Beautiful, moving film.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

First of all, I love this series to a fault. It's not perfect, but I just love it. It has some of the best TV episodes I've ever watched, but it also has some of the most scattered storytelling I've experienced.First, the positives.The aesthetics. BEAUTIFUL. Every frame in this series is designed to perfection, and it is just beautiful to watch. The slow motion sequences, the cinematography, the MUSIC. Everything falls together to be a feast for the senses.The performances!! All the acting is flawless, especially that by Mads Mikkelsen and Hugh Dancy. Their performances let you see through their friendship enough to both mesmerize you, and scare you to death. Hannibal cares for Will, but he also sees him as a test subject/plaything. Will knows, but let's himself be immersed into it all for the sake of the greater good. It's all a vicious circle that leads who knows where, but we want to be there to watch.The rest of the cast is amazing as well. Special mention goes to Richard Armitage, who played Dollarhyde frighteningly well, and the great Gillian Anderson.Seasons 1 and the second part of 3 are hypnotizing. All the best parts together to make a wonderful whole. The series works best when there's a concrete situation to resolve, no question.Now, for the not so positives.I understand we want inclusion and representation in modern series, but it sometimes feels forced. Freddie Lounds, for example. We are supposed to feel revulsion at this character, but making her a woman, and beautiful, doesn't help. Making Chilton go through what she should have, felt forced and contrived. Alana Bloom was a woman just because there were too many men, or at least it felt like that. Also, I hated her going from warm and caring to femme fatale style, and out of nowhere falling for Margo Verger. Talking about the Vergers, the first part of season 3 felt all over the place. Mason Verger was absolutely perfect, but the changes to make the story fit made the story and his ending underwhelming. He should have been eaten by his pigs, like Thomas Harris wrote. The bit they included about Hannibal Rising was completely out of place or context. I mean, Will gets thrown off a train and then he reappears with nothing but a few scratches?? The Japanese mysterious lady is introduced only to a act as Ex Machina to let Hannibal do his thing, killing those who would hurt/kill him. No, just no. There's too much going on at once.I understand they didn't have time. The series was cancelled way too soon, and as a result, the first part of season 3 (and a bit of the second part) is messy from trying to include too much in too short time. I wish we could have had at least one more season, so the stories would've been better told and better stitched together.I said I love Hannibal to a fault, and I stand by that. I tend to minimize its shortcomings because I think it's just that good. Don't let anyone's opinion influence you. Give it a try.

One of the most beautiful shows I have ever seen. I was unsure when I heard about Hannibal the TV show. After all, how could any show truly bring the spirit of such a concept to life without sacrificing something for the networks, but I was wrong. This show is captivating. Each episode is a carefully crafted spell that weaves a terrifying tale not just with words, but with sound, cinematography, and emotion. As stated by so many others here, Hannibal had only been one man to me. No other could compare to the mastery of Anthony Hopkins, but once again I was proven otherwise. Mads Mikkelson managed to make Dr. Hannibal Lecter both petrifying and mesmerizing all at once. Coupled with the estranged and neurotic portrayal of Will Graham by Hugh Dancy, I was entranced to the very end. I can count on one hand the number of shows that have left me so enraptured. Everyone who was on this show brought something to it I have not seen in any other program. Visually it was compelling and dangerous. I had not expected to see such gruesome acts portrayed on regular network television, but without them this show would not have had the weight that it does. These aren't just gruesome scenes for shock value, they tell a story. They help the characters within the plot construct a profile. They let the audience know that this isn't just another murderer, but someone who is mortifying beyond words. There is urgency in the characters and that move beyond the lines in the scripts. For example, in the beginning of the series there is a collection of scenes where Dr. Bedelia Du Maurier played by Gillian Anderson and Dr. Hannibal Lecter talk with one another. At first you are unsure of what is going on. She is calm and collected, but the subtle changes in her tone, the slight movements of her body give you the sense that something is off. Dr. Hannibal Lecter is cool as every but the slight inflections make it seem as though he is playing, it isn't till later on in the series that you discover the depth of their relationship and it is a spiral into the depths of hell. I was sad that this series was so short, but at the same time I wouldn't have wanted them to extend it beyond its life. It was perfect. I would give one word of caution however to those watching. If you are someone who has an overactive imagination or is frightened of such concepts, don't watch this series. While I would be saddened that it couldn't be enjoyed by another this show does not pull any punches. It is morbid and dark and that is saying it lightly. It gets into the minds of its characters both the good guys and the bad, and it will not give you a reprieve till the very last episode.

Jump on the Hannibal show bandwagon a little later. I loved the movies. Seeing as the show is a "reimagining" of the books, namely "Red Dragon" and "Hannibal", I was very intrigued to see how the TV show would compare. The short answer is Eh. The first season was great. Intense, graphic, compelling. I couldn't get enough. I was a little put off by Will Graham's mental instability, but it never really stopped me from enjoying the show. The relationships felt natural, and you could care for the characters. Then something happened about halfway through the second season. The show went off the rails big time. Nothing made sense anymore. Jack and Will are trying to catch Hannibal, they are competing against each other to catch him, they are working with Hannibal to screw the other one over. It just didn't make sense. Luckily the show got back on track for the thrilling second season finale. It was brutal and shocking to say the least. It's to bad the third season couldn't carry the momentum I'm going to focus on the third season heavily for a moment because I feel it's a example of what went wrong with the show. The third season is a heavy reimagining/retelling of the books "Red Dragon" and "Hannibal", in which the season starts with Hannibal on the run in Italy. Right away we see the reimagining going on. Since the show never brought in Clarice Starling, Hannibal instead has romantic interests in a new character named Bedelia Du Maurier (played horribly by Gillian Anderson). She plays the character, who's supposed to be a psychiatrist much like Hannibal mind you, in a extremely monotone, nasely, sultry way that you want her off the screen as soon as she comes on. I was praying she was going to be killed. Much like the book/movie "Hannibal", Mason Verger plays the main villain for the beginning of the season. Again the show has sequences that make no sense at all. Jack Crawford beats the hell out of Hannibal one episode, only to have dinner with him and Will the next episode. The Mason Verger storyline is concluded hallway through the season, culminating in Hannibal finally being captured and imprisoned for his crimes. The show jumps ahead 3 years and introduces Francis Dolarhyde, aka the Red Dragon. This Red Dragon was never intimidating nor frightening. Nothing about him was intriguing or interesting. It's a shame they brought him in. I'm not going to spoil the ending of the season and series, but prepare for a facepalm and disappointment. For me, the problem with this series is there are 3 far better movies out there from the same source material. The movie "Red Dragon" is infinitely better than the 6 episode arc in this series. The show is great for one season, goes crazy for the second, then just loses steam for the third. If your gonna watch it, stop at season 1 finale. That's the only reason I gave it 7 stars. The strength of the first season was that good, plus the incredible season 2 finale.

I tried binge watching this show and found that it was just far to far fetched for me to take seriously. All it seemed to be was a collection of gory images or the weekly gourmet feast shot. The actual plot frankly silly.