The Moose Hole - 'Dragon' Spreads Wings But Doesn't Fly Far

Before Hannibal … Before Silence of the Lambs … There was evil in its purest form …

That is the tag line Universal Pictures is using to lure in fans of Hannibal the Cannibal into the latest feature film. Though younger fans of the Hannibal Lecter series may be amazed at the originality of Red Dragon, the older fans may believe that the story for the highly anticipated sequel is all too familiar. And they would be right. Red Dragon is actually a remake of the first Hannibal Lecter film, Manhunter, which was released to little public acknowledgement back in 1986. In Manhunter, Dr. Hannibal Lecter was played by Brian Cox. Now veteran actor Anthony Hopkins returns to the role that made he made famous in Silence of the Lambs. But returning to a famous role can have its downs as well as its ups, just look at Hannibal. Granted the highly anticipated sequel had a huge opening weekend (the largest opening weekend for an R-rated film until The Matrix Reloaded opened) but due to lackluster reviews and some public panning, the film dropped quickly from the public eye. Will Red Dragon be doomed to suffer the same fate as its predecessor or will it be able to bring the series back to its former glory?

The story takes place several years after Dr. Hannibal Lecter is captured by FBI agent Will Graham in a bloody confrontation that leaves both with permanent scars from the event Though Graham has left the FBI because of the capture of Lecter, he is still sought out by Agent Crawford who needs help in a special case. It is believed Will possesses an ability to get into the mind of the criminal and capture them quickly. After searching through evidence of the disturbing murders of two families, Will admits that had help in his cases. That help came from Dr. Hannibal Lecter, who is now in jail serving nine consecutive life sentences. Now Will must face his greatest fear of confronting Lecter again. If he doesn't, more and more people will die at the hands of this serial mad man. The story of Red Dragon is pretty well done compared to Hannibal. It sets up a good opener of how Lecter was captured but the injures sustained by Lecter in that confrontation are not fully explained in the course of the film, which causes some confusion as they seem to focus more the injuries of Will Graham then Lecter. Other then that small squabble, the story envelops the audience and really brings them into a suspense thriller that is well played.

The cast for Red Dragon is pretty large and offers a variety of talented actors and actresses from many different backgrounds. Anthony Hopkins once again offers a stirring performance as Hannibal the Cannibal. He presents a character that is not only intelligent but one that will leave chills down your back long after the movie is over. He plays him so well that it seems that he was destined to play Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Edward Norton gives a good performance as Will Graham. His character isn't cared for as much as Clarice in the previous Lecter films but then again, the audience isn't as attached to him as they are Clarice, emotionally that is. Ralph Fiennes presents a quite but twisted look to a serial killer. He plays the role straight out as a man who knows what he is doing is things that are wrong but has no emotional control over himself. Other characters within the film are played as they should be and do not stand out amongst the earlier mentioned cast but still are pretty good overall.

Overall, Red Dragon was a good film but not a fantastic film. The story played well with its two hour time frame but there several moments that offset the generally good film. There were parts in the plot like the ending to the confrontation between Lecter and Graham in the opening sequence and whole ending to the film that caused confusion and really let down fans of the series. The ending to this film could have been taken to a whole new level but the filmmakers stuck with one that was sort of expected. Not to say that everything in the film was bad. The story played out for the most part except for the previously mentions plot holes. The acting from Hopkins, Norton and Fiennes really set this film from the rest of the trash that is currently cluttering the box office theaters. Plus the way Red Dragon transitions itself into Silence of the Lambs film by introducing Clarice but not showing her was very well done by the film makers. But all those good things can't take away the feeling the audience was a little cheated with the ending. This is a good film to see opposed to trash like Knockaround Guys and The Tuxedo which may or may not be getting more attention then films like this.