If you're reading this review, chances are you've already seen this or are probably planning on seeing it no matter what I say. So I'll immediately get the main point out of the way: "Red Dragon" is a solid adaptation of Thomas Harris' novel and, though flawed, is a thriller well worth catching on the big screen.
Now, the nitty-gritty: "Dragon" is the "Star Wars Episode I" of serial killer movies in terms of structure and hype, if not quality. It's a prequel to the events of "Silence of the Lambs" and "Hannibal," and it's been more hyped and controversial than the Second Coming.
It's based on a novel Harris wrote in 1980, long before Hannibal Lector became a household name. Michael Mann filmed it in 1986 as "Manhunter," and since then the film largely has been forgotten, but held sacred by a cult following.
This particular adaptation adds a prologue that allows Lector (Anthony Hopkins) more screen time and shows how he was captured. It then follows the traumatized detective who captured him, Will Graham (Ed Norton), as he is drawn into another vicious serial killer case.
The family slayer known as the "Tooth Fairy," Francis Dolarhyde (Ralph Fiennes), contacts Lector and seeks to succeed where the doctor failed. Things get complicated for him when he falls in love with a blind co-worker, Reba (Emily Watson). He is torn between death and life as Graham closes in on him. At the same time, Graham seeks Lector's help in solving the case and ends up in grave danger by exposing himself to the madman.
The performances are solid, though Norton strains credibility at times. He never seems believably traumatized or mentally ill. He's shaken up, at worst.
Hopkins could sleepwalk through his scenes and still turn in a solid performance. I was extremely skeptical about pretty-boy Ralph Fiennes playing the geeky, emotionally and physically deformed killer, but he pulls it off quite well. The rest of the cast pulls their weight.
It's a bit disturbing to realize that Hollywood in general (and Dino De Laurentiis Productions in particular) have made a thriving industry out of the chronicles of a sick, psychotic serial killer.
But one would have to be extremely naive to think there's no historical precedent for it. Freddy Krueger owned the '80s and early '90s as a pop culture hero. And he was a vicious child molester and serial killer. Audiences laughed it up and cheered Freddy on (at least in the sequels -- the first "Nightmare" didn't kid around with the fact that he was a monster) as he tormented and mutilated countless teenagers. And don't get me started on that knucklehead Jason Voorhees.
Hannibal Lector is just another incarnation of pop culture evil, and mainstream society is oh-so-willing to embrace him because he's old, white and British. Hopkins' presence is the Oscar-winning spoonful of sugar that helps the bloody medicine go down for both mainstream crowds and highbrow viewers.
Personally, I prefer Brian Cox's cocky, unpolished performance as Lector in "Manhunter." He had some darkly humorous moments, but there was never any mistaking the fact that he was a killer and definitely no hero.
"Red Dragon" is less a piece of entertainment to be critiqued and more a force of nature to be reckoned with. If the goofy "Hannibal" proved nothing else, it showed that Hopkins plus human flesh consumption equals boffo box office.
Though "Red Dragon" follows the book much more closely than "Manhunter," it still is cynically conceived. De Laurentiis produced "Manhunter," which bombed, and now he has a chance to turn a guaranteed mint off the source material.
The fact that it's actually pretty good seems to be a freak accident brought about by solid direction, respect for the book and a cast that really seems to grasp what they're doing.
Ultimately, "Red Dragon" is worth checking out, whether one loves "Manhunter" or hates it. It's a different animal. It's true that the film is piggybacking "Silence of the Lambs" pretty hard, but there are worse things it could do than imitate the style of a brilliantly constructed and designed thriller.
This one is definitely a case of a pretty decent movie slipping through the Hollywood sausage factory with its heart and guts largely intact.
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