Review of Hannibal Rising (2007) by Davidm. — 12 Feb 2007

I went to this movie, as many fans of "The Silence of the Lambs" possibly did, with the heady excitement of finding out how such a man as Hannibal Lecter became equal parts erudition and savagery.

Lecter himself claims to Clarice that he was always more than just the sum of his experiences, so I figured I would be treated to an even deeper descent into the dark mind of one of the greatest movie villains of all time.

Boy, I was wrong. Dead wrong. Hannibal's dire upbringing was handled with the same banality as another of Hollywood's master villains was recently: Anakin Skywalker's transformation into Darth Vader.

I have come to the conclusion that these "origin" films are precisely akin to watching David Copperfield perform an astounding magic trick one night, and the next night he tells you exactly how he did it, forever ruining the awe and mystery.

Part of the shock and intrigue of a character like Hannibal Lecter is exactly the question I posed earlier: how does a man become equal parts erudition and savagery? "Hannibal Rising" answers this question through a series of gruesome events that paint young Lecter as simply a boy who had awful things happen to him and now, as a French inspector theorizes, ".

..there is no word for what he is now...but...monster." Gaspard Ulliel has the malevolent sneer down pat, but other than that there is nothing in his character that suggests any connection with Anthony Hopkin's elder Lecter.

Li Gong is wasted as the haunted hottie aunt Lecter takes refuge with and learns his first smattering of culture from. This movie was simply created as a way to milk the Hannibal Lecter franchise once more.

Skip this one and stick with the fava beans and a nice Chianti.