When the last entry in the series had Ed Norton, Ralph Fienes, Anthony Hopkins, Phillip Seymore Hoffman, and Harvey Keitel, how good could it be expected to be?

Easily the worst of the franchise. There seemed to be no point. At the end, I was just glad it was over. I ended up not giving a shit why Hannibal turned out the way he did. And it dragged like none other.

C-

I started to watch this film, couldn't get into at all, and ended up pressing stop. I was bored to tears.

I have to go with a D due to that. Ouch...

I know I'm probably not being completely fair, but when I'd rather do math problems then continue watching a film, we have major problems.

The magic of Hannibal Lecter is that he exists completely beyond, and utterly defies, our non-psychopathic ideas of what is appropriate. He lives in a parallel universe of chianti and ultra-amorality.

The beauty of Silence of the Lambs is that Hannibal's brain was in a completely different universe to the rest of him. You could chain him up, stick a hockey mask on him, and hide him away in a dark cell somewhere, but his brain was off somewhere else - a world of intellectualism, upper class sensuality, and sadism. He didn't need that "room with a view": he could be anywhere he wanted, because his brain was free-floating (consider those brilliant talking head-style monologues when he was "off on one"). He created a mental bubble to inhabit, and we got occasional glimpses of it (thanks to Hopkins's superb acting) through the squalour of his immediate surroundings. A film of emotional chiaroscuro if ever there was one.

The problem of Hannibal is that they let that bubble expand too far. The beautiful sets, the graceful perfumiers, etc., etc. - I felt too close to Hannibal's world to enjoy the contrast between that and the world outside it. In fact, at times ("Fancy some poppers?") Hannibal seemed like a little squalid streak in an otherwise elegant universe - which is a complete reversal of what made him appeal in the first place.

Hannibal Rising erodes the charm of the character even further: it attempts to humanise someone whose whole charm lies in his remoteness from humanity. The fact that it fails to do so isn't as fatal as the fact that it tried to do so in the first place. In my opinion, it was a bad idea, poorly executed.

That's what I think anyway

lol

EPIC FAIL.

I liked how Hannibal turned into James Bond near the end. WTF.

How dare you make me want to rent this!

I'd yell at you for even watching it, but I paid to see Saw V: The TNT Original Series: The Motion Picture over the weekend.

I didn't pay. So take that.

I've just had it sitting on my computer for forever, and I figured I might as well watch it, it being Halloween week and everything.

Also, what the fuck?

If instead of a Silence prequel this had been what it should have been all along, namely a sequel that crossed over with the characters from Deep Rising, I would have been there opening day.

You can't tell me that Treat Williams and a giant, man-eating squid-like creature would not have improved this.

I'm sure that would improve most films.

I don't think there is much out there that that wouldn't improve.

Fanny och Alexander Rising
The Night of the Rising Hunter

Seriously though, Deep Rising is fucking great.

Deep Rising is indeed awesome.

Heh. Fanny och Alexander Rising. I just hope you're talking about the five-hour cut! The truncated version loses all the sly, tender sequences between the squid and Isak, the somewhat magical Jew.

This enters high on my ideal movie fantasy list.

I also think the beautiful, deftly-handled relationship between Treat Williams and Emilie after the death of Oscar is short-changed in the theatrical cut.

Lemme tell ya, Vergerus vs. Squid makes for one hell of a climax.

Man, I wish I understood (or had) photoshop.

Hannibal Rising

I liked the first half, but the pay-off doesn't come. We see nothing gory, no blood, no real revenge for the murder and cannibalisation of Hannibal's sister. No where near as good as Red Dragon, the best of the series.

D+

I enjoy this movie, but I try to view it as a standalone film versus a prequel to the Hopkins movies.

But it's so difficult to do that. I try too, but I can't. If it was just a WWII serial killer movie with no connection to Hannibal Lecter then I could enjoy it much more.