RED DRAGON is a prequel to THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, featuring Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal 'the Cannibal' in a supporting role. It was made ten years after SILENCE and boy, does Hopkins look a lot older (and bigger) despite the best efforts to disguise it.
If you can get over this bizarre turn of events, then you might just find yourself enjoying RED DRAGON, which is a damn sight better than Ridley Scott's over-the-top slice of Grand Guignol sequel, HANNIBAL. I should mention that Thomas Harris' novel was already adapted back in the 1980s as MANHUNTER, a much different adaptation. I'd say that both are equally entertaining with their own merits and detractions.
RED DRAGON benefits from a typically intense and dedicated turn from Edward Norton as the criminologist hunting down a serial killer, played with eerie relish by Ralph Fiennes (much more effective than he was as Voldemort). Hopkins is unusually subdued and relegated to the sidelines, except in the outstanding opening sequence which makes little sense but really works as a piece of cinematic spectacle.
The format of the movie follows that of a typical police procedural for the most part, with a particular emphasis on the psychology of murder. There are also a handful of stand-out set-pieces, including a ferocious bit involving a wheelchair which has to be seen to be believed. Things build to an appropriately frenetic climax and as a whole RED DRAGON is a success.
If you can get over this bizarre turn of events, then you might just find yourself enjoying RED DRAGON, which is a damn sight better than Ridley Scott's over-the-top slice of Grand Guignol sequel, HANNIBAL. I should mention that Thomas Harris' novel was already adapted back in the 1980s as MANHUNTER, a much different adaptation. I'd say that both are equally entertaining with their own merits and detractions.
RED DRAGON benefits from a typically intense and dedicated turn from Edward Norton as the criminologist hunting down a serial killer, played with eerie relish by Ralph Fiennes (much more effective than he was as Voldemort). Hopkins is unusually subdued and relegated to the sidelines, except in the outstanding opening sequence which makes little sense but really works as a piece of cinematic spectacle.
The format of the movie follows that of a typical police procedural for the most part, with a particular emphasis on the psychology of murder. There are also a handful of stand-out set-pieces, including a ferocious bit involving a wheelchair which has to be seen to be believed. Things build to an appropriately frenetic climax and as a whole RED DRAGON is a success.