by Karyn Beach

Silence of the Lambs will always be the definitive Hannibal Lecter movie. Yes, we were introduced to the character in Manhunter (1986, remade as Red Dragon in 2002). And, after Silence, we had the horrific sequel Hannibal (2001). So, this time around, instead of doing another sequel, we go in the opposite direction … a prequel—how Hannibal Lecter got to be the infamous cannibal we all know and love. Bad idea.

Hannibal (Gaspard Ulliel) was a rich Lithuanian boy living in a castle on the countryside with his parents and young sister Mischa (Helena Lia Tachovska). As the Nazis (and the Russians) approached, the family abandoned their castle for a home tucked away in the countryside. By the time all was said and done, Hannibal’s parents were dead and his sister had died too—in an unspeakably ghastly way. Hannibal grew into a young man obsessed with getting vengeance for his sister. Along the way, he sought out his one remaining family member, his aunt through marriage, Lady Murasaki Shikibu (Gong Li).

First of all, Gaspard Ulliel is no Anthony Hopkins. Hopkins was the perfect blend of menance, intelligence and wit. Ulliel has none of that. He tries way too hard to be menacing and it doesn’t work. His attempt at scary comes off as silly. The intelligence comes across but until the last line in the film, none of that wit or dark humor that made the character of Hannibal so delicious comes through.

Hannibal Rising plods along. Hannibal gets his revenge. It is gory but it lacks heart. There is no real soul to Hannibal and we don’t connect enough with him to really care about his vengeance. There is a little twist at the end which adds some depth to the proceeds but it’s a little too little.

Hannibal is proof that every interesting character or profitable film does not need to turn into a franchise. Hannibal was fine in Manhunter and achieved his greatest moments in Silence of the Lambs but he was a part of an overall story in both cases (albeit a big part). However, both attempts to build a film around the Hannibal character have failed miserably.

A more fitting title would have been Hannibal Tanking because that’s exactly what this film did. So much for truth in advertising.