The reviews lean towards a mixed response to Hannibal, with praise clustering around its visual polish and performances rather than its storytelling. Anthony Hopkins’s Lecter remains a source of pleasure for several critics, who find his performance compelling or enjoy its playfulness; Julianne Moore also receives credit as Clarice Starling. The more favourable accounts find an engaging, stylish entertainment, even when the grotesque material threatens to become excessive.
Reservations centre on weak suspense, sluggish pacing and plotting that fails to sustain interest. The spread is wide: RogerEbert.com finds style and strong performances enough to keep the film engaging, while The Guardian sees a tensionless sequel whose gore and camp overwhelm the drama. Hopkins himself divides opinion, with his playfulness reading as parody to some. Even among the more receptive reviews, enjoyment often comes with the caveat that this is a less compelling sequel to The Silence of the Lambs.
