In 2002 Anthony Hopkins portrayed Hannibal Lecter for the third and final time in Red Dragon, based on the book of the same name by Thomas Harris and directed by Brett Ratner.
I found this movie interesting for two reasons. Firstly that it came out only a year after the previous, rather poorly received, adaptation of another Hannibal story - which could have had an impact on people's reactions when this film appeared so soon afterwards. Secondly, this book had already been adapted into a film back in 1986 but titled Manhunter. It didn't do very well, at the time and the only attention it has received since is mainly through a certain cult status.
Red Dragon stars Anthony Hopkins, Edward Norton, Ralph Fiennes, Harvey Keitel, Emily Watson, Mary Louise Parker and Philip Seymour Hoffmann.
The plot concerns a talented FBI agent (Norton) who happens to be the same one who caught Lecter some time ago. He is asked to return to his old job to help to find a new serial killer who has the authorities baffled and determined to find him before he can kill again. Naturally the agent, in desperation, turns to Lecter for his help. I found this plot very enjoyable to watch, mainly because I have read the book and I liked it. Also, I don't feel that the 1986 adaptation did the book justice so I wanted to see if it could be improved on this time.
The performances are all good but the real standout for me is Ralph Fiennes as Francis Dolarhyde. He has to play Dolarhyde the socially awkward man, and also Dolarhyde the psychopath, and does so in very different ways making it easy to tell which side of the character he is playing at any one time. I would also give an honourable mention to Anthony Hopkins as Lecter, but he had the advantage of the previous two films' experience in building the character up. However, the 15 rating for this movie means his performance has to be toned down somewhat, which does not work in his favour, as opposed to the opportunities he had in The Silence of the Lambs.
The screenplay was written by Ted Tally and is mostly accurate to the book, from the central characters, to key moments, to little pieces of dialogue. All this shows that they were trying to stay as true to the source material as possible and give it a good translation from page to screen.
Dante Spinotti returns from Manhunter to do the cinematography. His best work here is without a doubt the scenes set in dimly-lit rooms, because when combined with the lighting it really helps the film's dark and unsettling tone to be effective.
The score was composed by Danny Elfman. Most of it is pretty average to me, but the best moment is the opening title sequence. It is has to prepare you for what is to come and accomplishes this with a opening score that is fast, loud, and most importantly distinctive compared to its predecessors in the franchise.
My main problem with this movie is the moment in the pre-title sequence when Lecter is shot. Anyone familiar with the chronological order of the franchise will know that The Silence of the Lambs, in which Lecter has a pivotal role, comes next. This means that he cannot come to much harm in this movie, and that renders this opening scene ineffective.
In conclusion, Red Dragon has good performances, a well-adapted screenplay, very effective cinematography and a competent music score to accompany it all.
It is my firm opinion that this film is a definite improvement on Manhunter and I'm sure if you watched the movie you would be pleasantly surprised.
Having taken all my pros and cons into account I'm going to give Red Dragon...
A-
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