Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

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 movie presents the life of the young Hannibal Lecter which is passing through difficult moments, being witness to the murder of his family during World War II. The movie is an action from the beginning till the end, in which Hannibal seeks the revenge for the death of his family. The character of the Hannibal it is played by Gaspard Ulliel that makes an exceptional role. The way that its family is murdered, puts its mark on the way that Hannibal acts. He is become more furious, he calculates every move and most of all, he is discovering his instinct and pleasure to kill. "Hannibal Rising" it's a very good movie because it is not necessary to read the book or to see the previous movie to understand the story. Still, it's something that I would have liked to see more in this film: the deaths of the men should've been more gruesome and painful than the average kill to show how twisted Hannibal was and how badly he wanted them to pay for devouring a small child without remorse. Overall, it's one of the best movies I've seen lately...and Gaspard was really good in this movie!

It's 1944 Lithuania. Mischa and Hannibal Lecter are the children of aristocratic parents. They abandon their castle as the Russians close in. They're caught in the crossfire as they hide out in their country home and the parents are killed. A local militia working under the Nazis turn to looting for themselves. They come upon the Lecter children and does something horrific. Eight year later, Hannibal is haunted by nightmares of Mischa. He's living back in Lecter Castle which has been turned into a state orphanage. He is bullied but he stabs his bully. He escapes to Paris to live with his aunt Lady Murasaki Shikibu. It's a long journey of revenge against those who killed Mischa.I love the kids. It could have been a great horrifying horror. The first thirty minutes are terrific. The movie insists on moving on and on. The orphanage is another possible chapter but it just rushes forward. Thomas Harris wrote this which just goes to show that being the originator doesn't mean being the best going forward. Gaspard Ulliel is no Anthony Hopkins but then again, nobody is. The story simply grinds down and down. This could have been a great little horror with kiddie Hannibal. It is the law of diminishing marginal utility. The more explaining Harris does about the origin of Hannibal, the less satisfying it becomes.

As a fan of the Hannibal Lecter movies, I absolutely loved this one!We have seen Hannibal Lecter in action before. We saw his brilliant mind and his ability to predict his opponent's moves based on his knowledge of their instincts. We saw his lightning-quick animal reflexes that never hesitate and his lack of squeamishness while striking. We even saw him eat people.Yet, while we saw him psychoanalyze and get into the mind of his prey we never really did get into his mind.How did he get that way? Did he ever have a human side? And why does he eat people?In this movie, we finally see Hannibal's evolution from man to something that's a predator of Man. We understand the instincts. And, in a plot-twist that you won't be able to predict, you finally see the dark, horrible secret, you understand his instincts and what makes him tick. You finally see, and you won't be prepared for it.It's true that Gaspard Ulliel isn't Anthony Hopkins, possibly the best actor of our generation. Who is? But he carries the role well. Li Gong was worse - she seemed unnaturally tough. The character's clearly supposed to be "the angel that diverts the knife", in the Abraham analogy, and she failed the part. I'm not sure if that was her fault or the director's.These minor quibbles aside, this movie was a worthy chronological start to the series.