Movie · 2001 · Crime, Drama, Thriller · 2h 11m · R · English
Curator score: 3.0/10 (647.5K ratings)
His genius undeniable. His evil unspeakable. His name...Hannibal.
Overview
After having successfully eluded the authorities for years, Hannibal peacefully lives in Italy in disguise as an art scholar. Trouble strikes again when he's discovered leaving a deserving few dead in the process. He returns to America to make contact with now disgraced Agent Clarice Starling, who is suffering the wrath of a malicious FBI rival as well as the media.
Ratings
Curator score: 3.0/10
IMDb: 6.8/10
Letterboxd: 3.28/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 39%
Metacritic: 57
TMDB: 6.8/10
Director
Ridley Scott
Production
The De Laurentiis Company, Universal Pictures, Scott Free Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Cast
Anthony Hopkins, Julianne Moore, Gary Oldman, Ray Liotta, Giancarlo Giannini, Željko Ivanek, Frankie Faison, Francesca Neri, Hazelle Goodman, David Andrews, Francis Guinan, James Opher, Enrico Lo Verso, Ivano Marescotti, Fabrizio Gifuni, Alex Corrado, Marco Greco, Robert Rietti, Terry Serpico, Boyd Kestner
Where to watch
fuboTV, MGM Plus
Curator Review
Verdict
A glossy, operatic follow-up with strong atmosphere, star power, and memorable set pieces, but it trades the taut psychological dread of its predecessor for excess and campier melodrama. Worth it if you want Ridley Scott style, Anthony Hopkins at full theatrical menace, and a baroque crime-thriller mood; less so if you want the tighter, more unsettling precision of the earlier film.
Best for
fans of stylish serial-killer thrillers
viewers who enjoy gothic, decadent crime stories
people interested in villain-centric cat-and-mouse tension
audiences open to heightened violence and black humor
Skip if
you want a lean procedural thriller
you expect the emotional depth and balance of the earlier Clarice story
graphic gore and cannibal imagery are a dealbreaker
you dislike campy or overripe sequel energy
Overview
Hannibal is less a suspense machine than a grand, poisonous pageant. Ridley Scott leans into rich textures, European elegance, and grotesque spectacle, turning the story into something lush, predatory, and occasionally absurd. The result is uneven, but never dull, and it has a confidence that keeps it watchable even when it strains for grandeur.
Worth noting
Anthony Hopkins remains the film’s gravitational center, playing Hannibal Lecter as cultured, amused, and terrifyingly self-possessed. Julianne Moore brings a harder, more bruised Clarice Starling, though the movie is often more interested in Lecter’s myth than in her interior life. That imbalance is part of why the film feels both compelling and slightly hollow.
Bottom line
If you come for mood, design, and a villain who can dominate a frame with a glance, it delivers. If you come for the disciplined tension and psychological sparring that made the earlier entry so effective, this one may feel overcooked. Still, it’s a distinctive studio thriller with a nasty streak and a strong sense of its own decadent identity.
Top Letterboxd reviews
scream queen (3★) · 2928 likes
i hate myself for many reasons but being attracted to anthony hopkins playing a well dressed cannibal is definitely one of them
Maria (2★) · 2362 likes
Not the same without Jodie Foster.
Chris 🍉 (4.5★) · 2143 likes
"Good evening, Clarice... just like old times""Shut up"
me in theory: gay-coding villains is an all too common trope thats damaging to the gay community by repeatedly associating gay people with villainy, corruption, evil, etc.
ray liotta: hannibal lecter seems like a queer HAHAHA AM I RIGHT?
me: YOU'RE RIGHT!!! YOU'RE RIGHT!!
Madison 🎭 (2★) · 2038 likes
hannibal: dear clarice, I am writing to you because I have finally discovered which wine best pairs with ass. as you kno-
clarice: dear Hannibal, I didn’t even finish reading your letter because it made me wanna rip my eyes out. Thank you, and I hope to arrest you soon.
DB (3.5★) · 1936 likes
All I have to say is I laughed really hard for some reason during the scene where Anthony Hopkin's photo was shown right after Osama bin Laden's in the FBI's Top 10 Most Wanted list.