Pluskylang Great Film overall

ChicRawIdol A brilliant film that helped define a genre

Kailansorac Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

Salubfoto It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

UK Shaun Hannibal Rising (2007)I've seen The Silence of the Lambs (1991) which is rather unique, and I've seen the follow up Hannibal (2001) which was OK, not as good as its predecessor. I happened to spot Hannibal Rising the DVD (uncut edition) while out shopping and never knew of it's existence. On sale at the give-away price of £1 I decided to give it ago, all the while thinking, it'll probably be rubbish, not to mention it's a prequel, which is something I tend to avoid, as I prefer moving forward, rather than backwards.While waiting for Hannibal Rising to start, I had less than positive preconceived ideas that I was about to endure a slasher type affair cashing in on the success of The Silence of the Lambs. Much to my surprise, I was completely wrong. The story begins during World War 2 and the film makers have done an impressive job recreating the era. There are tanks, planes, trains, boats, it looks and feels big budget. Far from being a low budget slasher type blood fest cash in, Hannibal Rising looks like a serious drama, and to some degree felt better than The Silence of the Lambs. The cast do a good job, although I did find Hannibal Lecter (Gaspard Ulliel) possibly too clean cut, stylish for the part. There is a slightly polished possibly over stylised look to the film, giving it a slightly Harry Potter adventure vibe. I won't described the story here, as many others here on IMDb already have.Hannibal Rising isn't a top end block buster, neither is it a bottom dwelling dud. It's definitely above average.

The Hateful Citizen Why did they make a prequel? I mean expect for the money? Five years after the last film about Hannibal, why try to explain? We find ourselves with a film that makes us have pity for Lecter at first, we even have a rather shady moment when we understand by their looks that they will eat his sister but was it we wanted? Get the explanation of the cruelty of Lecter? Personally I would have liked to have the memory of "Hannibal the Cannibal" inhabited by an unexplained and inexplicable cruelty, not an Hannibal of which one has pity! This film is really not terrible and 4/10 is still well paid, it is not by showing cannibalism that we make a good film about Dr. Hannibal Lecter! Why a fuc*ing prequel??

yeshidems I have been a fan of Hannibal franchise and after watching this which was released on 2007 which I had no clue until now, I loved the young Hannibal. we had watched movies and series about Hannibal but we had no clue why he turned up like that but his movie gives the idea about his tough life as a child and how he faced it to become what he is now. Loved everyone here as the acting was solid. It is totally worth the watch if you haven't watched it yet.

Leofwine_draca Designed as a prequel to SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (and MANHUNTER before it), this is a film that aims to show how Hannibal Lecter ended up as the human cannibal that we all know and fear. Many people criticised this film, arguing that familiarity breeds contempt and the more we learn about a killer's background and origin, the less frightening he becomes. They have a point, but they're also missing something: HANNIBAL RISING is a very well made and entertaining movie in its own right. My advice is to forget all about the connections with the later films and just enjoy this film on its own merits.It's a distinctly European film with a European sensibility and a young, French, unknown lead actor. It has a level of classiness that's not present in many an American film; a sheen of quality that sets it apart from the rest. The opening sequence, set in the latter days of World War 2 and detailing horrific events in Lithuania, is very well handled, full of foreboding, great effects, and sinister actions. It ably sets up the rest of the film, which turns out to be a revenge flick with the added intrigue of having the main character becoming more and more sick and twisted as the movie progresses.One thing that stands out is the quality of the cast. The unknown Gaspard Ulliel is weird and brilliant as the young killer, and you quite believe he's a sociopath. There's a romantic sub-plot that goes nowhere involving the lovely Gong Li (CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER) but it does serve to humanise the monster a bit. The ever-reliable Dominic West is also very good as the policeman investigating Hannibal's crimes, although his role is completely extraneous to the thrust of the film. The bad guys, too, are very well cast and all of them thoroughly despicable chaps: Kevin McKidd, Richard Brake, and in particular a cast-against-type Rhys Ifans all make an impact here.The violence that plays out is entertaining because the villains all deserve it: from the butcher slashed apart with a samurai sword to the guy strangled and eaten, these men are repulsive and their deaths well earned. Another highlight is that the film doesn't focus on the gore, either, not in a repulsive way like HANNIBAL; there's nothing stomach churning here. The cannibalism ends up as a sub-plot, really, not involved with the main film, but that didn't bother me too much. I enjoyed the pacing, the acting and the direction, and found all three of those elements assured and designed to entertain.