RED DRAGON
Starring:
Edward Norton, Ralph Fiennes, Harvey Keitel, Emily Watson, Mary Louise Parker,
Philip Seymour Hoffman and Anthony Hopkins
Director: Brett Ratner
Running Time: 124 mins
Certificate: 15
Out to buy on DVD 19th May
After suffering a near fatal wound while solving his last case, retired FBI agent Will Graham (Norton) is asked by his colleague Jack Crawford (Keitel) to help him investigate the murder of two families by a killer the press has labelled "The Tooth Fairy". Coming up against a break wall, Graham is left with no choice but to seek the assistance of the man who profiled many of his serial killer cases. The problem is that it is also the man who nearly killed him, Dr Hannibal Lecter (Hopkins).
An adaptation of the first of Thomas Harris's Lecter Trilogy and a remake of the 1986 Michael Mann version Manhunter, Red Dragon just seems like a cash-in on Lecter's popularity after Hannibal.
What is has going for it is its cast however. Anthony Hopkins again plays Lecter with relish. It is a role he has completely made his own and is a horror movie icon. Ralph Fiennes proves again that British actors play the best villains with a very strong performance as the Tooth Fairy. He is too good looking for the part however, for a man that supposed to be facially disfigured he only has a hair-lip scar but this takes nothing away from a performance that is the highlight of the film. There are also strong supporting performances from Emily Watson, Mary Louise Parker and Philip Seymour Hoffman but Harvey Keitel is severely underused. There is a problem in this illustrious cast however and surprisingly it is Edward Norton's portrayal of Will Graham. Norton seems to be on autopilot and the character does have the fear and personal self-doubt that William Petersen's interpretation of the role had.
Any questions about choice of Brett Ratner as director seem to have been answered. After been greeted with much trepidation when his hiring was announced, Ratner has proved again that he is an up and coming director to watch. He handles action well and seems to get the best out of most of his actors.
While the movie itself is good, it didn't really need to be made. Yes it is excellent to have Anthony Hopkins playing the role that made him the most frightening horror villain in movie history, but Manhunter was already good enough to be part of the Lecter mythology. To quote the fellow film fan I watched the movie with "What are they going to do next, remake Hannibal so Jodie Foster can be in it?"
All in all, Red Dragon is a better movie than Hannibal and not that far away from the Silence of the Lambs but you can't help thinking that it is just producer Dino De Laurentiis way of making more money.
Audio commentary, Deleted scenes including alternative and extended scenes, Visual effects, Screen and film tests, 'FBI Profile: Inside The Mind Of A Serial Killer' featurette, Director Brett Ratner's untitled student film, The Leeds house crime scene, 'A Director's Journey': Brett Ratner's video diary, Storyboard to final feature comparison, 'The Burning Wheelchair' featurette, 'Anthony Hopkins: Hannibal Lecter And Me', Character make-up, DVD-Rom features, Interactive menu & Scene access
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