HANNIBAL RISING Film Review - 10/3/07

Bit of a strange fish this one! As a prequel to the other films this was always going to be a difficult film to make - But you know what desperate Film Producers are like; wanting to scrape the barrel and glean every penny from the well-trod groove they think people will make, trailing to the Cinema for another Lecter outing. Unfortunately it really is a different movie to what people will expect from "Silence Of The Lambs" and the others - So different in fact that it is a hard comparison? We get the odd flashes that are reminiscent of the life of Hannibal Lecter as documented but we also get to see the why? Lecter's sister Mischa falling afoul of Nazi looters during the closing days of the Second World War set's up his horrific fall from grace (But the sympathy is all with him) as he take his retribution and goes off kilter. The young Hannibal Lecter (Played by Gaspard Ulliel from "Brotherhood Of The Wolf") fends off the machinations of lead headcase Rhys Ifans and also Stephen Walters (Currently serving as "Mad Twatter" in Channel 4's "Skins") as he is helped in his quest for justice by Lady Murasaki (Li Gong). A capable film in it's own right but over-shadowed by it's previous pictures in the series.