Red
Dragon /
Rated: R |
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Edward Norton,
Ralph Fiennes, Philip Seymour Hoffman,
Harvey Keitel
Directed by: Brett Ratner
Produced by: Ridley Scott, Dino de
Laurentiis, Martha De Laurentiis
Written by: Ted Tally
Distributor: Universal Pictures
|
|
I knew that when I
walked into Red Dragon I was taking
I chance. It could’ve gone one of two ways. The
first way, is that it would be as poorly put
together as the second installment of the
“Cannibal” series,
Hannibal;
and two, out score the first, the ever popular
Silence of the Lambs. It manages to
fall somewhere between the two, but gets a very
solid recommendation from me, but let me point
out, if it were to beat the first film, one of
my favorites of all time, that would be saying a
whole lot for it. With great performances,
excellent style, and an unexplainably profound
edge; the flick definitely keeps the long-time
trilogy alive. The chances of having a fourth
movie made are null, because the filmmakers
don’t have anymore of the original authors
novels to put to life. If Red Dragon
does well at the box office, though, the
inventive screenwriters will most definitely
come up with something sooner or later.
The plot is similar to
The Silence of the Lambs, but has
some differences that allow it to build its own
story in a different way. Like before, the
imprisoned Hannibal Lecter must help FBI agents
in catching another criminal, due to his
wonderful way of thinking in the eyes of
murderers; after all he is one himself. This
time the killer is played by Ralph Fiennes, who
is a human turning into a “dragon”, an evil
spirit expressed through 18th century
artwork. He murders entire families on the
nights of scheduled full moons, but makes
certain that he leaves no evidence of his true
identity, a man named Francis Dolarhyde, by
carefully studying the family’s houses through
video tapes and floor plans. Like Lecter, he is
slightly cannibalistic, but is much more insane,
and has a more spiritually built premise. Unlike
most movies these days, there are no noticeable
plot holes, but there are a few deadbeat, and
improbable moments. Though gory and disturbing,
like all of the others, I liked the story
because of the tasteful scares it delivers.
Ralph Fiennes character,
“The Dragon”, was terrifyingly insane, but like
all of the other characters in all three of the
movies, he has a strangely well-built
personality. At one point in the film, he
debates killing a lover, because the spiritual
world’s “dragon” suggests it to him
psychologically, due to her violation of his
privacy. I will not tell you what his final
decision is on the topic, whether he kills her
or not, because you must see the film unravel
for yourself, but I must tell you that I
thoroughly enjoyed the emotional battle his
character went through, it was an expression of
great acting at its best. This proved that his
versatility should be exercised by filmmakers
everywhere; it was almost fun to watch just
because it was so ironic to see him in such a
role. Nazi from Schindler's List
turned psycho from Red Dragon,
interesting.
“Dragon” is just great. The material isn’t
pleasant to watch, but the intelligent comeback
it makes from the blood-and-guts
Hannibal
is comforting to see. I cannot complement on a
comment that James Baradinelli presented in his
review of the movie, which was that it was too
similar to the less-popular Manhunter,
a low budget flick made before Anthony Hopkins
started working with the series; I have not seen
Manhunter, so I wouldn’t know.
Ralph Fiennes is a natural born star, and this
film proves that he is able to be as versatile
as anyone else, in order to fit any role
presented to him. Brett Ratner is a more
mainstream director, he has also done both of
the Rush Hour movies, and his way of
more lightly bringing the gruesome material
benefited the trilogy. I will say that the movie
is definitely not for everyone though; and those
people you know who you are (anyone who is
bothered by gore and people eating other people
will hate it). But in my eyes, Red
Dragon is a solid flick that I highly
recommend; it deserves a 3 ½ out of 4 bucket
rating.
-Danny, Bucket Reviews
Back to Home
The Bucket Review's Rating Scale
|
|
|