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Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Review: Hannibal


Hannibal (2001):

Synopsis – Clarice Starling continues to pursue Dr. Hannibal Lecter as he avoids the police and other parties that are very interested in making Hannibal pay for his crimes.


Everybody who’s anybody has Hannibal fever right now. That show on the teletube is pretty darn good if I do say so myself. I recently missed an opportunity to see Silence of the Lambs projected, and so I was prompted by that to seek it out on the small screen. I found it, it’s streaming on Netflix right now, but I also found that the sequel was streaming as well. Hannibal from 2001 was directed by Ridley Scott, a man whose name is no longer said with any optimism in the film community. Whether we are talking about the backlash from all the love that Gladiator got back in the day (a movie I still like, but is nowhere near perfect) or his many recent mediocre films such as Robin Hood, Prometheus, or The Counselor, chances are you aren’t going to hear any positive words used in conjunction with his film making ability. We have to reach back in time to Alien or my personal favorite Blade Runner to even see why this guy was on people’s radars in the first place. Since I had not seen Hannibal I decided to give it a whirl, setting my expectations fairly low but holding out hope for some glimmer of greatness. The film met my expectations, but did not exceed them in any way. Disappointing is the appropriate adjective.

What I Liked:
-I always like seeing Gary Oldman in a movie. Every movie he is in gets extra points even if the rest of it is terrible. In this film, I did not at first recognize him as he was wearing that hideous face piece, but eventually I figured him out by his voice.

What I Didn’t Like:
-Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs was terrifying, even when behind his glass cage. In this movie, he seems mostly harmless and silly. If he is on the FBI’s most wanted list, why would he assume being in another country would give him any sort of assured freedom? He doesn’t even go to a country where he wouldn’t be known, he goes to freaking Italy, and becomes a lecturer! For the super smart and scary man he is supposed to be, Hannibal sure does some dumb stuff.
-I feel like I harp on actresses more than I should, or perhaps I am too sensitive about it because I am around a feminist every day. Either way, Julianne Moore, bless her heart, is a poor substitute for Jodie Foster. I don’t know if it was Foster’s wide eyed new recruit act that sold her as Clarice Starling or what, but for some reason Moore tries to play her as a veteran agent how still manages to do dumb things and it doesn’t work. Honestly, Moore wasn’t given much to do, as the plot focus way too much on the other characters. Hannibal is what we remember from Silence of the Lambs, but that movies is all about Clarice and it is better for it.
-The whole search for Hannibal segment of the film is pretty damn boring. By the time he is captured and brought to ugly face dude’s estate it didn’t matter how exciting they thought the climax would be, I had already lost all interest.

What I Hated:
-For a rated R film, it really felt like it didn’t have any teeth. The murders were not exciting, the action was pointless, and pigs? Really? I’m sure being mauled by them might be a genuine danger, but there was nothing thrilling about the scene where they are unleashed. Even the ending scene where Ray Liotta gets what is coming to him was not worth the wait.


Verdict:
I don’t have to tell you that this movie isn’t worth watching. I’m pretty sure it’s well known. But just in case, let me assure you: IT’S NOT WORTH YOUR TIME. Go fly a kite or something. Or rewatch Silence and bask in that glory.

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