Hannibal Rising isn't in the same league as Silence of the Lambs or Manhunter. And while Hannibal and Red Dragon are hardly masterworks themselves, they too manage to be stronger entries than this final bite off the cannibal franchise. Having said that, I didn't hate Hannibal Rising. And in fact, it has many worthy attributes (including gorgeous cinematography and a outstanding score). The problem is in the writing.

Technically, Hanibal Rising is a prequel. An origin story that delves into the psyche of Hannibal Lecter and an attempt at showing us what made this crazed killer tick. That's right, Lecter creator Thomas Harris (he wrote each of the Lector novels as well as this screen adaptation) has pulled a Phantom Menace of sorts.

The back story and explanation as to why Lecter becomes who he becomes, never really comes across as intriguing as one might think, no matter how horrific the explanation (and it is pretty shocking). It just goes to show you, that the less you know about the boogeyman, the scarier he is.

Hannibal Rising opens in intriguing fashion, introducing us to a youthful Lecter in Lithuania circa 1944. During the end of World War II, Lecter is forced to endure an unthinkable nightmare at the hands of some truly dispecable soldiers. Quickly, we begin to realize that Lecter was in fact a regular joe at one point in his life. Ultimately, he was a man who was driven to become a monster.

Immediately following Hannibal's horrific ordeal during the war, the film jumps to eight years later where Lecter eventually finds himself connecting with the wife of his now deceased uncle. Before long, the once poor Lector is now living a privileged life. He resides in a beautiful home and is even blessed with a good education all because of widowed Asian beauty Murasaki Shikibu (Gong Li).

Shortly thereafter, we discover that Hannibal wasn't merely driven by a taste for human flesh, but by a taste for revenge.

And that's what Hannibal Rising really is. A tale of revenge. Author Thomas Harris shows us the man behind the monster, and for some audiences, this Lecter might come across as a little too sympathetic.

Harris betrays certain bits of the Lector mythology that he himself created. For starters, I believe that in the past books and films, it was suggested somewhere that Lecter never even started killing until he was in his adult life. In Hannibal Rising, that theory is thrown right out the window. I suppose that's knit picking, but it's certainly something to ponder. Also missing in this incarnation of the famed character is the biting (and fiercely intellectual) wit. I understand we're seeing Lecter as a young man here, but that sort of dark humor we associate with Hannibal is sorely lacking.

The casting is adequate. Gaspard Ulliel doesn't quite possess the chops (if you'll pardon the pun) that would have us believe that he's a young version of Anthony Hopkins (who, sadly, doesn't appear in the film–not even in a cameo). There are a few chilling stares, and a couple of moments of dry wit, but if anything Ulliel seems more like a young version of Highlander's Christopher Lambert. It was distracting. I kept thinking Lecter would open his mouth and say something like; "There can be only one."

Rhys Ifans appears as the heavy, an evil soldier who would continue his villainous ways even after the end of the war. Ifans plays cruel to the utmost, but there's no real depth to the role. He's bad for the sake of being bad. Last year, Sergi Lopez delivered one of the most malicious screen villains in the form of the ruthless Vidal, but there was a complexity there that made him human even when he was committing the most atrocious of acts. Ifans by comparison, isn't given such complexities to work with.

What does remain in tact in this Lecter tale is the gore and brutality. The fashion in which Hannibal dispatches his victims, is sickly creative. It's safe to say gore hounds will not be disappointed.

Hannibal Rising isn't an awful film but there isn't anything particularly striking or memorable about it. It's actually kind of a lazy movie in terms of it's plot structure. As a tale of revenge, it isn't nearly as interesting as, say, Steven Spielberg's Munich.

As I watched Hannibal Rising, I never truly felt that Thomas Harris really wanted to deliver a back story. This felt more like a monetary project as opposed to a passion project, and given Peter Webber's talent as a visual stylist (he directed Girl With the Pearl Earing), that was disappointing to me. Harris should have just said no.