Movie Review: Hannibal (2001)

Ten years after The Silence of the Lambs we get Hannibal, and in some ways this movie does have good points and some aren't as good. Hannibal takes place ten years after Silence of the Lambs. Hannibal is in hiding and has to hide from a disfigured victim of his (played by Gary Oldman). There is also a detective on his trail who wants him so he himself can be rewarded. Hannibal then calls Clarice and tries to meet up with her once again. Clarice is played in this movie by Julianne Moore. It might be obvious to those who are reading, but Moore doesn't even touch close to the talent that Jodie Foster brought to the original movie. Her southern accent sounds fake and all the horror of Clarice's past doesn't go through Moore's character. Her acting in this movie isn't even close to her best. She still does have a few good qualities, but that doesn't overshadow the lack of emotion in this one performance. Anthony Hopkins in this movie is the only good actor throughout the entire film. He's almost always good. I can't think of a time where I've been disappointed with Hopkin's performances. That being said, since Hannibal is the only good actor, the movie can get really boring really quickly. Gary Oldman's character is good, but his character is all over the place. In one scene he's happy and then in the next scene he's doing something for revenge. There's no steady flow with Mason Verger. We don't understand or sympathize with him because he's almost more of a bad guy then Hannibal Lectar himself. Ray Liotta's character was so bland that it was hard to get to understand what  he was trying to portray. As for horror movie quality, I wouldn't say that this movie is scary, but this film is definitely creepy. The disfigured face and the way it's shot gives you chills. There is also one scene with Hannibal eating out Ray Liotta's brain. It's one of the grossest, most graphic things that I ever have seen in a movie. So gross, it might make some want to vomit. So in that regard, Hannibal does succeed as the sub genre of horror which is a gross-out film. I won't rant about this one. Overall guys, Hannibal is a so-so sequel to a great horror movie. Two stars.