Movie Review Red Dragon

Red Dragon (2002) 

Directed by Bret Ratner 

Written by Ted Tally

Starring Anthony Hopkins, Edward Norton, Ralph Fiennes, Harvey Keitel, Emily Watson, Mary Louise Parker, Phillip Seymour Hoffman

Release Date October 4th, 2002 

Published October 3rd, 2002 

In 1991, The Silence Of The Lambs captured pop culture with a character more frightening than any horror movie cliché. Dr. Hannibal Lecter, as portrayed by Sir Anthony Hopkins, embodied intelligence that was as frightening as any weapon Jason Voorhees ever used.

With Jodie Foster’s Clarice Starling as the perfect foil, Hopkins tore into the psyche of moviegoers dissecting their fears the way he did his victims. The style and wit of Hannibal Lecter thrust the character off the screen and into pop culture. Even the lame sequel Hannibal, which turned the character into a horror movie monster, couldn’t completely destroy Hannibal Lecter.

Now with the release of Red Dragon, Anthony Hopkins has a vehicle that restores the character to the elements that made it iconic; the gray jumpsuit, the glass cage and the menacing intelligence. If only director Brett Ratner had the same skill with the remaining cast and story of Red Dragon, it could have been the equal of the original. As it is, Red Dragon is a solid but brutal by-the-numbers thriller with one of those endings that just makes you shake your head and wish they would have quit while they were ahead.

As the credits roll it is 1980 and Dr. Hannibal Lecter is a well respected forensic psychologist, enjoying the symphony and entertaining guests with his unique culinary skills. In a scene written by Lambs screenwriter Ted Tally, Hopkins teases the audience with the fate of a missing symphony musician being discussed by Dr. Lecter’s dinner guests. After dinner FBI agent Will Graham (Edward Norton), arrives at Lecter’s door to discuss a case that Lecter is consulting on. In yet another very well written scene, Norton and Hopkins match wits as Graham slowly realizes the friendly doctor is actually his suspect.

The capture of Hannibal Lecter is merely the opening act of Red Dragon, the meat of the story is Grant’s search for a serial killer dubbed by the media as The Tooth Fairy, for his penchant to bite his victims. The killer's method is simple, he stalks a family 'til the night of a full moon when he attacks, killing husbands and children and raping the mothers. The killer breaks all of the mirrors in the home using the glass as a weapon and placing it in the eyes of his victims. As Will investigates he realizes that he can’t get inside this case without help and is forced to turn to Dr. Lecter for advice. As the conversations between Lecter and Graham proceed, Lecter takes an interest in The Tooth Fairy and finds the interest to be mutual as the two killers trade messages in a tabloid personals column.

The logistics of Lecter’s being able to place an ad from his jail cell is one of a number of logical leaps by director Brett Ratner. Others include Graham’s finding of clues other investigators couldn’t, not an unusual trait for an FBI expert except that the evidence is as obvious as an episode of CSI. Those factual inconsistencies aside, the characters in Red Dragon are smart and engaging enough to carry the viewers over the logical rough spots.

As The Tooth Fairy, Ralph Fienes returns to the type of character acting that won him an Oscar for Schindler’s List. Portraying both the killer's depraved brutality and his sensitive sadness, Fiennes almost earns the audience's sympathy, especially after he begins a tentative relationship with a blind coworker named Reba, played by fellow Oscar nominee Emily Watson. Since Reba can’t see him, he is comfortable with her. She can’t see the scar on his lip he is so ashamed of, the scar that drives him to destroy every mirror he sees. Reba knows the guy is odd but she has no idea he is a sought after serial killer. There is an amazing sweetness to the relationship that is leavened by Tooth Fairy’s twisted insanity. When Reba isn’t around he argues with his imaginary master, the Red Dragon, over whether or not to kill her.

Rounding out this amazing cast is Philip Seymour Hoffman as a sleazy tabloid journalist who Graham uses to tease Tooth Fairy into showing himself. The plan backfires resulting in one of the more shocking and memorable scenes in the film. The cast also includes Harvey Keitel as Graham’s boss and Mary Louise Parker, greatly underused as Graham’s wife.

Never one to take much notice of film score I must say how impressed I was with the work of Danny Elfman. While at times the score employs cheesy horror film screeches, most of the score is deep bass and ornamental horns that give each scene sonic depth. The score is effective and memorable and vital to the film's tone. Also impressive is Dante Spinotti’s cinematography which is most notable for how mundane it is. Never getting in the way, the lighting is stylish without being overbearing and the film's brutality and violence is given a realistic feel by Spinotti’s camerawork.

Give director Brett Ratner credit for working with talented people, unfortunately his own talent isn’t as well pronounced. Ratner’s direction is a heavy handed crowd pleasing style that pushes aside artistic touches in favor of manipulating the audience with violence and manufactured suspense. Especially overwrought is the ending, yet another case of false ending overkill. Had the director stopped 15 minutes earlier the film may have ended in a more tragic and poetic way. However Ratner has some very obvious setups that need to be paid off. You know those scenes that seem to have no bearing on the story but you know they have to pay off at some point? Red Dragon ends with two of those scenes.

And then there is Anthony Hopkins, who has said this will be the last we see of him as Hannibal Lecter. Hopkins’s performance is Oscar Worthy, he hits every note perfectly with wit and menace. There has never before and will likely never again be a killer more fascinating than Hannibal Lecter. Red Dragon gives the character the send off he deserves.

Despite its shortcomings, the thrilling suspense of the majority of the film and the stellar cast make Red Dragon easy to recommend.