All the plot beats of Harris' novel are there, but none of the spirit of Silence of the Lambs.
I'm honestly shocked how this film's horrendously dull screenplay squanders each and every one of its poor, dedicated cast members.
Edward Norton is miscast. Ralph Fiennes is miscast. Philip Seymour Hoffman's lines are so legitimately stupid that I actually laughed out loud. Anthony Hopkins tries his best- I'll give him that- but ultimately doing so spins his character into a corny caricature of the Hannibal in Silence. Harvey Keitel is probably the only one who comes across as genuine.
And I **hate** how the film ends minutes before Silence, as if Ratner couldn't rub it in our face even further that we're watching a hackneyed version of a much better movie.
I knew this wasn't going to be as good as Demme's film, but yikes.