Hannibal

Rating:
Summary: please
Review: i see this poster where ever i go. please don't rent or get it.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding
Review: This movie is outstanding, so outrageous and very elegant. yes it has a lot of gore, but such a thing shouldn't be a surprise to someone who had seen Silence of the Lambs, and read Hannibal. I loved Anthony Hopkin's performance, and Julianne Moore was so great. I think she filled Jodie's shoes very professionately and made me reach a point where I can't imagine the movie being made without her. The DVD's features were so beautifully arranged that I should say it is the most beautiful DVD that has ever been put together by a studio. I give the movie, the performance, the cast, the DVD, the direction, and the score five stars and say Great Job. A must see and Have and a real masterpiece created by Ridley Scott.

Rating:
Summary: I miss Jodie
Review: I was very excited about seeing where our beloved Clarice and Hannibal had ended up when I heard about the sequel to Silence of the Lambs. Boy, was I dissapointed. Half of the movie isn't even about either of them! The plot tries to cover too many things at once. Who really cares about Mason Verger or inspector Pazzi? I don't. The plot is scattered and weak. Most of this movie is laughable. I don't care how high you are, no one would peel thier face off and feed it to a dog. When I first saw this scene I thoguht it was a joke. Everything about the movie just misses. It could have been great if they didn't follow the book as closely. Thomas Harris became cocky, he knew he had a best seller even before he worte a word of Hannbal. At least they changed that stupid ending. I was dissapointed when I heard Jodie Foster wasn't coming back. I love Julianne Moore, she's one of my favorite actresses, but so is Jodie Foster. Ms. Moore had some pretty big shoes to fill, and she came up about a foot short. Jodie brought an elegance and class to the roll, Juliane's Clarice just seemed nasty and bitter. She's also not as quick and smart as Jodie's Clarice. I know she's been stabbed in the back a few times, but I didn't feel like good old Clarice. It just wasn't true to character. This was finally Julianne's chance to have a big Hollywood movie where everyone would watch her. She shouldn't have chose ANOTHER (The Lost World) sequel to a movie that couldn't have been improved. Jonathan Demme did a much better job of letting us see inside the head of the characters than Ridely Scott. Nothing new was introduced about the characters, I suppose it was because they barely had any time on screen. Hannibal was elegantly shot in Europe, but it's not as bone chilling that way. By the middle of the movie, I was so bored I was thinking about walking out. Ridely Scott just expects the audience to be scared of Hannibal, he doesn't really give much reason. What was so scary about Hannibal in Silence of the Lambs was that so much ws left up to the imagination. We knew he was crazy, but we still liked him. That made us look at ourselves. It was also played up too much how smart and classy Hannibal is. Anthony Hopkins was much better in Silence. He seems to cocky in this role, knowing that everyone knows how good he is. Hannibal has lost his edge. Ridely Scott is too dependent on Hopkins performance here, and it is slightly lacking, like the rest of the film. I rented Hannibal again to see if I was missing something, and I was right, nothing was there. Even though this film tries to be independent from Silence of the Lambs, no one will ever forget. Silence looms behind in the shadows mocking this inferior film.

Rating:
Summary: Hannibal, the noble
Review: First off, let me say that I was fortunate enough to watch this masterpiece for the first time on DVD. I waited for months for this movie to come out on DVD so that I could rent it. I was the first person to rent it from the video store and I brought it back the next day to buy it. The bonus material is amazing. I stayed up until 2am just watching it all.I am in love with this movie. It has broken a new ground for horror/thriller films. This unlike Silence, was absolutely beautiful. The setting has a romantic quality that draws you in. Dr. Lector is so civilized that you almost excuse the killings. In this movie, I feel that Dr. Lector is a part of Clarice. There is obvisiously more to this movie than meets the eye and I pray that the story of Dr. Lector and Clarice does not end here.

Rating:
Summary: Alternately pretentious and hokey, 100% commercial effort
Review: Shame on Anthony Hopkins. Shame on Ridley Scott. But most of all, shame on Thomas Harris and anyone who bought into the incredibly cynical hack job of a sequel that "Hannibal" is. As with the book (it isn't anywhere good enough to be called a "novel"), there seem to be people so credulous as to think that because Harris took ever-so-long to produce this mess, and because he essentially provides a stinging slap in the face to both those who expected a more "standard" (read "predictable") sequel and those who have higher expectations from an author who has proven that he *can* write well this MUST be good stuff. Well, it simply is NOT. The good news about the movie is that we are spared the grotesqueries of the steroid-buffed lesbian bodyguard and pet eel, the endless ruminations on carbon-steel knives, and the incongrouous flashbacks of Hannibal's sad childhood. What we DO get is Anthony Hopkins mugging shamelessly and chewing all scenery in sight in the most exhibitionist performance I've seen since Laurence Olivier's intentionally ham-bone theatrics in "Sleuth". Once upon a time, Lecter was supposed to be a doctor of near super-human intelligence, immensely resourceful and yet with the ability to charm, even seduce, the unwary. Here, he is more or less a stock "slasher" character, spouting "okey dokey" like a lame tag line a la Freddy Kreuger. Not a flicker of intelligence. It's a good thing his advesaries are even more moronic - everyone stands still while Hopkins bumps them off. Jullianne Moore's Starling is passable, but it is a credit to Jodie Foster's intelligence and integrity that she gave a pass to this slop. The ending. Well, it was a given that the book's ending wouldn't DO in Hollywood (not that it was any good, mind you), but it was *Lecter's* brain that must have fallen out, since he leaves Starling every device needed to secure her freedom and summon assistance. A 5-year-old could do as well. In short, the most obvious "make a buck" flick of the decade ("Phantom Menace" aside - that's a whole category unto itself....). I've seen better movies on MST3K. And as they would have said...... IT STINKS.

Rating:
Summary: This is not Silence - this is screaming
Review: Okay, let me make it clear from the start - this is not Silence. The immediate difference that struck me between the two movies was that in Silence it is the innocents who get killed; in Hannibal everyone who dies is guilty of some minor or major crime. This cannot justify the deaths the meet, however. Hannibal is a well made, well acted, well written movie. Scott uses his talents for creating tension and atmosphere admirably. There are four scenes of gory violence that will shock and perhaps sicken any but the hardcore horror movie fan. If you have seen Romero's Day of the Dead and liked it, you're on safe ground here; if the graphic scenes of Silence disturbed you you might want to give this one a miss - there are moments in this film that will stick in your mind for a long while after and maybe give you nighmares. Even Gary Oldmans makeup, who appears frequently throughout the movie, may disturb people who can't handle looking at facial disfigurement. This is certainly a movie that leaves nothing to the imagination - all the violence and horror is up front. Don't even bother comparing it to the book - they are two separate products and very different. If you have read the book you will immediately notice everything that is missing - and there is a lot; if you haven't read the book you won't miss a thing. I bought this one and, to be honest, I don't know when I'll watch it again - certainly not for a while. I would advise renting first if you can, though the DVD is exceptional value and quality. I gave this movie three stars only because, in my opinion, the scenes of gratuitous violence weaken the experience of watching the movie, rather than add to it. They are not like the scene in Alien when the chest burster appears - they are way over the top sideshow attractions that do not seem to forward the plot or add to the tale.

Rating:
Summary: Definitely ain't any "Silence of the Lambs"
Review: What a HUGE disappointment. Jody definitely made the right decision by not appearing in this stinker. Huge plot holes abound in this flick that just try to be plugged by lots of inane violence and blood. "Silence" was great because of the suspense built into it and the ultimate ideal of good battling evil. The compromises and interaction that Clarice had to make in that movie by working w/Lecther in order to save Buffalo Bill's final victim kept you at the edge of your seat. The dialogue and interrelation between the two were taunt and well written - it very much deserved the Best Picture Oscar. Hannibal is at the other end of the scale. With a muddled and disjointed plot, it tries to get you to root for Lechter (an insane madman) while in a twisted way he goes out to avenge Clarice's dishonorment (?) by a corrupt Justice Dept official....yawn. The pigs were a ridiculous concept....simply added for the "gross-out" factor. And Hannibal/Clarice's escape from the "pig pit" is absurd, laughable, and totally unbelievable. and as for that end of the movie banquet "climax".....Ugghhh is all I'll say. (if you cut someones scalp, there will be tons of blood due to the amount of capillaries in that area...the facct that there was NONE, but one small trickle made me focus on how fake everything was. Bad Bad Bad movie. Don't waste your time

Rating:
Summary: What happened to Hannibal?
Review: The movie it's self is alright but what happened to the characters. I recommend watching it once but only once. It is untrue to both Hannibal and Clarice. That has nothing to do with the actors; it is what they were given to work with. I love Silence of the Lambs, especially Lecter's character in it, and watching Hannibal it didn't seem like the same guy.(If you have seen this and like it, the DVD is good and has a very nice making of feature.)

Rating:
Summary: a waste
Review: This is a horrible film -- sloppy, trying too hard to shock but merely amusingly gross in a juvenile way, and pretending to be sophisticated when it's not. A waste of talent all around. The book stunk and the movie isn't any better. "Silence of the Lambs" was far better. Movies are only about making money nowadays, and as long as the gullible and tasteless masses go to see junk like this, the disappointing trend will continue.

Rating:
Summary: Don't Bother!
Review: I have loved Thomas Harris ever since he put out his first book. I thought the book _Hannibal_ was extreamly well written, flowed well, and the characters were engaging. After having seen what was done with _The Silence of the Lambs_ when it was put to film, I had very high hopes for _Hannibal_ the movie. And, I was looking forward to watching Anthony Hopkins reprise his award-winning role. I was so disappointed with the film that I almost walked out of the theater. The screen writers butchered the story and the characters. They left major characters out. They changed the personality traits of Clarice, one of the most important charaters in the film. They even changed some of the traits of Hannibal himself. The visual effects were not up to par with _The Silence of the Lambs_, nor was the story. Also, not enough of the story was explained through the movie. Not enough background information was given for people who had not read the book to follow the story or characters.

Anthony Hopkins, himself, acted beautifully, but he was carrying the whole movie. I felt bad to see him struggle to do so well in a movie that floped from the beginning. He deserved better. If you read the book, I do not believe that you will enjoy the move. Too much has changed. If you have not read the book, you will be too lost to understand what is happening. I do not reccommend this movie to anyone, except maybe to die-hard Anthony Hopkins fans.