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Movie Review - Hannibal Rising (2007)
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(What this rating means)
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| Director: |
Peter Webber |
| Starring: |
Gaspard Ulliel, Rhys Ifans, Li Gong, and Dominic West |
| Rated: |
R (for strong grisly violent content and some language/sexual references) |
| Length: |
117 minutes |
| Genre: |
Drama/Thriller |
| Tagline: |
None. |
| Studio: |
The Weinstein Co. |
| Website: |
Hannibal Rising |
| Release: |
February 9, 2007 |
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PLOT
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In a desperate attempt to cash in on a successful franchise, Hannibal Rising hits the market and
half-heartedly attempts to provide some explanation as to why Hannibal Lecter becomes a cannibalistic
serial killer. Watching his parents die during the war and witnessing the cannibalization of his younger
sister has quite the adverse effect on ol' Hannibal. With no real figure in his life to guide him, he
grows up and seeks revenge against the war criminals who warped his fragile little mind. Cannibal
shenanigans ensue.
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JOHNNY'S TAKE
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What creates a killer? Where does his evil originate? How can he commit unspeakable atrocities? Is he
simply warped via traumatic childhood experiences and circumstances? Or could a mental imbalance be to blame?
Long considered one of cinema's most memorable villains, Hannibal Lecter makes for an intriguing case study.
Obvious box office aspirations aside, an exploration into what shaped the evil in his mind holds
potential.
Unfortunately, rather than handle that potential with a little TLC, Hannibal Rising turns Lecter
into a sword-wielding, sympathetic anti-hero who goes all Charles Bronson on his enemies. Goodbye terrifying
mystery behind Lecter's origins, it was nice knowin' you!
Am I the only one a little bothered that the movie's been designed in such a way as to manipulate viewers
into cheering for a psychopathic serial killer who eats human flesh? By showcasing a couple of Lecter's
traumatic childhood experiences, the filmmakers have justified Hannibal's search for revenge
against the Nazi's who were responsible for these vile actions. That works fine for a Sylvester Stallone
revenge flick, but we're talking about a psycho who later develops a penchant for killing and eating
innocent people. What causes him to move to the U.S. and become the unsympathetic monster from The
Silence of the Lambs?
Not sure. We're given no insight regarding this time of his life. Are we just supposed to read between
the lines and say, "Oh, well, this just turned him into a monster!" The man still ends up a CANNIBALISTIC
SERIAL KILLER! I'm not really fond of seeing those guys painted in a somewhat heroic light.
Would any of us want to see an "origin" movie based on Jeffrey Dahmer that portrayed him as a sympathetic
man who had slightly warped ways regarding how he dealt with childhood trauma? I don't think so.
But those personal peeves aside, the movie itself just isn't overly compelling. The war scenes are
handled with care, Ulliel is serviceable as a young Hannibal, Gong Li is a hottie, and there are a handful
of disturbing scenes, but the movie fails to create its own identity or legitimate suspense. Other than
showing us where Lecter got his infamous mask, you can replace the name "Hannibal Lecter" with another of
your choosing, and you have the same generic flick that doesn't necessarily fit comfortably with the rest
of the series.
It also doesn't help that the pace is fast-forward slow, meaning there are several scenes where so much is
not happening that if I were at home I'd be fast-forwarding through the three and four minute
stretches of non-dialogue walking around.
Heading into the movie I was interested in watching the character slowly devolve into something less than
human, but we never really see the complete transition into cold-blooded psychopath. Where is the internal
struggle? Where is the motivation to continue to kill after he has exacted his revenge? Why doesn't the
killing stop? Hey filmmakers - don't act like you're trying to answer questions when all you do is create
more.
Most audiences, if they're not bored to sleep first, will likely go home happy that Lecter got his revenge,
not shocked and disturbed that people like Lecter might actually exist in society. I'm not exactly sure
what kind of message that sends, but I know it's not a heartwarming one.
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ODDS & ENDS
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- Based on Thomas Harris' novel. The novel did not receive very good reviews.
- Harris also wrote the screenplay, the first time he has done so with the series.
- Rumors that Bruce Springsteen altered the lyrics to his song The Rising to "Come on up for
Hannibal's Rising, come on up!" specifically for this film are unfounded.
- It's also not true that John Fogerty was asked to write an alternate version of Bad Moon Risin'
for the film.
- Dominic West was in Chicago with John C. Reilly who was in Nightwatch with Josh Brolin
who was in Hollow Man with Kevin Bacon.
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MAMA'S APPROVAL
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It's a movie about the origin of a serial killer who, oh yeah, happens to be a cannibal. I'll let you do
the math on whether or not this would meet mama's approval. However, I must say that it wasn't really as
graphic as I expected. There were a handful of disturbing scenes of gore and violence but nothing too
over-the-top. A few "f" bombs are thrown in but nudity is not.
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TRAILER COMPARISON
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I didn't expect a whole lot after watching the trailer, but it led me to believe this would be creepier than
it is.
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THE GIST
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Those of you looking for a good psychological horror film will need to keep on lookin'. This one's for the
die-hard Hannibal fans, and I have a feeling they won't even be able to come to a consensus positive opinion.
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