Why Liam Neeson?

[sidney]

Why do you think they cast Liam Neeson as Hannibal?
I'm watching the movie again right now - it's on Disney+, and I'm just trying to figure out why they chose him. Was it just because he's considered an action star? Or did he have some qualities that really 'fit' Hannibal for them?

[Pico Bob]

I suspect it was the action star thing. There is probably a parallel with GP who was at times also seen as that type of actor. Neeson also was probably right physically and about the right age. Personally, I've studiously avoided the movie after watching half of it once a while ago.

What did you think about it overall Sidney?

[sidney]

I love the movie.
I admit it's not the series, which holds a special place in my heart, and I don't like that the Faceman character was changed SO much.
But movie Murdock and movie BA were fantastic. The actors were perfect. And even though there were some differences between our Murdock and BA and Movie Murdock and BA, they were still Murdock and BA. Face was just not Face. It was obvious they wanted Bradley Cooper to sell the movie. They probably intended it on being a Bradley Cooper star-vehicle from the get go.

I don't know if I agree with Liam Neeson as Hannibal either though. Liam Neeson is a good actor, so he did a good job. But what's the quality that he was missing? The mischievous smile? A little bit of cartoonishness? I don't know what it was that Liam Neeson was missing.

[Pico Bob]

You've half persuaded me to try the movie again, but I remain scarred by the previous experience. There was some outlandish cgi thing with a tank that i hated. Cgi stunts are boring. Most importantly however i disliked Liam Neeson as Hannibal. In contrast, GP's Hannibal was more likeable and layered.

[Katia]

From the little I know of Liam Neeson, I'm sure he was tough and serious, but I'm not sure if he would've had GP's cocky snark, casual disregard for his own danger, or insistence on sticking it to the bad guys.

[akin]

Nov 2, 2023 14:06:24 GMT -5 sidney said:

I love the movie.
I admit it's not the series, which holds a special place in my heart, and I don't like that the Faceman character was changed SO much.
But movie Murdock and movie BA were fantastic. The actors were perfect. And even though there were some differences between our Murdock and BA and Movie Murdock and BA, they were still Murdock and BA. Face was just not Face. It was obvious they wanted Bradley Cooper to sell the movie. They probably intended it on being a Bradley Cooper star-vehicle from the get go.

I don't know if I agree with Liam Neeson as Hannibal either though. Liam Neeson is a good actor, so he did a good job. But what's the quality that he was missing? The mischievous smile? A little bit of cartoonishness? I don't know what it was that Liam Neeson was missing.

What I liked about the movie was that they put a lot of moments between Face and Hannibal. I loved that. But Face came off as too macho and sometimes almost sleezy, he lacked certain vulnerability that DB's Face had. And while I originally thought that Liam Neeson is perfect as Hannibal, GP has more charm. And he has that crazy smile and glint in this eye that Neeson just didn't have. The "jazz" just wasn't there. I suppose they were trying to make the characters more realistic, more dramatic and they ended up just a bit more cartoonish.

The first time I watched the movie I loved it. Then I rewatched the series and started comparing and realized that I like the original characters much more. Still like the movie, just...love the series more. Also an important thing is what cut you watched, because some cuts don't even make sense at all, story-wise (there are so many things cut out of the Japanese version, you would not believe). 

[amyk]

I have not seen the movie, but that's very interesting about the cuts made in the movies....why do you think they would have made those cuts? Are they parts that are offensive to certain cultures?

[sidney]

I was binge watching 'The Rookie' and there is an actor that plays Oscar the prisoner, and I gotta tell you, this guy would be a good Hannibal. I don't know about the PERFECT Hannibal, but he was pretty boyishly-snarky/charming. He was a silver fox, too. Not as goodlooking as GP though. GP was movie star handsome. Maybe if Oscar had GP's blue eyes...

[akin]

Dec 27, 2023 19:56:54 GMT -5 amyk said:

I have not seen the movie, but that's very interesting about the cuts made in the movies....why do you think they would have made those cuts? Are they parts that are offensive to certain cultures?

Not sure, if they were offensive, more like the Japanese probably had their own way of viewing the leadership structure, thus a scene, where Hannibal needs to talk Face down from comitting violence, is probably culturally hard to digest. But I had been recently watching the TV show in Japanese as well and they were changing parts of dialogues as well, the show was much more straightforward, kinda lost some of its crazy edge. Also some background, e.g. if I remember correctly, in the episode, where Face is marrying as a part of Hannibal's plan, the mentioning of Face being from an orphanage was omitted, just like his talk about "LA Pecks". As another weird example, in the TV show, Murdock has the nick name Crazy Monkey, instead of HM, and BA is called Kong (I assume as the allussion to King Kong, thus his strength), they also kind of avoid using Face and rather use Faceman. There was this scene in the episode where Face was almost shot by the fire squad in the first/second season, where Face is separated from the team and Hannibal is trying to find him in the hell that breaks loose, in the episode (at least in German, but I think it is also in the original version), he is shouting FACE! but in the Japanese version, it is Peck!).

In the movie, I had seen first the extended DVD version (with DB's cameo) and then I saw the movie by chance in the TV and only then I realized, just how much was cut out and that some of the plot points do not make sense without the scenes cut out. And in the Japanese version, even much more was cut out. What occured to me now is that maybe they were trying to push down the rating for cinemas. So the cuts for the Japanese market are probably both cultural and pragmatical. Either way, it was both like watching an entirely different movie and somewhat different show.

[akin]

Dec 30, 2023 8:38:16 GMT -5 sidney said:

I was binge watching 'The Rookie' and there is an actor that plays Oscar the prisoner, and I gotta tell you, this guy would be a good Hannibal. I don't know about the PERFECT Hannibal, but he was pretty boyishly-snarky/charming. He was a silver fox, too. Not as goodlooking as GP though. GP was movie star handsome. Maybe if Oscar had GP's blue eyes...

I have to admit that I had to force myself to play the video, it was a bit difficult to challenge the Hannibal I have in my head, but I have to admit upon viewing that I understand what you mean. This guy is nowhere near as handsome (duh!) as GP, BUT he had this spark and right kind of humor and I kinda liked him although the beginning I was very sceptical. Good pick!

[amyk]

Yeah, I think he could play Hannibal. He did sort of seem like him!

[Bert]

Neeson wasn't known as an action star when he did the movie, although it and Taken both turned him into one. However two of his most famous roles, Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace and Ra's Al Ghul in Batman Begins, had him play characters who were mentors and leaders, so I guess the producers/casting directors wanted that kind of actor for Hannibal.

[Katia]

I wonder-- could Neeson pull off the Hannibal snark if they had decided to write it in? Or, if they had decided to write it in, might they have chosen a different actor?

[sidney]

Liam Neeson's white hair was just wrong somehow.