Hannibal is the follow up to Silence of the Lambs, taking place about six years after the end of the first film. Hannibal Lecter has left the country and is living in Italy under the name of Dr. Fell. He is also the curator of a large museum there. Agent Starling (played by Juliana Moore) has had a rough time since her headline making news of catching Buffalo Bill. She's still haunted by Hannibal and still fascinated by him. Adding to her woes, Starling is also under investigation by her superior Paul Krendler (played by a smug Ray Liotta) for her actions at a recent drug sting.

Meanwhile back in Italy, a detective by the name of Renaldo Pazzi has stumbled onto the secret of Dr. Fell, and after checking the internet Pazzi soon finds there is a huge reward offered for the capture of Hannibal. The reward is offered by one of Hannibal's first victims a Mason Verger (played by Gary Oldman). Mason is very disfigured from his run in with Hannibal and is out for revenge on Dr.Lecter.

Barney, the orderly from Silence, has been selling Hannibal memorabilia to Verger and is approached by Starling after she receives a call from Hannibal saying that he is coming out of retirement. On the run from Pazzi and a group of thugs that Verger sends after him, Hannibal makes his way back to the United States, where he quickly begins a new game of cat and mouse with Starling. But what Hannibal does not know is that Verger is using Starling as bait of his own, knowing that Hannibal cannot resist the enticing agent Starling.

Although not as good as Silence, Hannibal is a very good film. If you are a fan of Dr. Lecter then you will not be disappointed. The climax of the kidnapping and the dinner scene alone will satisfy anyone’s taste for horror and suspense. Although Hopkins once again shines as Hannibal, Gary Oldman is brilliant, as usual, under the make up as the twisted pedophile Mason Verger.

I enjoyed Juliana Moore as Starling and have no complaints with her performance, I just ended up wishing that Jodi Foster would have done the film. Hopkins and Foster had so much chemistry in Silence that I wanted to see the two on screen together again.