This is us. This is us in America. We have to know about the monster, we have to demystify the boogeyman. We can’t be kept in the dark on some things. And of course, we have to know Hannibal is not a cold calculating killer, but a troubled child whose family was killed; so he decided to strike back at those who caused it. No, it’s actually the premise for this; I’m not confusing it for “Batman Begins.” And like the prequel to “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” we’re just supposed to believe Lecter became a cannibal one day.
How did he become brilliant? How did he learn to be so conniving? How did he learn how to escape from basically any place he’s held in? How did he manage to be so charming? Well, your guess is just as good as my guess is; because the montages featured do nothing for me. This “origin” really relinquishes any mystique Lecter once had. And any answers to the mysteries are utterly unsatisfying. He’s been behind bars and a prisoner all of his life, which is why he’s so adaptable in cells, and it makes sense, but for another character. Lecter’s brilliance is once again undermined through this explanation.
Rather than being a genius who can adapt, he’s simply a common prisoner who is used to the setting he’s given in the films, and then halfway into the story, he becomes an avenger who manages to murder criminals, thus it’s difficult to think of him as a monster. “Hannibal Rising” is not a terrible film, it’s just an obvious money gauge for a studio left with nothing else to do with the character. Rather than lure Anthony Hopkins for more and more films, they just rewound and attempted an origin, and pretty much fail. While the origin here is interesting, it’s interesting for another character; I prefer to keep Lecter in the dark, I want his origin to remain unknown, because he’s much more frightening in that sense. Alas, I didn’t buy everything I saw, and refused to buy devices fed to us that were so predictable.
There’s even an origin about Lecter’s mask, that’s both ambiguous and rather absurd. He learned how to be a samurai with a mask that’s awfully similar to the one he appears with in “Silence of the Lambs.” Why is this important? It really isn’t, because that’s not Lecter’s primary mode of clothing, it’s just supposed to be a coincidence that was too hokey for a film intent on taking itself seriously. I found it to be one hell of a hokey plot device, and “Hannibal Rising” was much too familiar to be taken as unique. It’s literally a page by page take on “Batman Begins,” except with cannibalism. Lecter’s family is killed, he’s an aristocrat, he crumbles psychologically, he’s taken in and learns how to fight and build his strength via a warrior/guardian, and he becomes the monster he hates.
All the while deciding to embody the habits the monsters that tore his life down possessed. It’s a shame that Lecter’s origin was turned into such a routine and typical vehicle, and through out it’s such a disingenuous piece. Hell, I’d take “Red Dragon” over this, any day. I thought that was a prequel, but what do I know? And, for the record, I saw the plot twist involving Lecter’s little sister from miles away. It’s more of a typical revenge film than it is a prequel, and it’s undeserving of someone as horrifying as Hannibal Lecter. “Hannibal Rising” isn’t a bad film it’s just so routine, boring, and typical, while cribbing shamelessly from “Batman Begins,” in spite of its production qualities and strong performances.