4 stars.
"A robin redbreast in a cage/Puts all heaven in a rage."
And thus starts the third chapter of the Hannibal Lecter trilogy, which is actually the first chapter, which happens a little after the initial chapter that occurs just before the movie even takes place. Hope that clears things up.
You all know the drill - Hannibal Lector, played by Anthony Hopkins, is the ingenious serial killer who is a man of taste and refinement.
He enjoys eating his victims, fine wines0 and solving high profile serial killer cases in his spare time.
Which he has plenty of since he is serving nine consecutive life sentences thanks to Will Graham, the hero of "Red Dragon."
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Graham, played by Edward Norton, is an expert FBI special agent who quits the Bureau after almost losing his life in the process of capturing the elusive Dr. Lecter.
All of this takes place within the first 10 minutes of the film.
Years later, after a string of particularly gruesome murders, Graham reluctantly agrees to come out of retirement and help in the case. However, he quickly realizes that the best way to catch this murderer - known only as the Tooth Fairy and played expertly by Ralph Fiennes - is to get inside the killer's mind.
Probing the mind of another killer who is just as brilliant and equally twisted is the best solution he can think of.
For Graham, that means confronting a past that he longs to leave behind and facing his former nemesis, the now imprisoned Lecter.
Without giving too much away, this movie is absolutely morbid.
From the murder scenes and confrontations with Lecter, to the subversive references to sex, mutilation and sexual mutilation - this movie has a little something for the macabre urges in us all.
While gruesome, "Red Dragon" manages to avoid the campiness that turned the 2001 movie "Hannibal" into a laughable slap in the face for Hopkin's 1991 Oscar winning portrayal of the cannibal Lecter.
At times, it is easy to get lost in the film's style and wit. Still, this film seemed a little too predictable.
The main problem with Red Dragon is that it follows a little too closely to its predecessor, Silence of the Lambs, even ending with a strong allusion to the first scene of that classic film.
To say this film had a super-powered cast of Hollywood heavyweights would be an understatement.
From Anthony Hopkins, Edward Norton and Harvey Keitel, to Ralph Fiennes, Emily Watson and director Brett Ratner, this film boasts one of the strongest casts to ever grace the silver screen in one outing. Every one of them earns their keep.
Norton plays the frightened but courageous FBI agent opposite of Hopkin's Lecter so well that the dynamic these two characters create is not only frightening, but also almost totally believable.
I have never been a fan of Feinnes. After seeing him in the role of Francis Dolarhyde, an introverted serial killer with a serious self-image problem, I am totally convinced that no one else could have played this role. Even though he played the part well, there was one obvious problem with this casting selection.
Feinnes' character is supposedly a body builder and the actor himself is too skinny to have the look of raw power that the Tooth Fairy is supposed to elicit. It's a small detail, but one that irritates to no end, especially when the characters in the film keep calling attention to it.
Although definitely not a movie for everyone, Red Dragon is positively one hell of a date movie - offering enough surprises and bloodshed to make sure your date sticks to you like bubblegum on a new pair of shoes.
