Hannibal

[Shorty]

I searched The Lounge to find a thread for this topic to no avail!

Watched the first two and a half episodes of Hannibal last night. Very, very interesting and unique. I can appreciate a different interpretation of Hannibal, as this one isn't one that I despise. I guess I would say that I feel Mads Mikkelsen lines up to The Hannibal (Anthony Hopkins) in a much less sinister way, but again, I'm only a couple of episodes in.

What I loved was that Hannibal himself wasn't even revealed until halfway through the first episode. That was great, and I loved it. Still can’t get a full reading on him as a character, but I am intrigued and I like him so far.

A couple of things I’ve already mentioned on my facebook: I love Hugh Dancy. Loooove Hugh Dancy. He does remarkably well at making his role believable, the only problem is that I guess he’s too believable. He’s too convenient. I guess I would say that a close comparison would be to call him a Sherlock of serial killers who is afraid of himself. That’s what I’m getting from him. Who knows, though, maybe he’ll stop being convenient as the show progresses. It seems to me that he is in place of what would otherwise be a Clarise Starling character.

Secondly, Lawrence Fishburne is an overactor, and I cannot stand him in this. He is rash, unconvincingly abrasive, makes decisions as a top member of the FBI even an amateur would know better than to make. Not digging him.

One final note. This thing is moving fast. It’s almost too much for me. It’s a nice change of pace from what I feel the standard of first seasons is: slow to introduce characters and get into the story. This thing bolted right out the door and was gone from eye sight by the third episode!

Has anyone else seen this? Does anyone else want to watch with me? An excellent crime/serial killer drama so far that I believe has potential and I would recommend it to folks who like Dexter, because that is what it reminds me of so far.

[Loony BoB]

The most interesting thing about Hannibal the TV series for me is just how much they have split up the personality of the Hannibal from the films between the two characters of Hannibal and Will in the TV series. Anthony Hopkins had both the charm and the snarl, while in the TV series it is clearly all charm and eloquence for Hannibal, all snarl and emotion from Will. Not saying this as a bad thing, but I can't help but compare the TV/film versions.

Now, I know what you're going to say.

Interesting theory! I think that Will is a little too neurotic to be considered a piece of Hannibal's personality, but he does think like him and he can understand him, so he has that going for him.

I just made a thread in The Lounge where I mentioned that Anthony Hopkins is bit more sinister than Mads, but who knows, maybe that will change as I continue to watch. I'm not really getting any charm from either of them yet, though, which is a shame because I think it's such an important characteristic for Hannibal himself.

I suppose I mean more "polite" or "diplomatic" when I say charm, and when he talks to strangers in group situations (eg. fancy events) he definitely puts on the charm. But he doesn't have the more... smiley, witty charm. Deeefinitely doesn't have the snarl factor. I suppose you could say that Anthony Hopkins' character may not have had the snarl factor until he was convicted, either, though. He has no reason to snarl until he knows he can't gain anything from being excessively polite.

Now, I know what you're going to say.

Perhaps so, yeah. It was apparent with his meeting with that troutty reporter that he is definitely a polite diplomat. I guess the thing I feel is lacking with him so far is an impending feeling of danger from him, which is something that was always immediately present with Anthony Hopkins and is the characteristic that really defines Hannibal for me. But maybe that isn't what the show is going for right now (or at all).

Dunno how far in you are (or how far in I am - I only half watch, I've missed some episodes too... basically if I'm in the room when Danielle watches it then I watch it by default). I have to say the entire thing is really interesting if you like the Hannibal films, though. I'm not a massive fan of Mads as Hannibal, but I like the general plotlines going on and while a lot of it is rather predictable, it's really cool to catch on to the references and links to the films when they do come by.

Now, I know what you're going to say.

POST IN MY THREAD GODDAMNIT

I'm posting, I'm posting!