"Ever Seen Blood In The Moonlight? It Seems quite black..." (Red Dragon (DVD))

Member Name: MattRoberts

Product:	Red Dragon (DVD)
Date:	04/09/03 (155 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Its Dr Lecter!

Disadvantages: It is a bit of a cliche

2003 saw the return of Hannibal Lecter. I must admit after seeing Hannibal I was somewhat disappointed, so I was rather dreading Red Dragon, thinking it might be another flop.

But, I was told that Red Dragon wasn't the first film in the series of Hannibal Lecter, but it was actually the first. Yes, Red Dragon goes right back to the start, shows you how Dr Lecter was caught, and is a lot like Silence of The Lambs.

If any of the plot sounds familiar to you, well it's highly likely that you saw the Manhunter; Red Dragon is the remake of the film.

So, I sat impatiently waiting for the film to start, already thinking up ideas, and making accusations. But, hey, that's what I do every time I watch a film like Red Dragon!


**Cast and Other Info**


Will Graham -~- Ed Norton

Hannibal Lecter -~- Anthony Hopkins

Francis Dolarhyde -~- Ralph Fiennes

Directed By -~- Bret Ratner

Certificate -~- 15

Made In -~- 2002

Running Time -~- 124 minutes



~The Plot~

The film begins with Will Graham dropping in to see Dr Lecter who's been helping him with the case. The case being a man murdering people. He's come to tell Dr Lecter that there's a new lead on the case. That the killer eats the victims!

When Dr Lecter pops to kitchen to get some wine, he pops back with a knife instead and stabs Will in the stomach. After some struggle, Will stabs Dr Lecter in the stomach with an arrow!

Cue the "several years later" on the screen and us wondering what the hell has happened! Well, within the first few moments luckily we get told that Will Graham is living in the country, retired, with his wife and kids, and Dr Lecter is safely locked up in prison.

On one of Will's lazy days, he gets a phone call from his old boss. There have been brutal murders of two families on the full moon of every month, and very
weird goings on at the crime scenes. He wants Will to solve the case. But, Will can't do it alone. So, he wants someone who can get into a psychotic person's mind. Someone, maybe psychotic themselves. There's only one person who can do it! Dr Hannibal Lecter!


~Performances~

The three main actors have all been in very top-notch films before, so I had high expectations for the acting. I knew that each one would make the film what it was, especially Anthony Hopkins.

Ed Norton has to play the tough cop, and his acting is brilliant in this film. Having seen him only in Fight Club and the fantastic Primal Fear, I didn't know what to expect from him; I didn't know whether he'd be able to do the part.

Luckily, he was good, I wouldn't say his acting skills were as good as his one's in Primal Fear and Fight Club, but he was good, but the other two stars shone more than him.

Ralph Fiennes played the killer that Will Graham is looking for. We don't actually see him until about half an hour or more into the film, but when we do see him, and see why he's killing people, you can't help feel sorry for him.

In my opinion, Fiennes was excellent to have done that. To make someone feel sorry for you when you're acting an ordinary role is difficult, but when you're acting a serial killer and trying to get someone to pity you is almost impossible, but Fiennes succeeded with flying colours.

Also, Fiennes plays a more timid role in the film. Timid perhaps isn't the correct word to describe a mad serial killer, but he did have some nervousness to him, and it was very good analysing of his character.

And last but not least - Anthony Hopkins' alter ego Hannibal Lecter. Even though he's in it for less than about 20 minutes of the film, he still makes the film what it was. He still actually gave a brilliant performance that deserved another Oscar!
r>I think Anthony Hopkins was born to play the role of Dr Lecter. He's funny, he's evil and he really makes Red Dragon what it was - another film with Hannibal Lecter in it.

All three were brilliant; especially Ralph Fiennes, and I got exactly what I expected from Anthony Hopkins - pure brilliance. Ed Norton was good, but he didn't rock my world (sadly!).



~My Opinion~

Red Dragon wouldn't have been such a big hit if it weren't another addition to the Hannibal Lecter series. Red Dragon is sort of another taster on Mr Lecter for fans of the films, and at times you think, why is he even there, he does nothing!

But, if you don't study the film too much, then you really will enjoy it, and you won't need to think about things like that.

The best part of the film was the character analyses. All three have a past and present, and not only do we see them at home or at work, we see everything. We get to know what they do at work, how they were brought up, what their family was like and everything, which in my opinion is a brilliant thing in a film.

Another thing that made the film what it was was Dr Lecter's one-liners. He always comes out with something highly intelligent that will send shivers down your spine, and make you feel all tingly! (One example is the very weird - "Ever seen blood in the moonlight? It seems quite black.)

What let the film down was the cliché of it all. Yes it has a fantastic story and twist, but you just feel like you've seen it all before; been there, done that, got the t-shirt! You just feel that it's just another addition to the ever-growing list of Hollywood thrillers!

I would recommend the film, because not only is the Hannibal Lecter story fantastic, but the main plot is good, even though it's a bit of a repeat. I would recommend it to people who like gruesome thrillers, but if you're after a good drama, leave t
his well be!


~Red Dragon on VHS and DVD~


Red Dragon isn't really worth buying, in my opinion, just rent it, but if you fancy buying it it's £15.99 for the DVD from Amazon with all the trimmings. The video is £12.79. Both are a bit expensive, but the film was only released about three months ago.


Written By: Matt Roberts.