This horribly ill-conceived project is fake from start to finish, without a moment recognisable as real, and the story is often so badly told as to be laughable. Gaspard Ulliel's character is unconvincing, his journey full of holes and there are more questions than answers in this, the latest entry in the 'beginning of' genre, which tries to cash in on a popular franchise. (...) The cast is a mix of English, French and Serbian (and a few other nationalities) and to imply the various countries of the settings as we go, everyone speaks English but with an (awfully contrived) accent that is intended to signal they are actually speaking their mother tongue. In any case Gaspard Ulliel is miserably miscast as young Hannibal (...). Gong Li is a trophy for the marquee, and her agents should be fired for letting her take the role, a vapid and silly character that is never real.