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 n case you've been living under a rock, Brett Ratner's
"Red Dragon" is based on Thomas Harris' novel of the same name, which
was first adapted into a feature length film by Michael Mann ("Ali")
in 1986 as "Manhunter". This was before Hannibal the Cannibal entered
the American lexicon, and before the success of "Silence of the Lambs"
and "Hannibal".
Seeing dollar signs but unable to persuade the reclusive author (Harris writes a
novel a decade, give or take), the Powers That Be has elected to go back to
Harris' original entry into the series, "Red Dragon". This time
around, Anthony Hopkins, who has become synonymous with the Hannibal role,
returns as a younger version of his character.
"Red Dragon" opens with FBI agent Will Graham
(Edward Norton) capturing the then-civilian Hannibal Lecter, who was still at
large in the film's prelude. The arrest comes to Graham at a price, and the FBI
agent soon retires to a life of seclusion. When a serial killer dubbed the Tooth
Fairy surfaces to slaughter two families, Graham's ex-boss Jack Crawford (Harvey
Keitel) recruits his former ace agent back into the game. Graham agrees, out of
a need to save lives and not because he misses the old life, which still haunts
him.
As Clarice Starling did in "Silence of the Lambs", Graham goes to the object of his nightmares and greatest fear,
Hannibal Lecter (Hopkins), to help solve the Tooth Fairy murders. (Actually, the
Crawford character sent Starling to interview Lecter in "Silence of the Lambs"
because of Graham's success in "Dragon".) Lecter is all too anxious to
help, since it means he can extract favors from Graham in return. As the
investigation continues and Graham gets deeper and deeper into the psyche of the
Tooth Fairy, it becomes obvious that Lecter has other things in mind -- like
killing Graham!
"Red Dragon" is a surprisingly faithful
adaptation of Harris' novel. Screenwriter Ted Tally seems to be taking very
little liberties with the book, but he does make one big mistake in my opinion.
It concerns Graham's relationship with tabloid reporter Freddy Lounds (Philip
Seymour Hoffman), and the sequence of events that leads to Lounds being engulfed
in flames. The movie goes out of its way to deflect Graham's part in Lounds'
unfortunate end, whereas the novel makes it very clear that Graham knew what
would happen to Lounds, and did it anyway out of what can only be called a need
for petty vengeance. While Lecter, upon hearing about Lounds' demise, does
comment to Graham about Lounds, the screenplay never takes a firm side on the
issue. This is unfortunate because the sequence helps to shed light on Lecter's
assertions that Graham is more like him than the FBI agent is willing to admit.
At the heart of the movie is Graham's relationship with
Lecter, and knowing this, one can't help but feel a little disappointed by what
appeared onscreen. Director Brett Ratner ("Rush Hour") fails to
capture a lot of the things that makes Lecter a menacing figure, which leads me
to this conclusion: Lecter is not very scary in "Red Dragon."
This isn't the fearsome entity that terrified Jodie Foster's poor Clarice
Starling in "Silence of the Lambs." This Lecter just appears…bored.
(Maybe Hopkins, despite the high pay for this extended cameo, is ready to hang
up the character for good?)
The other half of the film's core is Edward Norton ("Fight
Club") as Graham. While I believe Norton could possibly become almost
as great an actor as co-star Hopkins one day, he's not all that believable as
Will Graham. The Graham character is supposed to be a troubled soul, a man with
a cursed gift for tracking serial killers. An older, more mature actor that
could provide gravitas would have been more appropriate in this part. Norton is
an obviously gifted actor, but he just looks way too young for the role. The
blond highlights don't help.
"Red Dragon" is a competent enough crime film, I
suppose. But strangely enough, for a film made in 2002, the movie's most
efficient enemy is time. When the novel surfaced in the early '80s, the serial
killer genre was still a relatively new one. You could even say that Thomas
Harris gave birth to, if not the genre, then the genre's mass popularity.
Nowadays you couldn't walk through a bookstore without tripping over a serial
killer novel, but not so back then. Because it's a dated film, and because the
screenplay is so faithful to Harris' novel, there's a sense of "been there,
done that" with "Red Dragon." There is nothing new here, and
certainly nothing you couldn't get from a standard episode of
"Profiler" or "Millennium", both TV series about FBI agents
who track serial killers.
It's interesting to note that despite Harris' proclamation
that he does not plan on continuing the series, the Powers That Be (that is, the
studio suits that owns the Hannibal character), has other ideas. (Read "Hannibal"
to understand more.)
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