Hannibal Rising

Will Buckingham

Just when you thought you couldn't carry on any longer, due to the lack of terrible and pointless sequels/prequels in your life, fear not! Life has meaning again with the emergence of "Hannibal Rising." This film gives us information on Hannibal Lector we never asked for, or cared to know, and presents it in a terrible manner. But for those dying to know about a character who has already been stripped to the bone, "Hannibal Rising" makes sure to cover all the things on your checklist — nothing more, nothing less.

The film chronicles how Hannibal "the Cannibal" Lector became the monster he is. In 1944, during World War II, young Hannibal loses his parents, leaving 9-year-old Hannibal and his younger sister, Mischa, alone. Shortly after, though, both are taken captive by Nazi sympathizers (led by the devilishly slimy Rhys Ifans), who are desperate for food. Of course, they then turn to cannibalism to satisfy their hunger, turning young Mischa into their feast.

We then flash forward, finding teenage Hannibal (Gaspard Ulliel) determined to avenge his little sister's murder. But first he needs to hone his skills of slicing and dicing, through the help of medical school and his widowed Japanese aunt (Gong Li). He tracks down the murderers, picking them off one by one — feasting on them as well — as he starts on his path as a human flesh connoisseur.

All the while, the police are tracking him. No one can stop Hannibal, though, since he is full of angst and anguish — or what he calls revenge. The suspense of the police chasing Lector is severely diminished since we all know he gets away.

So basically this all leads to the realization that Hannibal is the way he is, due to *Gasp!* a horrible childhood! Very original.

Gaspard Ulliel does not come close to filling the shoes of Anthony Hopkins, although that is to be expected. He has neither the menace nor the charm that Hopkins brought when he originated the role. It seems impossible for him to grow into someone who looks and acts like Hopkins — perhaps human flesh makes you age differently. Ulliel does what he can, but the audience knows there is someone who can do it better. He seems better suited for a Euro CW show, with his pouty lips and emo-style haircut.

As the leader of the Nazi marauders, Rhys Ifans easily upstages Ulliel. His character comes off far more evil and terrifying. A better, more terrifying film could have easily been constructed around his character.

The dreadfulness of the film could have easily been foreseen, since Thomas Harris' book of the same name was critically panned. Asking Harris to then write the screenplay was a poor decision, since his book took away all of Hannibal's intelligence and rage, leaving nothing but a shell of a character and the same applies to the film. Hannibal is no longer the brilliant man who commands the moment, but a clumsy man who relies on circumstance. On top of the mess, Harris packs the movie full of silly and borderline unspeakable lines. When speaking about Hannibal, one character says, "What he is now, there's no word for it. [Dramatic pause] Except monster!" That's how bad it is.

Director Peter Webber ("The Girl with the Pearl Earring") presents the film in a straightforward manner. He is neither over the top nor subtle. This works for parts of the film, but when the moments of Hannibal's murders come, he misses the intensity of the scene. There is no relish of the gore or buildup of suspense. He does not make any of these scenes particularly tasty.

The American Film Institute named Hannibal Lector as the best film villain, and it's easy to see why. He had the ability to get inside someone's mind, playing a game of cat and mouse. He also had a classy, stylized brutality to him. He would eat your liver, but first cook it in a fashion that would make Julia Child jealous. All of his menace was made more terrifying by the lack of solid information of how Hannibal became such a monster. In "Silence of the Lambs," he was nothing more than a peripheral character, and that's how he should have remained.

By bringing Hannibal's past to light, the mystery that surrounds him is gone, and Harris' script leaves him nothing more than a character close to the lowbrow Jigsaw. The rising of Hannibal should have stayed hidden in the minds of the audience.

Grade: 1 out of 5