I knew "Red Dragon" would never match "Manhunter", but I had some faint hope that it might turn out not *too much* worse, and that it might preserve some of the spirit of the book, in spite of Brett Rush Hour's directing.
Unfortunately, it's on par with Gus van Sant's remake of "Psycho". It's painfully clear, too clear, that the only reason for its making were the dollar signs in Dino de L.'s eyes. It's a (bad) school play on the steroids of a big budget. Everyone, literally everyone in the film is stiff and wooden, except for Hopkins, who is hammy.
Where Brian Cox was caged evil, Hopkins is a clown. Where William Petersen was a tormented agent, Norton is a bored yuppie. Where Tom Noonan portrayed a man of a demented yet fascinating psyche, Fiennes is a bumbling cartoony villain who behaves like a village idiot and seems as dangerous as a bumblebee, while pitifully trying to look like Harrison Ford. Keitel chews his dialogue as if to say "let's get this trash done and go home already".
The dialogue is lifted from "Manhunter" and sometimes (less often) from the book, and I felt extremely bored, because every minute I knew exactly what would follow and what words would be said. The few scenes that were thrown in The ridiculous, ubercliched "Jason Voorhees syndrome" ending doesn't help much, either.
Of course, Manhunter had *a real director*, and a damn good one, too - Michael Mann, one of the few directors who have *and care for* their artistic visions; Brett Rush Hour cared primarily for the check, apparently.
Unfortunately, it's on par with Gus van Sant's remake of "Psycho". It's painfully clear, too clear, that the only reason for its making were the dollar signs in Dino de L.'s eyes. It's a (bad) school play on the steroids of a big budget. Everyone, literally everyone in the film is stiff and wooden, except for Hopkins, who is hammy.
Where Brian Cox was caged evil, Hopkins is a clown. Where William Petersen was a tormented agent, Norton is a bored yuppie. Where Tom Noonan portrayed a man of a demented yet fascinating psyche, Fiennes is a bumbling cartoony villain who behaves like a village idiot and seems as dangerous as a bumblebee, while pitifully trying to look like Harrison Ford. Keitel chews his dialogue as if to say "let's get this trash done and go home already".
The dialogue is lifted from "Manhunter" and sometimes (less often) from the book, and I felt extremely bored, because every minute I knew exactly what would follow and what words would be said. The few scenes that were thrown in The ridiculous, ubercliched "Jason Voorhees syndrome" ending doesn't help much, either.
Of course, Manhunter had *a real director*, and a damn good one, too - Michael Mann, one of the few directors who have *and care for* their artistic visions; Brett Rush Hour cared primarily for the check, apparently.