Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Red Dragon

 

“Red Dragon” rounds out what ended up being a trilogy of Hannibal Lecter movies starring Anthony Hopkins in the starring role. 2002. This is a prequel to the iconic 1991 movie Silence of the Lambs but was made after the sequel to Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, which was made in 2001. This is also a remake of the 1986 movie Manhunter with the same storyline which starred Brian Cox as Lecter. This one co-stars Edward Norton as Will Graham, the FBI agent who originally captured Lecter. We see how Lecter was caught at the beginning of the movie, and then for the rest of the film, he is in the familiar dungeon-like cell that we see him in Silence of the Lambs. This movie centers around a serial killer that is nicknamed The Tooth Fairy. Graham comes out of retirement to work the case and enlists Lecter's help to catch the Tooth Fairy. Lecter serves in much the same role as he does in Silence of the Lambs, but has a much different dynamic with Graham than he did with Clarice. The rest of the cast is rounded out by Ralph Fiennes, Harvey Keitel, Emily Watson, Mary-Louise Parker, and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

For those who get the blu ray, the A/V quality is very good, with a lot of great cinematographic shots. The extras include several deleted, extended, and alternate scenes, over an hour's worth of making-of, and behind-the-scenes featurettes (that range from a minute or two, to about forty minutes, an FBI profiling feature, and two commentary tracks on the film, one by the director and writer and one by the composer.

Overall, the movie is good, but not as good as Silence of the Lambs. I would say it is on par with, or a bit better, than Hannibal. I think having Lecter in the advising role especially given Anthony Hopkins' age, works better. All of the actors did a great job with their characters with Fiennes and Philip Seymour Hoffman really standing out. So, even though it is not as good as Silence, it is still worth checking out.