Hannibal (2001)
Average Rating: 5.1/10
Reviews Counted: 163
Fresh: 63 | Rotten: 100
While superbly acted and stylishly filmed, Hannibal lacks the character interaction between the two leads which made the first movie so engrossing.
Average Rating: 5/10
Critic Reviews: 40
Fresh: 17 | Rotten: 23
While superbly acted and stylishly filmed, Hannibal lacks the character interaction between the two leads which made the first movie so engrossing.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.4/5
User Ratings: 375,795
My Rating
Movie Info
Based on the controversial sequel novel of the same name, Hannibal is the much-anticipated follow-up to the Oscar-winning The Silence of the Lambs (1991). Anthony Hopkins returns as Dr. Hannibal Lecter, one of the world's most cunning and feared serial killers, who resurfaces after a decade in hiding to toy with FBI agent Clarice Starling (Julianne Moore). As Starling's career flounders thanks to a drug bust gone wrong, Lecter attempts to elude a greedy Italian police detective (Giancarlo
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Cast
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Anthony Hopkins
Dr. Hannibal Lecter -
Julianne Moore
Clarice Starling -
Ray Liotta
Paul Krendler -
Frankie Faison
Barney -
Giancarlo Giannini
Inspector Rinaldo Pazzi -
Francesca Neri
Allegra Pazzi -
Zeljko Ivanek
Dr. Cordell Doemling -
Hazelle Goodman
Evelda Drumgo -
David Andrews
FBI Agent Pearsall -
Francis Guinan
FBI Director Noonan -
James Opher
DEA Agent Eldridge -
Enrico Lo Verso
Gnocco -
Ivano Marescotti
Carlo -
Fabrizio Gifuni
Matteo -
Ennio Coltorti
Ricci -
Alex Corrado
Piero -
Marco Greco
Tommaso -
Gary Oldman
Mason Verger (uncredite... -
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All Critics (170) | Top Critics (42) | Fresh (67) | Rotten (101) | DVD (42)
The weight-watchers script sensibly dispenses with several characters to serve a brew that's enjoyably spicy but low on substance.
Top CriticHannibal Lecter is the ostensible cannibal of this franchise, but the real cannibals are his creators. I wouldn't be surprised if the next time, they have him endorsing his favorite Chianti.
Hannibal definitely grabs at the emotions, but not the one it's after. You come in hoping to have the wits scared out of you and leave with your temper barely in check.
Simply a fat slab of sadism.
Hopkins, who is electrifying in almost anything he does, reprises the mastery he brought to Silence of the Lambs. Even in a movie as patchworky as this, he's always compelling.
It is not bad on its own terms, and it is certainly engrossing, but it comes nowhere near the power and sordid glory of the original.
Thoroughly distasteful. Not for kids.
Doesn't work as its own individual, self-contained cinematic entity.
A dark and complexly entertaining ride, highly generous to multiple viewings.
The near-impossible taks and insurmountable problems have been handled by Scott in a proficient if unexciting way. Aware that he can't possibly meet viewers' expectations, Scott has made a different film, more florid, baroque, and tongue-in-cheek.
Scott's elegant, shadowy atmosphere and deliberate pacing make the film a delightfully spooky experience.
There are moments of a good movie buried amongst this over the top thriller. But these moments are all too rare.
Pork chops get even!
Hannibal doesn't grip the audience with the macabre wit and pervasive sense of impending evil of its predecessor
Where the book kept you wondering and marvelling at the intricacies of the human mind and heart, the film has a sour, smart-alecky conclusion which highlights (what else?) the gore.
Perhaps Scott should have rented out Se7en before he yelled 'action' - the best horror is often what you don't see.
Director Scott has used his considerable talent to dress up this film into an artful, visually impressive affair.
Minus all the mystique of Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal has a few interesting scenes, but fails in equal portion.
Hannibal is not quite what I'd call a 'good' movie, but it could so easily have been worse in countless ways that I'm more than satisfied by the way it turned out.
Hannibal is a beautiful mess. Take your joys when you can because the well is often dry.
Audience Reviews for Hannibal
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
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- Dr. Hannibal Lecter: I mus't confess you, I'm giving very serious thought to eating your wife.
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- Mason Verger (uncredited): I have immunity from the Justice Department, and I have immunity from the Risen Jesus. And nobody beats the Riz!
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- Dr. Hannibal Lecter: [in a letter to Clarice] Your job is to craft my doom, so I am not sure how well I should wish you. But I'm sure we'll have a lot of fun. Ta-ta, 'H.'
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- Dr. Hannibal Lecter: Mason Verger doesn't want to kill me any more than I want to kill him. He just wants to see me suffer in some unimaginable way. He is rather twisted, you know.
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- Dr. Hannibal Lecter: Bowels in or bowels out?
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- Clarice Starling: This is from the Guinness Book of World Records, congratulating me on being the female FBI Agent who has shot and killed the most people.
Discussion Forum
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Latest News on Hannibal
February 8, 2007:
Box Office Guru Preview: Comedy vs. Cannibals at the MultiplexesMoviegoers get to choose between a master comic taking on three roles or a diabolical screen villain...
October 20, 2006:
Early Test Screener Digs the New "Hannibal" FlickIt's time once again for another installment of "Early & Enthusiastic Amateur Film...
June 5, 2006:
Feel Like Spoiling the New "Lecter" Flick for Yourself?Frankly I'd rather read a book about Scientology than a "test-screening preview review,"...
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"Break The Silence"
This initially sounds like an amazing movie. Hannibal is another Hannibal Lector film with Ridley Scott at the helm, Hopkins as Hannibal, and Julianne Moore as Clarice. Gary Oldman even appears, more or less, as the only surviving victim of Lector's. It's not to say that I didn't get a fair amount of enjoyment from Scott's Hannibal, but I was unsatisfied nonetheless. I didn't necessarily expect a masterpiece, but I did expect a movie better than this one.
Hannibal seemed incredibly goofy at times, while staying with the atmospheric seriousness of The Silence of the Lambs for the most part. Hans Zimmer delivers a great little score to bring out the tension that a movie with Lector in it deserves. That's one reason why I have a hard time totally dismissing this film. There was a relative amount of tension all the way through. It wasn't to the degree of Silence, but it was there.
In this Hannibal tale, Hannibal is living in Italy as Clarice deals with problems after a drug raid goes haywire. Also Hannibal's only surviving victim has a plan up his sleeves if he can ever get at him. The FBI decides to put Clarice back on the Lector case. The plot was a little messy in this film and things mostly felt either rushed or entirely too slow.
I realize I'm not talking this movie up much, but it at least deserves a look for Hopkins as Lector again. His performance isn't his Oscar winning one from Silence, but it's still good. Had he had a slightly less obvious, more subtle, and smarter script to work with; who knows what we'd be saying about Hopkins as it pertains to this movie. Too bad that isn't the case.
As it is this was worthwhile film for me. I still enjoyed it despite its many, many faults and the fact that Ridley Scott didn't deliver what was expected. I can pretty much guarantee you will be disappointed in the outcome of this movie if you have seen Silence. If you haven't seen Silence, go watch it. That's a priority. Hannibal is just a shock hungry film that holds on to just enough of the originals formula to be a minor recommendation.