Hannibal Rising (2007)

Hannibal Rising (2007) is an amazing movie… if it weren’t a sequel or prequel!

It’s hard to tell that Gaspard Ulliel is the young Anthony Hopkins, and what’s more, they don’t have the same eye color; he’s not as subtle or as intelligent, but we can forgive that!

Hannibal, traumatized, is still very young. He has a lot to learn. He’s still letting himself be surprised. But that won’t stop him from becoming one of cinema’s most beloved serial killers.

Here, as with Darth Vader, who was considered the great movie villain, we understand how it all began and almost sympathize with the young Hannibal Lecter. But there’s something really missing.

This film is a banal story of revenge, even if the reason for the revenge is not banal, not by a long shot. No need for him to find other criminals. The fact that he ends up going out with his aunt is surprising, especially as she knows perfectly well that she’s risking a lot.

Indeed, Lecter becomes a monster after suffering so much and perhaps ends up not recognizing himself either.

Well, there are clichés too: does a Chinese or Japanese woman really know martial arts? And very bad villains necessarily eat children!

Anyway… A very good film if it stood alone. But given that it’s part of a major quadrilogy, it could have been better and disappointed a little less.

So… obviously some will find it the best of the quadrilogy… but that’s definitely not my case.