Hannibal Rising

Starring: Gaspard Ulliel, Gong Li, Rhys Ifans, Dominic West, Richard Leaf, Kevin McKidd
Directed by: Peter Webber
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Thriller
2007

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Follows the early life of Hannibal Lecter (Gaspard Ulliel) as he witnesses tragedy during World War II and seeks vengeance after the war ends.

Review:

Tim: Color me surprised, because the story in Hannibal Rising is actually fairly decent. It's not great, but it is a compelling look at the early life of Hannibal Lecter. While it may not quite be as satisfying as one would hope, it does deliver an interesting look at what shaped the man into the future monster we all know and love. Some of this is due to author Thomas Harris writing the screenplay, which was a brilliant idea. However, the movie as a whole has a number of flaws that sink the film below the level of 'good'. It's a decent film, but does not reach anywhere near the heights of other films in the franchise.

One of the complaints I had was the performance of Gaspard Ulliel. Now, anyone who ever plays any variation of Lecter will always, always be in Anthony Hopkins' shadow. I understand that. This isn't to say Ulliel is bad, because in many ways, he delivers a fine performance. It's not a showstopper, though. Hopkins was so good because he made you love and hate his character at the same time- he made you desperately want more screen time for him. Ulliel doesn't inspire 5% of that same level. He's certainly creepy, but not in a way that makes you care. He manages the monster part, but struggles with the humanity within.

As I mentioned, the story is good, although a bit narrow. The movie shows Hannibal's childhood and the horrors he witnesses during World War II. These early scenes were incredible and shined a light on the torments that caused Hannibal to become "the Cannibal". This could easily have come across as forced and silly, but instead, it's presented in a very realistic, believable manner. There's a few early scenes that were difficult to watch, but so important to better understanding this character. Harris really did a great job of explaining the origins of Lecter. As he gets older, the story loses a little of its momentum. He goes to medical school while befriending an aunt by marriage- these middle scenes aren't especially compelling. The story picks up steam when Hannibal seeks vengeance on the men who murdered his sister. However, the film feels like it could have used a bigger budget for those scenes. The climactic scenes all feel rushed and a little unsatisfying. Still, the story is informative and helps us comprehend the character in ways we haven't done before.

At 121 minutes, the film is about 15 minutes too long. The middle of the movie isn't nearly compelling enough. It feels like it takes a very long time for Hannibal to begin his revenge quest, and the samurai scenes aren't nearly as interesting as Harris no doubt intended. Some of this is due to director Peter Webber, who isn't nearly talented enough to deliver the movie we wanted. Still, not to be too harsh, Webber does deliver a decent film.

Hannibal Lecter is, without doubt, one of the greatest movie villains of all time. I loved the opportunity to glean some additional insight into the makeup of this character. He's such a fascinating study- a brilliant man who is also a murderer and a cannibal. Thomas Harris created an incredible character and provides us with a deeper understanding of it. For that reason, Hannibal Rising is a film well worth seeing. However, I while watching the movie, I was more interested in seeing how the character would eventually evolve into the version I saw in The Silence of the Lambs and Red Dragon. I was significantly less interested in anything Ulliel was doing in the current version of the character. I'd recommend this movie if you are a big fan of the franchise, but temper your expectations. There wasn't anything here that made me clamoring for more Lecter movies. That's part of the problem with prequels, but even more so, it's a fault of this movie. There was room for the continued prequel misadventures of Lecter, but I doubt we'll ever see those.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, Red Dragon, Manhunter