Do you have any idea how long it's been since I've seen a real R rated movie? Forever! Honestly, they just don't seem to be as pervasive as they once were. I remember even three years ago you couldn't flip to the Movies section in the local newspaper without encountering three or four aptly labeled R movies. Nowadays you are hardpressed to find two at the same time, let alone one. You see, just about all the "adult" movies are PG-13 now, and I'm not sure if that's because Hollywood is trying to reach a larger slice of the youth, or if it's because the standards to which the current rating system adheres allow more violence/sexuality/abusiveness than ever before into a milder rating. I sure as hell know it's not because movies are more timid than in the past. Basically I bring all this up because for me it's becoming disheartening to go to movies today and already feel the nostalgia that usually occurs in people at least twice my age.
Cue Red Dragon. Freakin' FINALLY. An R movie that truly utilizes the rating. It really is difficult to fully express how pleased I am with this movie. Edward Norton is a fine addition to the trilogy, and Anthony Hopkins once again skillfully brings to the life the deranged yet brilliant mind of Hannibal Lecter. I am actually tempted to say that Red Dragon is better than Silence of the Lambs. If you agree with me, then it would make sense to say that, chronologically, the Hannibal Lecter trilogy goes from masterpiece to outstanding to absolute trash.
Red Dragon is a creepy, visually disturbing, well acted and well written movie. And best of all, it has a good ending! You have no idea how frustrating it is for me to sit through a great movie only to be left to choke on the acrid remains of a terrible ending. It literally changes my opinion of the whole movie. All I can say is thank goodness Red Dragon doesn't fall into the same crowded pit in which so many otherwise great films have fallen |
