Hannibal (2001) * *

Directed by:  Ridley Scott

Starring:  Anthony Hopkins, Julianne Moore, Gary Oldman, Ray Liotta, Frankie Faison


This is the sequel to 1991's Silence Of The Lambs, which won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actor (Hopkins), and Best Actress (Jodie Foster).    Foster doesn't return for the sequel and is replaced by Julianne Moore.    The events of Hannibal take place 10 years after the original, when Hannibal Lecter escaped and told FBI rookie agent Clarice Starling via phone that he was "having a friend for dinner."    Clarice ten years later is not the idealistic rookie of Silence Of The Lambs, but hardened, tired, and just this side of alcoholism.    She is suspended when a sting operation goes wrong.   Then she receives a letter from Lecter, which expresses his desire to return from hiding and resume cannibalizing victims.     It's Lecter vs. Starling, round 2.    Sort of.

Playing a role in all of this is one of Lecter's previous victims, a horribly disfigured millionaire named Mason Vergner (played by uncredited Gary Oldman).    As told in flashbacks, Lecter was once Mason's psychiatrist and treated Mason's pedophilia by drugging him and having him cut off pieces of his face and feed them to the dogs.    This grisly scene sets the tone for the remainder of Hannibal, which is slick, polished filmmaking of ugly, dreary material.    The movie is based on Thomas Harris' book, but other than cashing in on the success of the original, it serves no real purpose.    Strangely, Lecter is seen as more of an antihero in this film.    Even though Vergner and Liotta's FBI slickster agent are reprehensible, does that make Lecter's actions somehow more mitigated?   

Hannibal Lecter remains a popular character despite his obvious issues.    Maybe it's because he is disarmingly polite, educated, and somewhat charming.    He could sell ice to Eskimos and perhaps people forgive him because he did assist Clarice in capturing a killer in Lambs.    Anthony Hopkins is effective in Hannibal as he was in Lambs.    He is on the run from Vergner, who wants him dead, and Italian police who identify him as he works for a Roman museum.    Despite this, he remains collected and unflappable.     Julianne Moore plays Starling and is fine, even though we're constantly distracted by the fact she isn't Jodie Foster.    The character is so different now that it would've been interesting to see how Foster would've played it.    The story goes Foster didn't like the book or screenplay and refused to participate.    

I enjoyed Silence Of The Lambs more than Hannibal because of the unusual relationship between Lecter and Starling.    Clearly he likes her and assists her in capturing the Buffalo Bill killer, but his crimes are merely discussed but not seen.    It's better that way.   After all, watching Hannibal sauteing "unnecessary" portions of a man's brain and feeding it to him is too depressing to enjoy.    Hannibal gets to the point where it becomes a geekshow designed to appall rather than entertain its viewers.    Director Ridley Scott created a well-made shockfest that is eventually bogged down by the weight of its own nastiness.