October 4, 2002

By Veronica Mixon

I'm not surprised that Red Dragon was remade for the big screen since Anthony Hopkins has made Hannibal Lecter a beloved character despite being a serial killer. Back in 1980s, Michael Mann made an incredibly moving film, Manhunter based on Thomas Harris's novel but it has been little scene. Nevertheless, it was an extraordinary movie and Red Dragon borrows from both it and the best of the Hannibal films, the Oscar winning, Silence of the Lambs directed by Jonathan Demme.

In this film, we see Dr. Lecter (Hopkins) being caught by FBI profiler, Will Graham (Edward Norton), who nearly losing his life. After retiring to Florida with his family, Graham is lured out of retirement to hunt a new serial killer, dubbed the "Tooth Fairy" and he asks a jailed Lecter for help. Naturally, his nemesis crafts Grahams doom with the new killer (Ralph Fiennes).

Anthony Hopkins is truly scary as Lecter in this film but there is little for him to do despite the expanded role in the film. And, Edward Norton, who is a fine actor, is incredibly bland and ineffective. In Mann's version of the book, William Peterson (TV's "CSI") was troubled by his ability to read the horrific behavior of these violent men but screenwriter, Ted Tally and director Brett Ratner doesn't give Norton the option to explore this weird, disturbing gift. So, the boyish Norton seems miscast because he doesn't project the maturity of a seasoned profiler or even family man.

Besides Hopkins menacing performance, it is Ralph Fiennes' the eerie portrayal of a serial killer who demolishes entire families that stirs the audience that steals the movie. Donning an elaborate tattoo of a dragon fashioned from a painting of William Blake on his backside and remnants of a hair lip, Fiennes (Strange Days) makes our skin crawl as he gazes at the people around him. But, a blind co-worker (Emily Watson) who gently seduces him punctuates his blank stare and cold façade.

Ratner, like Mann before him, manages to give this killer an intriguing back-story that makes Harris's novel intriguing and the movie a cut above the average slasher movie. But, Brett Ratner, who is best known for Rush Hour, fails to capture the powerful dread that Manhunter had as Graham walked through the victims' bloody house or even the killer's kidnapping of the sleazy tabloid journalist (Phillip Seymour Hoffman).

However, the first rate cast which also includes Mary-Louis Parker as Graham's wife and Harvey Keitel as his boss will definitely draw an audience. It's a pity that Norton's character as written and portrayed is so weak. However, Hopkins and Fiennes do deliver and the make the less compelling "Red Dragon" rather enjoyable.