Film Reviews

Hannibal Rising

• Rating:
• Director: Peter Webber.
• Starring: Gaspard Ulliel, Rhys Ifans, Helena Lia Tachovska, Li Gong.
• Details: France / UK / US / 117mins (18).

Screenwriter William Goldman (The Princess Bride, Misery) once called sequels 'whore's movies'. The thinking behind this is that the first film in a franchise is a labour of love - but any follow up, whether it is The Godfather Part II or Scary Movie IV, is for the cash and the cash alone. Do we really need another Hannibal movie? We were fascinated first with Brian Cox's Hannibal Lecter in Michael Mann's Manhunter and terrified by Anthony Hopkins' turn in Silence Of The Lambs; but with increasingly disappointing sequels and prequel remakes, everyone's favourite sociopath has become somewhat diluted. We feared him because we knew so little about the man, but now we know his modus operandi, what makes him tick, the inner workings of his mind and the colour of his underpants. The magic and mystery is gone. Hannibal Rising is simply a revenge movie: miraculously surviving atrocities in WWII Lithuania, a young Hannibal and his sister flee to the woods but are set upon by five local men who eat his sister. Eight years later, Hannibal (Ulliel) travels to France where he studies medicine but is determined to hunt down the men who killed his sister. Adapted by Thomas Harris from his own novel and directed by Girl With A Pearl Earing helmer Peter Webber, Hannibal Rising is light on chills. Ulliel, a fine Hannibal though he may be, is not in the same league as Cox or Hopkins and everything he does is a knowing wink to what will happen in the future (remember the Star Wars prequels?). This Hannibal isn't a heartless monster, as he's yet to step over into the realm of madness - he's just a vicious vigilante. Fans will rush to Hannibal Rising out of curiosity, but may end up a little disappointed with this cash-in.

Review by Gavin Burke