Review of Hannibal Rising (2007) by Rosemarie S — 19 Apr 2009
Naturally everyone would be curious as to why Hannibal is... well... a cannibal. That all gets explained in significant detail in this rather grotesque little film. But my question is, do we really WANT to know why Hannibal does the things he does? Wasn't it better that we didn't know? I would argue that yes, leave the mystery in the man! Do we really need a long-winded story about hungry Nazis in Lithuania? Do we really need to know that Nazis ate Hannibal's sister Do we really need to know that Hannibal also ate his sister (by accident because he was just really hungry)? No! The book was almost stomach-churning, did we really need a film? This movie just screams CASH GRAB.
It's almost as if Thomas Harris (the writer of the Hannibal books) just shit the book out in order for the movie to be made. The actor who plays the young Hannibal is so damn creepy it's almost stupid.
The way he sneers at people almost makes it look like it pains him to move his face. Some of the scenic shots are gorgeous though. Watching a young Hannibal Lecter grow up is unfortunately boring considering his later years.
And the whole Samurai training part? Gimme a break. So Hannibal is a trained Samurai swordsman and also a cannibal and also a medical school student? Right.
This review of Hannibal Rising (2007) was written by Rosemarie S on 19 Apr 2009.
Hannibal Rising has generally received mixed reviews.
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