A good prequel is perhaps more difficult than making a good sequel

A good prequel is perhaps more difficult than making a good sequel. Examples of good prequels can be counted on one hand, and for every good prequel (like X-men First Class or Rise of the Planet of the Apes) to mention there are ten bad examples. The new series Hannibal is a prequel and tells the story of the iconic cannibal Hannibal Lecter before he got stuck in prison.

When the series was announced, many horror fans skeptical. A prequel to one of the most popular horror icons? That is doomed to fail. Nothing is less true. Creator Bryan Fuller knows the pilot of Hannibal put down a strong opening for this promising series. Last night the first episode on Dutch television came and we come up with this review.

The first episode called 'Aperitif' wasting time with unnecessary exposition and throws the viewer directly into the main murder case around Garrett Jacob Hobbs. Will Graham is a consultant for the FBI with an almost supernatural ability to empathize with psychopaths. He can think as the perpetrators think and with this skill, he can sketch a profile of the perpetrator.

In the first scene Graham will be asked to give advice about the murder of a young woman, but soon discover that there are murdered several women of the same age. Which is what this homicide connect with each other, is that Evisceration with all the victims and presumably eaten. FBI chief Jack Crawford asks Graham to further investigate the murdered women. Because Graham mentally is not entirely stable, Crawford brings him into contact with a psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter.

With this setup showrunner Bryan Fuller begins his new series. The first episode seems primarily intended as an introduction to the different characters and their relationships. It is immediately clear that Graham is a brilliant FBI profiler, but also highlights his mental instability. The way Graham involves himself in the killer might be a little 'gimmicky' and easy going, but it does very effectively his thinking pattern. Hugh Dancy ensures that Graham is an equally interesting character as the killers he hunts. Dancy gives you the idea that lies a psychopath Graham and he can punch through at any moment.

The supporting roles by Laurence Fishburne as Jack Crawford and Caroline Dhavernas as Dr. Alana Bloom are also played well. Fishburne exudes power, intelligence and leadership, and from the first minute you believe immediately that this man is the head of the FBI. Alana Bloom is still much to do in this first episode, but let all clear see an affection for Graham. It is hoped that the series away remains a 'soapy' romance between the two.

It is striking that Hannibal is introduced until mid-delivery, which focus primarily will be on Graham. Despite sitting in this first episode enough good moments in which actor Mads Mikkelsen shows that Hannibal is very different from previous versions. Mikkelsen shows unerringly how smart and calculating Hannibal. Especially the moment in which he Hobbs calling to warn him was interesting, because it shows how Hannibal manipulates people for his own amusement and interest. Hannibal is put down as a man with an exceptional taste, dressed in suits with a passion for food, music and art. It's fun to see how it is hinted to subsequent events and that it remained unclear whether Hannibal also Graham pieces of human cross.

However, there are also evident in a number of critical notes on the first episode. Firstly, I think that the character of Garrett Jacob Hobbs was exposed too little. We got or want to see a glimpse of the motives of Hobbs, but I would have liked more of the character, especially since Hobbs is so important in later episodes. Hobbs was not engaging enough in this first episode to make a real impression and creators might have better spreading the story of two episodes.

I also think the two forensic investigators Jimmy Price and Brian Zeller misplaced a little. The two form a kind of comic duo and have written something too lightly. They fall somewhat from the tone with respect to the rest of the cast, and they could have been better omitted. Beverly Katz fits better with the rest of the characters, but is still too much in the background.

Technical film was the first episode well together. Director David Slade did with previous films like Hard Candy and 30 Days of Night that he's well able to create a bad atmosphere and Hannibal, it delivers excellent job. The episode exudes atmosphere and is styled very stylistic. Especially the image of the woman who was impaled on the antlers, you probably still remains some time at. The end of the episode was effective, the final climax was well built and showed almost the caring side of Hannibal. The pilot finally succeeds in its primary purpose: to know the psychopathic Hannibal to both sympathetic and terrifying.