraven is taken to prison with the intention of killing an imprisoned crime boss uses dynamic camerawork to seamlessly draw the audience into the action. But once Kraven is dropped off at home, the film never regains the excitement of the first few scenes.

The story stumbles with few surprises. Kraven still sees his brother Dmitri once a year on his birthday out of guilt for abandoning him, and we never see him do this, but he does manage to track down the girl who saved him, Calypso, (” West Side Story” and “Hamilton”) “actress Ariana DeBose) to enlist her help as a criminal defense attorney in finding more people to kill.

All of this is set up for Dmitri to be attacked by a villain called The Rhino (Alessandro Nivola), who has used scientific advances to become stronger, with serious consequences, and his assistant The Foreigner (Christopher Abbott), whose mysterious powers are over , being kidnapped, and hatred of Kraven are never explained.

Much of the film consists of watching Kraven hunt and kill people barefoot or completely shirtless, and the few scenes where he talks are awkward and stiff. Some of them are cut off in strange places or unsuccessfully dubbed, as if they were being rewritten at the last minute.

After the Madame Web tragedy earlier this year, you’d think Sony would have learned its lesson. But even a shirtless and ripped Taylor-Johnson can’t save a film that lacks good writing, good direction and good actors.

“Kraven the Hunter” 2 stars

Great ★★★★★ Good ★★★★

Mediocre ★★★ Bad ★★ Bomb ★

Director: JC Chandor.

Pour: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Russell Crowe, Fred Hechinger, Ariana DeBose, Christopher Abbott, Alessandro Nivola.

Evaluation: R for strong, bloody violence and language.

How to watch: In the cinema on Friday, December 13th.

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Meredith G. White covers entertainment, arts and culture for the Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. She writes the latest news about video games, television, and the best things to do in the Phoenix metropolitan area.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Not Even Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s Abs Help ‘Kraven the Hunter’