An average movie

I already saw this movie but since it was a while back and since I had it on DVD, I thought I might as well check it out again. I remember very well when it was released though. Indeed, after 10 long years, the long-awaited sequel of 'The Silence of the Lambs' was finally coming up and, even though Jonathan Demme was not anymore involved, Ridley Scott, who just made a huge come-back with 'Gladiator', took over the job so I had some huge expectactions. I even saw the damned thing in the movie theater with a group of friends at the time. Well, unfortunately, it turned out to be a massive disappointment, probably one of the most disappointing movies I have ever seen. Seriously, the whole thing was just a huge mess. First of all, besides Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling, there were just too many characters involved : an older victim of Lecter, an orderly that used to take care of Lecter, a crooked Deputy Assistant Attorney General, an Italian cop, the wife of the Italian cop,... Furthemore, what was the point of going all the way to Florence?  First of all, it was disappointing that all the Italian characters would never speak Italian. A bigger issue was that they first brought the action to Italy which wasn't a bad idea but then, really suddenly, this location was completely dropped (Starling actually never set foot there) and they went back to the States. Anyway, even though the whole thing was still somehow watchable, what really ruined the whole thing for me was this awful ending during which Kendler ends up eating his own brain. Seriously, it was probably one of the most ridiculous scenes I have ever seen. Anyway, to conclude, even though this movie was really successful at the box-office when it was released, I think it is actually one of the most disappointing sequels ever made and, without the great Anthony Hopkins, it wouldn't be worth a look at all.