Hannibal Rising (2007)

Too many fans seem to be blown away

Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

Let's be realistic.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

Hannibal Rising (2007)I've seen The Silence of the Lambs (1991) which is rather unique, and I've seen the follow up Hannibal (2001) which was OK, not as good as its predecessor. I happened to spot Hannibal Rising the DVD (uncut edition) while out shopping and never knew of it's existence. On sale at the give-away price of £1 I decided to give it ago, all the while thinking, it'll probably be rubbish, not to mention it's a prequel, which is something I tend to avoid, as I prefer moving forward, rather than backwards.While waiting for Hannibal Rising to start, I had less than positive preconceived ideas that I was about to endure a slasher type affair cashing in on the success of The Silence of the Lambs. Much to my surprise, I was completely wrong. The story begins during World War 2 and the film makers have done an impressive job recreating the era. There are tanks, planes, trains, boats, it looks and feels big budget. Far from being a low budget slasher type blood fest cash in, Hannibal Rising looks like a serious drama, and to some degree felt better than The Silence of the Lambs. The cast do a good job, although I did find Hannibal Lecter (Gaspard Ulliel) possibly too clean cut, stylish for the part. There is a slightly polished possibly over stylised look to the film, giving it a slightly Harry Potter adventure vibe. I won't described the story here, as many others here on IMDb already have.Hannibal Rising isn't a top end block buster, neither is it a bottom dwelling dud. It's definitely above average.

I have been a fan of Hannibal franchise and after watching this which was released on 2007 which I had no clue until now, I loved the young Hannibal. we had watched movies and series about Hannibal but we had no clue why he turned up like that but his movie gives the idea about his tough life as a child and how he faced it to become what he is now. Loved everyone here as the acting was solid. It is totally worth the watch if you haven't watched it yet.

Designed as a prequel to SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (and MANHUNTER before it), this is a film that aims to show how Hannibal Lecter ended up as the human cannibal that we all know and fear. Many people criticised this film, arguing that familiarity breeds contempt and the more we learn about a killer's background and origin, the less frightening he becomes. They have a point, but they're also missing something: HANNIBAL RISING is a very well made and entertaining movie in its own right. My advice is to forget all about the connections with the later films and just enjoy this film on its own merits.It's a distinctly European film with a European sensibility and a young, French, unknown lead actor. It has a level of classiness that's not present in many an American film; a sheen of quality that sets it apart from the rest. The opening sequence, set in the latter days of World War 2 and detailing horrific events in Lithuania, is very well handled, full of foreboding, great effects, and sinister actions. It ably sets up the rest of the film, which turns out to be a revenge flick with the added intrigue of having the main character becoming more and more sick and twisted as the movie progresses.One thing that stands out is the quality of the cast. The unknown Gaspard Ulliel is weird and brilliant as the young killer, and you quite believe he's a sociopath. There's a romantic sub-plot that goes nowhere involving the lovely Gong Li (CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER) but it does serve to humanise the monster a bit. The ever-reliable Dominic West is also very good as the policeman investigating Hannibal's crimes, although his role is completely extraneous to the thrust of the film. The bad guys, too, are very well cast and all of them thoroughly despicable chaps: Kevin McKidd, Richard Brake, and in particular a cast-against-type Rhys Ifans all make an impact here.The violence that plays out is entertaining because the villains all deserve it: from the butcher slashed apart with a samurai sword to the guy strangled and eaten, these men are repulsive and their deaths well earned. Another highlight is that the film doesn't focus on the gore, either, not in a repulsive way like HANNIBAL; there's nothing stomach churning here. The cannibalism ends up as a sub-plot, really, not involved with the main film, but that didn't bother me too much. I enjoyed the pacing, the acting and the direction, and found all three of those elements assured and designed to entertain.

As a fan of the Hannibal Lecter movies, I absolutely loved this one!We have seen Hannibal Lecter in action before. We saw his brilliant mind and his ability to predict his opponent's moves based on his knowledge of their instincts. We saw his lightning-quick animal reflexes that never hesitate and his lack of squeamishness while striking. We even saw him eat people.Yet, while we saw him psychoanalyze and get into the mind of his prey we never really did get into his mind.How did he get that way? Did he ever have a human side? And why does he eat people?In this movie, we finally see Hannibal's evolution from man to something that's a predator of Man. We understand the instincts. And, in a plot-twist that you won't be able to predict, you finally see the dark, horrible secret, you understand his instincts and what makes him tick. You finally see, and you won't be prepared for it.It's true that Gaspard Ulliel isn't Anthony Hopkins, possibly the best actor of our generation. Who is? But he carries the role well. Li Gong was worse - she seemed unnaturally tough. The character's clearly supposed to be "the angel that diverts the knife", in the Abraham analogy, and she failed the part. I'm not sure if that was her fault or the director's.These minor quibbles aside, this movie was a worthy chronological start to the series.