A Tour De Force For Hopkins Yet Not A Film You'll Want To See Again

Rating: 7/10 (4 January 2014)

This film has not aged well with time. It has a very dated feel to it now.
But it's worth seeing for Anthony Hopkins' brilliant recreation of a monster and serial killer. If you haven't seen this film yet, you owe it to yourself to see Hopkins at his most creative best and for some of his classic lines and scenes - especially his now-famous improvisation regarding his culinary desires. (You'll know what I mean when you see it.)
Jodi Foster is solid here, though her range as an actress is limited. Her face is largely emotionless unless it's showing anger - that's the one emotion she can amply express, for my money. I know I'm probably in the minority here, but I'm not a big fan of hers. She's like a female Tom Cruise. Great for action films, not so great for films requiring a lot of emotional depth. But she's good here.
The sequels? AVOID THEM AT ALL COSTS!!! THEY'RE HORRIFYING AND GLORIFY IN INHUMANITY - IN ALL OF ITS GORY DETAIL. THE SEQUELS ARE MOVIE OF A SLASHER-STYLE BREED.
I am so sorry I saw the sequels. They sicken me to this day. So many gratuitous and gleeful mutilation scenes - makes you wonder if the movie makers were sick-minded!!! Why they chose to go that route makes you wonder. Maybe they misunderstood what made the original - this film - worth seeing. It wasn't the gore. It was Hopkins.