February 11, 2001 -- "Hannibal," the celebrated sequel to the acclaimed "Silence of the Lambs," looks good up until about half way through the movie, when it descends into graphic horror, which is in very bad taste. It wasn't as nauseating as the final scene in "Pink Flamingoes," but it was in the ballpark.

The film starts out well enough as we're introduced to the new Agent Clarice Starling (Julianne Moore of "Magnolia" replacing Jodie Foster). Moore plays Starling in a very low-key manner, showing little emotion, which probably makes sense. It is 10 years following Starling's first encounter with serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins reprises his Oscar-winning role), and Starling, then a rookie, is now a tough, seasoned FBI agent.

A drug bust goes horribly wrong when a local cop makes a mistake that Starling inexplicably gets blamed for. This downward turn in her career brings her in contact with the enigmatic Dr. Lecter and a mysterious rich man, Mason Verger (played by Gary Oldman of "The Contender"). Lecter's trail leads to Florence, Italy, where Lecter has eaten out the competition for a prestigious art historian job. Detective Rinaldo Pazzi (Giancarlo Giannini), investigating a missing person report, meets Lecter and thinks he may have stumbled upon a wanted man.

Lecter, of course, leads everyone on a merry chase because he is smarter and classier than all of his pursuers, and the story would have us believe, more righteous. With godlike impunity punishes those who deserve to be punished and rewards those who deserve rewards. This seems like a strange depiction of a murdering psychopath, but it is a standard theme of the horror genre. Some of Lecter's pursuers are patsies, like Pazzi, a greedy man, Verger, a child molester, and Paul Krendler (Ray Liotta of "Cop Land"), a sexist, dishonest political opportunist. Only Starling's motives are pure and she is the only one that Lecter respects.

Because the film follows horror convention so slavishly it is quite predictable, except for one little twist at the end. It also goes over the top in several places with grotesque horror scenes. People being eaten by animals and people eating body parts of other people. One scene, in particular, was so disgusting I had to look away from the screen. Some scenes are in very poor taste (pardon the pun). I didn't quite gag, but it was very unpleasant. I couldn't wait to get out of the movie theater. I go to movies to be entertained, not to be made nauseous. What I was looking for was more of a psychological thriller, like "Silence of the Lambs." I was looking for interesting characters. What I found were caricatures instead, and a very expensive slasher film. This would have been a better film with more character development and if the violence had been inferred rather than graphic. I supposed it is too much to ask for such restraint and subtlety when it seems like movies are getting dumber and more graphic every day.

Speaking of a lack of subtlety, how about quoting passages from Dante and naming two of the characters Dante and Beatrice? I guess I should have known I would be in movie Hell by the end of the film. The movie also seemed overly dark. Maybe it was just a poor projector bulb in the theater I saw the film in. The forbidding Florentine scenes were great, as were the ones at the massive Verger estate. The music is lush, reflecting the moral decay of the film. Director Ridley Scott is great when it comes to painting the canvas. Scott ("Alien," "Gladiator"), has a background in graphic violence, but he is usually more restrained than this. Hopkins does his usual fine acting job in the film. Also of note is Spike Jonze, Director of "Being John Malkovich," who plays Starling's assistant, Donnie Barber. Oldman is also very good as the ailing billionaire Mason Verger. This film rates a C-.

Click here for links to places to buy this movie in video and/or DVD format, the soundtrack, books, even used videos, games and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.