"Red Dragon" Makes A Fine Addition To "Lambs" Trilogy




by Tony West
Contributing Writer
USA Vanguard
Arts & Entertainment
October 22, 2002




When I first saw "The Silence of the Lambs" in 1990, I was so amazed that I immediately left the theater and bought the book. And I don't like to read. Just ask my literature professors. I started reading it that night, finished it the next day and saw the movie again.

Soon I discovered that Thomas Harris, the novel's author, had written another book involving Hannibal Lecter prior to "Lambs" called "Red Dragon." I found the prequel and thought it was astounding.

Then, one day, I heard a movie based on "Red Dragon" called "Manhunter" existed. I watched it and prayed that someday they would make a different version starring Anthony Hopkins.There is a God.

In "Red Dragon," Edward Norton ("Fight Club," "The Score") plays FBI Agent Will Graham who has a knack for catching the criminally insane and made a name for himself by apprehending Lecter, played by Hopkins, who reprises his Academy Award winning role for the third time.

After the Lecter case, Graham retired due to stress, but is pulled back into the fold by Jack Crawford, played by Harvey Keitel ("Reservoir Dogs") to do one more job: help track down "The Tooth Fairy." Ralph Fiennes ("The English Patient") plays a psychopath who murders families as part of what he calls his "Becoming." In order to catch "The Tooth Fairy," Graham must get assistance from Dr. Lecter, who is now housed in a very familiar glass cell.

I loved "Lambs," but I wasn't really thrilled with "Hannibal." I won't go into it. I was afraid that "Red Dragon" would be more like "Hannibal," but I was pleasantly surprised. Unfortunately, it isn't as unnerving as "Lambs," although the story has the right formula to be so. It also isn't as gratuitously gruesome as "Hannibal." Most of the gore in "Red Dragon" is not in the actual killings but in the subsequent crime scenes, making it more psychological.

Unlike the two other films that revolve around Lecter's relationship with Agent Clarice Starling, "Red Dragon" is a good story that doesn't need the other two to make it work. It manages to represent the franchise well while not relying on the name to sell it. It has its similarities, but they are circumstantial. I was happy to see the return of Dr. Chilton, the mental hospital's chief of staff, whose arrogance makes for a few good punch lines for Lecter.

"Red Dragon" isn't the greatest movie ever, and my favorite of this trilogy is still "Lambs," but is a well-made movie that will rattle a few nerves.

 

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