"You Want Me To Cut It Off?" (reviewed by AX)

In the years following the monumental success of SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, the character Hannibal Lecter (as masterfully played by Sir Anthony Hopkins) entered the pantheon of all-time great cinematic villains. Compared to characters like Dracula, Darth Vader, Jason, or Freddy Krueger, Hannibal's screen legacy was fairly small. Honestly I never considered him to be one of the big boys, even with the rib-tickling HANNIBAL that came out not too long ago.

However, while watching the opening scene of RED DRAGON, it finally hit me. Hannibal is fucking great, and he does rank up there with the best of the bunch. Having got to know him for 3 movies now, I think the character settled in on my brain and I embraced him. Knowing he's a cannibal just makes everything so enjoyable to me, but sadly I was the only one in the theater laughing knowingly as he served the cooked flesh of a shitty flute player to a bunch of ritzy-ass white folks. Forget poetic, forget all the allegories you can draw to shit that happens in our society. It's just plain funny and it makes for a spectacular opening.

RED DRAGON was actually the first novel author Thomas Harris wrote in the Hannibal Lecter saga, and it was made into a TV-movie called MANHUNTER back in 1986 (by the creator of MIAMI VICE!). I remember watching the movie just to see Atlanta's High Museum Of Art function as the filming location for Hannibal's cell (although he was played by some other dude at the time). When the novel SILENCE OF THE LAMBS was released, I read it, and my ass was in the seat when the hugely successful film version was made (with ol' Hopkins in the driver seat as Lecter). After that having been such a great flick, and then its sequel HANNIBAL being awesome as well, MANHUNTER (later re-shown as RED DRAGON on television due to the success of SILENCE) looked like shit by comparison. It begged to be made into a proper film, as the novel was one of the most frightening I've ever read.

So the "real" RED DRAGON is finally here and it fucking rocks. Director Brett Rattner (MONEY TALKS, RUSH HOUR 1 & 2) shows that he can make a by-the-numbers Hollywood suspense thriller just was well as he can do the whole buddy cop picture, and all the actors rule too. Ed Norton plays the lead character (investigator Will Graham) and does so completely by the book. Ralph Fiennes delivers an eerily understated and disciplined performance as "The Tooth Fairy" (the villain of the movie). Emily Watson has the best role (besides Hannibal) as a blind woman who unknowingly befriends a killer. And then there's Sir Anthony as the mack daddy Hannibal "The Motherfuckin Cannibal" Lecter. Wooo baby, is this a great flick. I was completely happy with it.

I should probably also mention that Philip Seymour Hoffman plays yet another pathetic slug in this film. But hey, he's typecast and he does the shit better than anyone. So hell yeah to him.

Before I spoil anything else, let me say that RED DRAGON is definitely something you shouldn't miss. A lot of reviews are panning it for being "conventional" or whatever. Fuck them all is what I say. It's truly sad that we live in an age where it's a BAD thing to make a movie the right way and give audiences what they want. Rattner and company do justice to an incredible book, and make a worthy entry to a great series of films. Unlike other movies where the prequel has been filmed late in the game, RED DRAGON and the others can actually be watched in order and not look stupid.

(10.15.02)