If cheating the audience out of its money and good sense was the intent, HANNIBAL has done it in spades! Yes, friends, the long awaited sequel to a classic film is nothing short of a catastrophe, easily being categorized with other such worthless escapades as MORE AMERICAN GRAFFITI, ANOTHER 48 HRS. and COCOON: The Return - all sequels that should never have been made. THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS always deserved one, but I refuse to accept this piece of shit as it.

      First, and I never thought I’d say this, but give me Jodie Foster over Julianne Moore any day. Moore is not believable and seems completely at odds with the character and her history, not to mention being really annoying. But even with dreadful dialogue and all, Foster still could have done better. In fact, Clarice Starling could have even been eliminated from the plot altogether, which shows just how inconsequential she is throughout much of the first hour. Giancarlo Giannini’s police detective is far more interesting in his private pursuit of Lecter. But what happens to him is only so Starling can be brought back into the fold, and it blows.

      Ultimately, I can see why Foster passed. The part was worthless, as is HANNIBAL. It goes from mildly suspenseful to average, boring to excruciatingly painful. And with a real poor excuse for a screenplay, it’s finally nothing but a gore fest. But with heavyweights like Anthony Hopkins and Ridley Scott, how could you go wrong? See it and you’ll get your answer; just remember that you’ve been warned. The producers were smart though, they released it early enough in the year sans competition, and the excessive gore created enough controversy to peak everyone’s interest. A perfect con, if you ask me.