‘Red Dragon’ reveals a better quality show than ‘Hannibal’
“Red Dragon” has managed to undo the damage done by “Hannibal” with its clever plot line and overall eerie feel.
By Taylor Gibbons
Skiff Staff

It’s official. Hannibal Lecter has become a franchise. Not two years after the release of the forgettable “Hannibal,” Hollywood has seen fit to release yet another film featuring the doctor with one of the most discriminating palates in cinema.

Most thrillers that spawn a second or third movie usually see their successors rolling swiftly downhill towards B-movie status in a hurry. Judging by the quality of “Hannibal,” it looked like that was going to happen to “Silence of the Lambs.” Having seen “Red Dragon,” it is safe to say it didn’t.

This time around, the filmmakers have shied away from the cartoon-like gore and confused plot line that made “Hannibal” so unfulfilling, opting instead to a craft a tense, driven thriller that engrosses viewers with what it suggests rather than expecting them to wait around while it wallows in gory theatrics.

“Red Dragon” is very much the story of a man hunter — Will Graham (Edward Norton), a former FBI agent with an uncanny knack for getting inside the minds of serial killers. Graham is asked by his old boss Jack Crawford (Harvey Keitel) to help the FBI as a consultant in a new serial killer investigation. In order to track down a new threat, Graham is forced to enlist the aid of an old agent — the now imprisoned Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins).

Graham is now caught between the intentions of two psychopaths, the manipulative Lecter and the lethal Francis Dolarhyde (Ralph Fiennes), and is forced to play psychological tug-of war with Hannibal while at the same time attempting to track down Dolarhyde.

If this is starting to remind you of another movie, take heart. “Red Dragon” is not a “Silence of the Lambs” clone.

Though good, “Red Dragon” is not without its flaws. Much like “Hannibal,” though not to as great a degree, “Red Dragon” features several deep-pocketed flourishes that it could have gone without. A great deal of the movie is bathed in gaudy mood lighting and features a score by Danny Elfman that can be as obtrusive as it is contributory.

“Red Dragon” is one of more compelling dramatic releases of the year, easily on par with this summer’s “Road to Perdition.” Hannibal Lecter may have become a franchise, but “Red Dragon” gives moviegoers little reason not to buy in.