Story: After the death of his parents during World War II, young Hannibal Lecter moves in with his beautiful aunt and begins plotting revenge on the barbarians responsible for his sister's death.
We are still in the middle of a pandemic and I've decided to revisit all the Hannibal Lecter interpretations from both movies and tv series (even the one I've never seen: Manhunter). Hannibal Rising is the last one from that list and generally disliked among fans. I saw this back in theaters and didn't leave much of an impression. While revisiting I must confess I enjoyed this much more than Hannibal (the movie). This one pales in comparison to The Silence Of The Lambs (nothing can top this masterpiece) and Red Dragon but I still prefer this over Hannibal (the movie). I feel Hannibal betrayed the character of Clarice Starling to an unforgivable degree (not Julianne Moore's fault).
A different interpretation of the character we've grown to fear over the years. Hannibal Rising is quite different both in style & tone. One less subtle. Less sophisticated. More mainstream. More trashy and glossy.
The way the story unfolds is straightforward and undemandinng. We don't delve into the minds of a serial killer. We don't try to understand anyone. This is pure and simple a revenge tale.
Gaspard Ulliel (A Very Long Engagement) leaves quite the impression as Hannibal Lecter. As young as he is he captures the madness and the curiosity. Although we do see him at his most vulnerable. I won't say Gaspard Ulliel is better or worse than iconic Anthony Hopkins (The Wolfman) but he does go a different direction and I quite enjoyed his performance a lot.
There's a romantic subplot involving Gaspard and Go Ling (who's quite good from Memoirs Of A Geisha) that feels unnecessary and they have zero chemistry. Could've easily shortened the running time. Probably 15 minutes too long for my tastes. We waste so much time on characters we know will be meat for the slaughterhouse. From the bad guys, Rhys Ifans (The Amazing Spider-Man) is the only one who has enough screentime to somewhat shine.
Hannibal Rising has many flaws but compensates by being entertaining and vicious. I will go far and say this is perhaps the most graphic of the films. My only advice: know your expectations.
Here's the trailer:
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