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Red
Dragon |
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Rating
- 4.5 of 5 |
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By: Joe
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Darkwolf
and I were lucky enough to be able to take
in a special advanced screening of the new
Anthony Hopkins, Edward Norton film, Red
Dragon. For anyone who may not know, Red
Dragon takes place before the events of
Silence of the Lambs. The story was
put on film back in 1986 as Manhunter.
The reason that Michael Mann didn't call it
Red Dragon was because he was afraid
folks would confuse it for a martial arts/kung
fu flick. If you're interested in seeing Red
Dragon....I wholeheartedly recommend seeing
Manhunter first. Enough of this comparison
crap. Let's get down to the nitty gritty. |
Edward Norton plays Will Graham, an FBI agent that
has just captured Hannibal Lecter and (after a brief
scuffle) put him behind bars. Will has a knack for
catching really bad guys. He's the best there is,
and before ya know it, Jack Crawford (Harvey Keitel)
is breaking up Will's happy home and asking him
to come back to work to help him catch a new killer
known as "The Tooth Fairy". With an overwhelming
sense of duty, Will agrees and heads off to investigate
the Tooth Fairy's wake of, what seems like, random
death.
Two families have been slaughtered and the only
real connection is that they both happen at the
time of the full moon. Why? Watch the movie. Needless
to say, Will hits a brick wall trying to figure
this out and is forced to track a madman with the
help of a madman. Much like we saw with Clarice
in Silence of the Lambs, Will must go to
Lecter for help in tracking down this killer. That's
about all I can tell you as far as story goes without
ruining anything.
| I was impressed with the cast
of this picture. Edward Norton plays a convincing
Will Graham. We don't see the kind of range
we've come to expect from him from films like
American History X, Primal Fear
or Fight Club. But he still turns in
a decent performance. Anthony Hopkins gives
us back the Hannibal Lecter we knew and loved.
Forget that Hannibal crap. This is
the film that they should have released first
and then put Hannibal on direct to
video. |
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Hey!
Weren't you in that Keeping the Faith movie?
That sucked! OWWW!! Hey, you're hurting me! |
Despite all the make-up and visual effect efforts,
Anthony Hopkins still looks old but his performace
still drips with that dangerous yet enticing energy
that you felt watching him in Silence of the
Lambs. Ralph Fiennes is an astonishing performer
and is absolutely CHILLING in this movie. When he's
on screen, you are GLUED......well, until this one
part where he's running up some stairs naked. Then
I kinda looked away.
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Emily
Watson was amazing as the blind film developer
(don't ask me how that works) Reba McClane.
A really honest performance from her. I remember
first seeing Emily in The Boxer with
Daniel Day Lewis. I wasn't impressed back
then.....she's totally turned me around now.
Brett Ratner does a wonderful job guiding
this extensive cast and us through Will's
adventure of catching the Tooth Fairy. |
| Anthony
Hopkins returns as the cannibalistic psycho
we know and love |
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Not only does he have to contend with the fact that
this story has already been filmed but he also has
to bring back fans who were turned off by Hannibal.
He's left with the job of redeeming the Hannibal
Lecter name. Ya know what? He does it. MASTERFULLY.
A great film that provides almost as many chills
and scares as Silence of the Lambs, and he
ties it together seamlessly. Ratner really had his
hand on the pulse of the people. He knew what we
wanted to see and he delivered. I can't wait for
his Superman film to hit the screens. His
is a career I shall follow with great interest.
(Forgive the Star Wars quote.)
A few Odds and Ends:
If
you have seen Manhunter, do not expect
that you'll see a simple remake. This film
is a retelling of the Thomas Harris novel...not
a remake of the previous film. You'll note
a lot of similarities but be pleasantly surprised
that this film follows the book much more
closely.
Don't miss Frankie Faison. The only man who's
been in every one of these Hannibal Lecter
movies and that's counting Manhunter.
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Yeah,
walk this bitch right over here. We're gonna
make him pay for that Bad Company shit. |
He played an FBI agent in Manhunter but is
better remembered as Barney, the mental institution
attendant and "friend" of Hannibal Lecter
who we first met in Silence of the Lambs.
It's funny that he's the only constant.
See this movie in the theater. It's worth your money.
If you liked the previous Hannibal Lecter movies,
you'll dig this one a lot. If you didn't like Hannibal
but you liked Silence of the Lambs, this
one's for you. Just a well made thriller. |
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