Friday, February 09, 2007

Food For Thought: “Hannibal Rising” Proves It’s Not the Greatest Story Ever Told

Let’s take a moment and trace the history of one of cinema’s most frightening yet sophisticated serial killers. In Michael Mann’s “Manhunter” Hannibal Lecter had yet to become a household name. Brian Cox briefly played him with a fierce intensity that was chilling but not really particularly memorable. Then came “The Silence of the Lambs” a film nearly perfect in every way. Anthony Hopkins blew nearly everyone away as a monster taking the shape of a human being. He was frightening just to look at yet he was so utterly fascinating. In “Hannibal,” the long awaited follow-up, he’s on the loose yet he’s a lot less scary. By focusing more on Lecter rather than another killer (i.e. Tooth Fairy in “Manhunter,” Buffalo Bill in “Lambs”) he became more of an antihero. I mean come on, didn’t everyone cheer when he fed Ray Liotta his own brains? “Red Dragon” went back to the basics and was more like “Lambs.” It was a decent re-imagining of the book and Lecter, while still masterfully played by Hopkins, began to become one note. And now we have the completely unnecessary “Hannibal Rising” which feels like a prologue to a better film. His childhood, as horrific as it was, isn’t very fascinating, and the film stops just when Lecter’s story should be getting good.

As directed by Peter Webber, the film has a good visual style and is well photographed, but that doesn’t really mean anything if the story doesn’t interest you. The film seems to be a strange brew of genres. The film begins during the Nazi invasion where Lecter is a young boy. His parents are killed so he’s left to care for his young sister Mischa. That is until some war criminals come in and end up dining on poor little Mischa. So that’s how a cannibal is born: eaten siblings. Flash forward years later where Lecter is a teenager (played by newcomer Gaspard Ulliel, more on him later) at a boarding school. Apparently he’s a mute except when he screams out Mischa’s name in the middle of the night. Then he escapes and travels to somewhere else in Europe where he meets up with his uncle’s Japanese wife. From here on the film becomes a “Kill Bill” revenge tale as Gong Li’s character trains him to be a master warrior. Call me crazy but I don’t recall Lecter being a trained warrior in “Silence of the Lambs,” but I digress. He first kills the man who insults Gong Li and we patiently wait for him to chow down on his first plate of liver and fava beans.

It’s impossible to analyze the film without thinking of the four previous versions, but this is by far the weakest. Even on it’s own it tells it’s story is a slightly plodding way. First this happens then that happens which causes this to happen. What a snooze! There’s nothing exciting waiting in the wings for us Lecter fans. No twists, no surprises. Now I’m beginning to realize why it took so long for this story to be told. Like previous “origin story” “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning,” all this ends up being is an excuse to gather fans eager enough to waste more money on a film with the Lecter namesake.

As the teenage Lecter, Ulliel neither looks like a young Hopkins nor does he have the same aura of Hopkins. While I wasn’t expecting an imitation, I at least was trying desperately to figure out how this young man will become the psychotic psychiatrist we all know and love. Without comparing to Hopkins, he doesn’t really bring any psychological depth to his role. And boy is that scar on his cheek is irritating!

And one last thing. What kind of movie is this anyways? The previous films were thrillers and had scary moments, but this film has none. We’re put on Hannibal’s side from the very beginning. Are we supposed to feel bad for his victims? They ate little Mischa for crying out loud! The film is never scary, suspenseful or exciting. I blame Thomas Harris who as the creator of Hannibal the Cannibal should have written a movie with a lot more bite. GRADE: C-

12 comments:

Unknown said...

cheap michael kors handbags
gucci sito ufficiale
cheap michael kors handbags
nike trainers
toms shoes
michael kors handbags
ed hardy clothing
michael kors outlet online
nike air force 1
ed hardy
michael kors handbags
salomon boots
michael kors handbags
cheap michael kors handbags
michael kors outlet
michael kors handbags wholesale
michael kors handbags
michael kors outlet store
michael kors handbags
nike huarache
cheap michael kors handbags
gucci borse
michael kors outlet clearance
polo ralph lauren outlet
michael kors handbags
ralph lauren outlet online
rolex replica watches
chaussure louboutin
michael kors handbags online
converse shoes

raybanoutlet001 said...

pandora jewelry
cheap jordans
toms shoes
michael kors outlet
ralph lauren outlet
gucci sito ufficiale
adidas nmd
jordan shoes
michael kors outlet store
fitflops

wesan michael said...

ugg outlet
nike huarache sale
lacoste outlet
cheap jordan shoes
michael kors handbags
tiffany jewelry
michael kors handbags
longchamp outlet
nike huarache sale
adidas yeezy uk

Unknown said...

ray bans
chicago bulls
ralph lauren pas cher
colts jerseys
coach outlet online
michael kors handbags
coach outlet
coach outlet
yeezy boost 350 black
hugo boss sale
20170411

chenmeinv0 said...

christian louboutin uk
hollister clothing
adidas nmd
coach factory outlet
michael kors
gucci shoes
true religion sale
michael kors
christian louboutin outlet
gucci outlet
20174.15chenjinyan

Unknown said...

nike roshe uk
kobe bryant shoes
hogan outlet
yeezy boost 350
yeezy boost 350
michael kors outlet online
nike polo
ultra boost
longchamp bags
adidas neo

Unknown said...

patriots jerseys
fitflops sale
nike air force 1 low
nike zoom
prada sunglasses
dior sunglasses
chrome hearts online
nike zoom
nike lebron 14
nmd

raybanoutlet001 said...

coach outlet
pandora outlet
nike blazer
nike outlet
detroit lions jerseys
true religion outlet
seahawks jersey
new england patriots jerseys
ugg boots
ugg boots

yanmaneee said...

michael kors handbags sale
jordan shoes
kyrie 5 shoes
supreme clothing
yeezy boost
lebron 17 shoes
golden goose outlet
hermes birkin
adidas tubular
supreme clothing

yanmaneee said...

air jordan
lebron shoes
kyrie shoes
lebron 15 shoes
off white x jordan 1
hermes birkin
air jordan
longchamp handbags
canada goose jacket
supreme

paweigh said...

replica bags gucci replica handbags e0u91a9k96 replica bags in dubai replica bags korea why not try these out g7q84p7a42 7a replica bags wholesale replica bags cheap this a7b99f7o08 replica bags forum

Unknown said...

v3o89m3m04 n8y19w4q55 f0e86z0d62 w9c59f7z87 h8b10w4a56 z2u25c4y23