Red Dragon

Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Edward Norton, Ralph Fiennes, Harvey Keitel, Emily Watson, Mary-Louise Parker, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ken Leung, Frankie Faison, Anthony Heald
Directed by: Brett Ratner
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Crime
2002

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: Ex-FBI Agent Will Graham (Edward Norton) is called back into service to help catch a grisly serial killer known as "The Tooth Fairy." When the investigation stalls, he reluctantly turns to the brilliant but psychotic Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), the killer who almost killed him, and whom he is responsible for capturing.

Review:

Tim: After the disappointing Hannibal, they decided to try again with Red Dragon, the prequel to the amazing Silence of the Lambs. This movie is a marked improvement over its predecessor, but still falls short of the original's heights. Still, this is a solid movie, and quite enjoyable.

I really don't want director Brett Ratner to receive too much credit for this film. I dislike Ratner the more I think about him, and I don't believe he's responsible for this film's success. He does not do a bad job at all, but he was helped greatly by the original source material, and by the cast. I'm just glad he didn't muck it up too badly.

The best part of this film is Edward Norton. After two films seeing Hannibal Lecter paired off against Clarice Starling, it's nice to see a different character matching wits with the good doctor. Norton was a fantastic choice as Will Graham, bringing intelligence, seriousness, and impressive acting chops to the film. It's fascinating to see the man responsible for putting Lecter in prison. I loved the character of Graham and Norton's portrayal of him.

I thought Anthony Hopkins did a very good job reprising his role as Hannibal Lecter. He isn't as good as he was in his Academy Award winning performance in Silence of the Lambs, but he's very enjoyable. He works well against Norton, and I loved seeing him as this character once again.

I very much liked Ralph Fiennes as the Tooth Fairy. He gives a chilling, disturbing performance. I thought his scenes with Emily Watson were important, but clearly not as good as the scenes with Norton or Hopkins. The movie loses steam during these scenes, which detracted from the overall quality of the movie. Still, Fiennes is very good. I also enjoyed seeing Harvey Keitel and Philip Seymour Hoffman in this film. The cast, overall, is quite good.

In some ways, this movie makes me sad because I know this is the last turn as Lecter for Hopkins. I would love to have more movies like this. There's something so fascinating about the whole set up- trying to get a brilliant psychopath to help the FBI catch a serial killer. It just makes for a very interesting story and a very entertaining movie. I very much liked this movie and its creepy, intense atmosphere.

Red Dragon is a nice way to end the Anthony Hopkins-Hannibal Lecter trilogy. It fits in nicely, not quite as good as the original, but better than the second film. The best compliment I can give this film is that leaves me wanting more. That's what good movies should do. I very much enjoyed this film.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, Hannibal Rising, Manhunter