This was the very first Hannibal Lecter movie, and by far the best. Granted it was made in the '80s so you may not be used to the style and lack of modern day special effects. Overall the actors were all great and did well portraying their charcters. The storyline seemed more realistic than other Hannibal Lecter films because it wasn’t polluted with Blockbuster drama.
All the actors did an amazing job. William Petersen was great in his role as an FBI agent who had been physically and psychologically shaken from his past experience with Hannibal Lecter. Petersen didn't overact, like so many actors do today. And he fit the role of Will Graham a heck of a lot better than Edward Norton. Petersen’s character seemed to be truly tormented getting inside the killer’s head while Norton’s seemed to be in boring zombie-mode. Brian Cox was perfect for Hannibal Lecter's character. Again, he didn't overdo the character like Anthony Hopkins often did. He seemed more like a real serial killer who can disguise himself as regular person, instead of being a fictitious boogeyman. Tom Noonan was also great at his role as the Tooth Fairy. Creepy enough, but not too much to seem unrealistic.
Some people may consider this movie slow-paced, but I totally disagree. Movies today tend to overdo special effects, have explosions every 30 seconds, and explain every detail to you instead of making you figure things out yourself. If you are younger and/or not a fan of older films, you probably won’t appreciate Manhunter too much. But if you’re open to movies that aren’t all “Hollywood” you will probably like this one.
By the way, the ending was awesome! I haven’t been able to listen to “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” without being creeped out since seeing this movie.
What's great about it: Great acting, eerily realistic, not too "Hollywood"