one-nine-eighty This 2002 film is the prequel to "The Silence of the Lambs", and a re-boot of "Manhunter". Leading FBI agent Will Graham (Edward Norton) has a gift for psychoanalysis and criminology, allowing him to see things from the criminal's point of view; he's been working with Dr Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) to stop the 'Chesapeake Ripper". The film opens with a scene showing how Graham manages to crack the case and subsequently arrest Lecter for the crimes (subsequently starting the setup for "TSOTL"). Due to injuries sustained Graham retires, but is soon brought back into role when agent Jack Crawford (Harvey Keitel) asks for help with "The Toothfairy" (Ralph Fiennes), a killer who strikes on the full moon and has an issue with mirrors. With 3 weeks till the next full moon Graham works with Crawford to try and put a stop to the killing spree, using any means possible - from feeding the press (Philip Seymour Hoffman) false information, to interviewing the man who nearly ended Graham's life, Dr Lecter. Meanwhile the "Red Dragon" is rising.This is a great re-boot of "Manhunt", which was a decent film it lacked some style and class, stopping me from engaging and suspending disbelief with it properly. This film actually sticks more to the book than "Manhunt" did, only deviating by adding more Lecter/Graham interviews. Red Dragon, for me, is actually better than "Hannibal", the sequel to "TSOTL" because it is fast paced and has a lot of thrills and tension - which is more in line with what "TSOTL" built. The acting in this is good, I was dubious about Norton and Keitel when I read the pre-release information, but I think they did well with their performances. The book seemed to indicate that the Graham character would be grittier than what Norton gave, but it still worked well for the film, a darker performance may have made the film less accessible. My concerns with Keitel were just that Scott Glenn played what I expected from Jack Crawford in "TSOTL", stiffer and less connectable - Keitel softens Crawford a little but not enough to make me feel it was a poor performance. Fiennes as the villain worked particularly well - he played intense and creepy really well, he actually surprised me with this role. All in all I was surprised and delighted with this. I didn't expect the director of "Rush Hour" and "Rush Hour 2" (Brett Ratner) to bring to screen something so tense and gripping. This is a great post-prequel to "TSOTL", better than "Hannibal" and "Manhunter", and even in its own right, if you haven't seen the other films - it still stands up as a great film. 8 out of 10.

rwhitenight2004 This is a scary film, but some of the best acting I have ever seen in a long while. He keeps one involved in the movie right to the very end.

NateWatchesCoolMovies Brett Ratner's Red Dragon, although pretty darn stylish, is just cursed with being the least engaging and unique Hannibal Lecter film out there. It's not that it's a bad flick, but when you have Silence Of The Lambs, Hannibal and the far superior Manhunter to compete with, you're trucking down a rocky road. The strongest element this film has going for it is Ralph Fiennes, who plays the hell out of the role of Francis Dolarhyde, the disturbed serial killer also known as the Tooth Fairy. Previously played by an introverted and terrifying Tom Noonan, Fiennes gives him a more rabid, haunted vibe and steals the show, but then he always does. Edward Norton is a bit underwhelming as FBI behavioural specialist Will Graham, sandwiched between William L. Peterson and Hugh Dancy's modern day, definitive take on the character. Graham has the tact and luck to ensnare notorious cannibalistic murderer Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins purrs his way through a hat trick in the role), whose help he subsequently needs in pursuing Dolarhyde. Harvey Keitel clocks in as rock jawed Jack Crawford, Graham's boss and mentor, solidly filling in for far mor memorable turns from Laurence Fishburne, Dennis Farina and Scott Glenn. All the scenes with Dolarhyde fare best, given some truly impressive rural cinematography that sets the mood for the killer's twisted mindset nicely. The cerebral jousting between Graham and Lecter only half works here, dulled in comparison to the crackling exchanges that Jodie Foster masterfully handled with Hopkins, who was far, far scarier back then. Emily Watson lends her doe eyed presence to the blind girl that brings out the only traces of humanity still left in Dolarhyde, Philip Seymour Hoffman shows up as bottom feeding tabloid reporter Freddy Lounds, and Mary Louise Parker, grounded as always, plays Graham's wife. You could do worse in terms of films like this, but in the Lecter franchise it falls pretty far short of any of the other entries, save for the few inspired moments involving Fiennes

SlyGuy21 So if you're wondering why I covered the sequel to this first, it's because I thought this was a sequel to "Silence of the Lambs", not the other way around. Either way, this is a great prequel, it still manages to capture a lot of the suspense that the previous film had, but it's more about mind games. Norton has to practically beat Lecter at his own game, which is no small feat. All the performances are great, I've yet to see Edward Norton have a bad role (sure I didn't like "American History X", but his performance was great). Everything works in this for me. Is it better than "Silence of the Lambs"? No, but there's still a lot of things to love about it.