Early Hannibal Rising Review
Filed under: Thrillers, Mystery & Suspense, Fandom, DIY/Filmmaking
Okay, I have a question for anyone who has ever attended a test screening: When they give out those survey cards at the beginning of the film, is it mentioned anywhere that upon leaving the screening you must immediately write up a review and send it to AICN? Now, the last test screening I attended (The Brothers Grimm about two years ago), there was nothing about AICN anywhere on the card. Maybe things have changed since then? Or maybe AICN secretly has thousands of people working for them? Conspiracy? I think maybe.
Anyway, it looks like the latest Hannibal Lector film, Hannibal Rising, is beginning the test screening process and, whaddya know, someone saw the film and wrote to AICN with a mini review. And, whaddya know, they absolutely loved the freaking thing. I mean, "We were riveted from the start to the finish" sounds pretty positive, don't ya think? For those of you who fell off the Lector train following Brett Ratner's horrific Mahnunter remake, Red Dragon (and I don't blame you), the cannibalistic serial killer is back ... and this time he's a kid! That's right, they're going all retro Hannibal with this one, beginning with the death of his parents during World War II and ending right before he's captured by FBI agent Will Graham (see: Manhunter and Red Dragon). The review doesn't give too much away, but beware -- there are a few spoilers.
I'm not sure how I feel about this one. On one hand, this is the first Hannibal-related film that novelist Thomas Harris has adapted himself, and so that could either be very good or very bad (I'm leaning toward the former). However, there's no Anthony Hopkins and we have a director (Peter Webber) helming only his second feature film. What do you think about another Hannibal film? Has the franchise run its course, or is there still more of a story to tell?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-19-2006 @ 9:22PM
ihatemovies said...
Thank god there's no Anthony Hopkins; his performances as Hannibal have been vastly overrated. I much prefer Brian Cox's take in the original Manhunter.
As for Hannibal Rising, I'm encouraged only because Harris himself has a hand in it. The movie certainly can't be worse than Red Dragon.
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10-19-2006 @ 9:59PM
honestgamer said...
"The movie certainly can't be worse than Red Dragon."
Agreed. With that said, I loved Red Dragon. It was a fantastic movie. I'm not sure why it gets all the hate.
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10-19-2006 @ 10:54PM
Beeslo said...
Yeah, where did all this Red Dragon hate come from? I remember seeing Hannibal and just being incredibly disappointed, but I liked Red Dragon a lot. Sure Manhunter had Peterson in the main role with Brian Cox as Lecter (who was good in his own way), but the 80's cheesey techno music made me hate the original. I felt Red Dragon was very well made. Shit, its because of Red Dragon that I had a little faith in X3...however, that quickly reversed itself after seeing X3.
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10-20-2006 @ 2:13AM
RC of strangeculture said...
The franchise has run it's course...i will always pretend the only film in this series is "Silence of the Lambs"
--RC of strangeculture.blogspot.com
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10-20-2006 @ 1:42AM
Jim Gleeson said...
I guess the true answer to the Hannibal Question is answered at the box office. When making a movie of that type is no longer lucrative, that is the point at which no more will be made. I wish it were not true.
I just can't wait till they film a movie where they take some of Hannibal's "seed" and marry it with the egg of a woman with severe mental problems and we see Hannibal out in the year 2064 talking to his grandchild, an aspiring serial killer and he says to him "When I was your age, they didn't make ovens big enough to properly cook and prepare a human being..."
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10-20-2006 @ 10:13AM
Weyland Smith said...
I'm leaning toward "very good" myself. Properly done, this series has a least one more great movie in it, and this could be the one.
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10-29-2006 @ 11:12PM
Becky said...
I just wanted to say I Loved ALL the Hannibal movies so far!! I don't know why so much negativity is brought toward Red Dragon, I absolutly loved it, own it, and love to watch it. I also think Anthony Hopkins is an outstanding "Hannibal". No one else could be as "Hannibal" as he is. He has an absolute mind for it. I am so intrigued by the films because of the compltely brilliant mind of Hannibal. I have said several times that you have to love Hannibals mind for the brilliance, but hate it for the unsettling "sickness" that is bound to it.
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10-29-2006 @ 11:18PM
Becky said...
*** About the upcoming film - I think it will be excellent! It came from the same novelist, so it should be well written, and I'm sure he would see to it that it is portrayed the way he means it to be.
I look forward to seeing it.
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11-13-2006 @ 6:06PM
Ashlee said...
Just wanted to say that Hannibal Lector is the best!!!!! I own, and have all the movies and have seen them all thousands of times. My favorite is Hannibal because I think it did the book a lot of justice. As for the new movie I'm not sure what to say. I'm sure that the movie will be a big hit but it already has a major blow in the fact that Anthony Hopkins isn't going to be in this one. I think he gave a real life to the part an made Hannibal seem like a real person instead of just a character. As for Red Dragon I must confess I was disapointed. Whatever the end result I still can''t wait to see Hannibal Rising. Lector Lover Forever!!!!!!!!!!
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1-04-2007 @ 12:30AM
misty said...
i think that is fantastic that they have come out with the early years of hannibal! through out the seris i always wondered myself what made him the brilliant monster he was. i loved all the movies especially silence of the lambs! and i am also sad to see that they will not be using anthony hopkins as hannibal, he did such a riveting performance as hannibal, almost made you belive he was the mad man behind the mask!
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1-08-2007 @ 1:16PM
Mike Henderson said...
I am not a movie person by nature, but I do think Silence of the Lambs was, and still is an outstanding movie! The movie Hannibal was fair at best, while the Red Dragon was pitiful. I am hopeful that Hannibal Rising will be an improvement over the Red Dragon, and I am hopeful of someday seeing a sequel to Hannibal! Let's hope that Jodie Foster will return as Clarise Starling in the sequel as well to add a bit of character and class to the movie! I think it would be a brilliant move to have Jodie Foster direct the sequel of Hannibal as well!!!
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