"Red Dragon" movie review

Introduction:

When Brett Ratner, the auteur behind The Family Man and Rush Hour 2, was announced as the director of Red Dragon, our favorite cannibal movie, with the dreary Hannibal still fresh in our memory, it didn't seem very promising. However, against all odds, Ratner delivers a well-tooled, workmanlike compendium of the book's greatest hits. In this article, we'll explore why Red Dragon works as a cracking detective story and how Ratner's direction and quality casting contribute to the movie's success.

Ratner's Faithfulness to Harris' Novel

Red Dragon is a remarkably faithful adaptation of Harris' tautly constructed mystery. Ratner, in tandem with Silence screenwriter Tally, offers the cinematic equivalent of a page-turner. He includes the book's greatest hits, such as the great scene in which Lecter's cell is searched for clues as to how he is contacting Dolarhyde, the horrific burning wheelchair set-piece, and more.

Ratner's Deviation from the Novel

While Ratner remains faithful to the novel, he deviates from it in some aspects, and it pays dividends. A pre-credits opener that pitches Lecter and Graham against each other, first mentally, then physically, is a fantastic curtain-raiser. Hopkins, who doesn't make much effort to convince us that the character is any younger, coasts through his scaremongering, conveying an astuteness and intelligence that were missing last time around.

Quality Casting

Ratner invested in quality casting, and it shows. Norton gives the movie a likeable, easy-to-root-for center, nicely conveying a man masking his fear with a determination to do right. Fiennes manages to take Dolarhyde to the extremes without ever making the character's evil laughable. He finds a real shift of gear in his tentative, affecting relationship with Reba, the blind woman who offers the killer a redemptive state of grace.

Ratner's Direction

Ratner's direction is crisp and proficient, but it lacks the foreboding atmosphere or memorable image that really hits home. Visually, the movie is a sitcom version of Silence, with flat lighting and bland set-ups. However, the last reel's denouement delivers nail-biting tension and real scares that work a treat.

A Refreshing Take on the Hannibal Lecter Story

Let's face it: when it was announced that the director behind The Family Man and Rush Hour 2 was taking on a Hannibal Lecter movie, the expectations weren't particularly high. Especially with the memory of the underwhelming Hannibal adaptation still fresh in everyone's mind. But surprisingly, Brett Ratner's version of Thomas Harris' 1981 prequel to The Silence of the Lambs, Red Dragon, manages to deliver an engaging and thrilling film with the minimum of fuss.

A Return to the Glory Days of Silence

As if to make up for Ridley Scott's lackluster Hannibal, Red Dragon feels like a concerted effort to get back to the glory days of Silence Of The Lambs, and against all the odds, Ratner manages to pull it off. While it may not have the same style or interesting contours as Michael Mann's Manhunter, Red Dragon surpasses Mann's movie in its dogged determination to entertain.

An Engaging Detective Story

Looking past the cult following of Lecter, Red Dragon stands on its own as a gripping detective story. Like Christopher Columbus with Harry Potter, Ratner and Silence screenwriter Tally remain remarkably faithful to Harris' well-constructed mystery. The movie offers a well-tooled, workmanlike compendium of the book's greatest hits that is the cinematic equivalent of a page-turner.

Deviation from the Novel Pays Dividends

Ratner's departure from the novel, however, proves to be a good decision. The pre-credits opener that pitches Lecter and Graham against each other, first mentally, then physically, is a fantastic curtain-raiser that sets up the Lecter-Graham mind-games to come.

The Return of Hopkins

Hopkins, who doesn't put much effort into convincing the audience that the character is any younger, effortlessly conveys an astuteness and intelligence that were missing in Hannibal. While Lecter's comedy schtick is much better judged here and keeping him in his cell is far more unnerving than letting him roam freely, much of the menace from the monster in Silence has evaporated. At times bordering on pantomiming, Lecter has turned into a Freddy Kruger for the Friends generation.

Quality casting shines

Elsewhere, Ratner invests in quality casting, and it shows. As Lecter's foil, Norton gives the movie a likeable, easy-to-root-for center, nicely conveying a man masking his fear with a determination to do right. Be it scoffing a painting of William Blake's Red Dragon or torturing a sniveling journalist, nobody plays sniveling and enfeebled like Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Fiennes manages to take Dolarhyde to the extremes without ever making the character's evil laughable. If not quite as terrifying as Tom Noonan's incarnation from Manhunter, he finds a real shift of gear in his tentative, affecting relationship with Reba, the blind woman who offers the killer a redemptive state of grace.

Bog-Standard Direction Hinders the Movie

What ultimately stops Red Dragon from being truly great rather than merely good is the bog-standard quality in Ratner's direction. Everything is crisp and proficient, but nowhere does he generate the foreboding atmosphere or memorable image that really hits home. Visually, the movie is a sitcom version of Silence, all flat lighting and bland set-ups, with the infamous corridor approaching Lecter's cell having none of its previous power.

Conclusion:

Red Dragon may not have Manhunter's sense of style or interesting contours, but it surpasses Mann's movie in its dogmatic desire to entertain. Despite the bog-standard quality in Ratner's direction, the quality casting and the faithfulness to Harris' novel make Red Dragon a remarkable adaptation.