Hannibal Rising

[DotTheEyes]

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The world's most dangerous mind, a suave gentleman with a ferocious heart and a disturbing appetite, Hannibal Lecter is an iconic villian who has devoured a place in our generation's pop culture. The creation of this madman cannibal is explored in Hannibal Rising, a solid prequel to the sensational franchise, which included The Silence of the Lambs and Red Dragon.

It started with revenge... After witnessing the murder of his family by desperate war criminals, Lecter's madness is born. Soon, a lust for vengeance consumes him, inspiring his first journey of mayhem and murder.

Filling the incredibly large shoes created by Anthony Hopkins is Gaspard Ulliel, a dedicated actor who, despite bearing almost no physical resemblance to Hopkins, does his best to maintain the same level of maniacal energy and devilish charm. Fine support is provided by Gong Li, who portrays the Japanese widow of Lecter's distant uncle. Her character sympathizes with him at first, since she lost her family in the bombing of Hiroshima. However, she has no idea how far he will go to achieve his destructive goal, nor how cold his serving of revenge could become.

As directed by Peter Webber, Hannibal Rising is an atmospheric, suspenseful film which, despite falling short of The Silence of the Lambs-level brilliance, is worth seeing for fans of Hannibal the Cannibal or edge-of-your-seat suspense in general. Recommended.