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Quint reviews RED DRAGON -- What do ya think' Did he love it, rub it or dump it'
Hey folks, Harry here... well Quint isn't smoking the same grade crack that Massawyrm has... he doesn't think this film is up there with SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, but he's still heaping loads and loads of praise on it... Just like those sell-out bastards at Variety! I tell ya, the nerve... As we've been reading Talkbacks recently we all know Ratner can't direct... I mean, surely he's just paid for all these reviews... Or else... he's made a really wonderful film... But that just couldn't be. Naaaah. Perish the thought!
Ahoy squirts! 'Tis I, everybody's favorite dish... seaman with a hard crust and lotsa salt... Quint here to give my opinion of the newest Hannibal Lecter film, RED DRAGON.
As most know, RED DRAGON is a prequel, a remake of Michael Mann's MANHUNTER... In a sense. What it really is is the first real adaptation of author Thomas Harris' book of the same name. I had read all three Harris/Lecter books before I saw MANHUNTER and after reading RED DRAGON, I found myself very let down. Don't get me wrong, I still respect Mann's version of the film. I love Dennis Farina as Crawford, I love how creepy Tom Noonan is (even though he's gonna be creepy no matter what... the man could be surrounded by rainbows and sunshine and still scare the piss out of little children and grown men alike), I love the use of Iron Butterfly... But Mann's film is not Harris' book. Mann made a good movie, but a piss-poor adaptation.
That's why I didn't go into batshit when I heard Dino De Laurentiis was remaking the film to capitalize on the success of HANNIBAL. I knew there was still a great story that hasn't really been told. I followed the project closely, using a connection deep inside that world I was able to get a copy of Ted Tally's script, which I fell head over heels in love with (you can read that early review here... http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=9061). Tally had written an amazing screenplay adaptation of Harris' novel. I was psyched. Then came word through a different source, even more trustworthy than the first, that Michael Bay was in talks to direct which didn't really make me flip out, but it definitely had me scared. This was also the time when Nicholas Cage was the front runner for the role of Will Graham. Scary times for RED DRAGON indeed. Those negotiations fell through and Brett Ratner was brought on board.
All I knew was that Ratner had made some really fun comedies with the RUSH HOUR series. They were great visually and tonally perfect for the genre they were in, wacky comedy. I wasn't really sold on Ratner pulling off RED DRAGON, but I knew he'd have to work really hard to fuck up Tally's excellent script. Plus he was starting to hire some really great actors.
It wasn't until I heard Ratner say the reason why he made the film that I started putting my trust in him. He said that Mann's film failed as an adaptation because it focused on the Will Graham character instead of Francis Dolarhyde. The book is Dolarhyde's story more than anything else. Sure, there is that element of Graham having to face his biggest fear by working with the man who damn near killed him to catch a brutal serial killer, but what made RED DRAGON such a great read was how Harris treated Dolarhyde. He gave us a background on him, but didn't make any excuses for the character. We know why he turned out the way he did, but that doesn't excuse his actions. We see his humanity sneak through, his inner conflict. He's not just that freak that makes a woman suit and tucks his cock between his legs for kicks. He's a real person that does some amazingly terrible things.
That's what I loved about the book, that's what I most missed in Mann's film. That was the one thing that Ratner could have said that got me fully behind him on the project. And he didn't lie.
The movie works and most definitely fits in the Hannibal Lecter universe. Hopkins returns to the role of Lecter with a certain glee. You can tell he loves playing this character. He's just as coy and menacing as he usually is, but he does kind of have a more cruel undertone than in the other films, which is reasonable because he's now working with someone he hates, not someone he has the hots for. Hopkins is always dependable especially when playing Hannibal Lecter. Love or hate HANNIBAL, you can't deny Hopkins was his usual awesome self in that film and played it with great relish.
Ed Norton climbs into William Petersen's shoes with great ease. I know a lot of people have been bitching about Norton in the film and I frankly just can't see why. I do admit that I'm not the biggest William Petersen fan in the world and felt he fumbled a bit in MANHUNTER, but I have nothing against the guy. I just felt he badly delivered the "micro-cassette" lines, where he's talking into his trusty tape recorder. I don't have a huge problem with him in the rest of the movie.
Ed Norton does a good job, playing the haunted ex-FBI agent. My only gripe with Norton's performance is it did feel a bit like he was playing Ed Norton playing Will Graham. I was never watching Will Graham talking to Hannibal Lecter, I was watching Ed Norton talking to Lecter. I don't mean to knock the guy... It's one little nitpick from me that doesn't at all hinder my enjoyment of the film. He did a great acting job, giving the character some pretty great, subtle moments.
Ralph Fiennes and Emily Watson damn near stole the movie. Their relationship was pulled off beautifully. Watson plays a blind girl that Fiennes' Dolarhyde starts to fall for. As much as I liked Joan Allen's portrayal of Reba McClane in MANHUNTER, Emily Watson owns that character now. She's sweet, strong though vulnerable, smart, sassy (as the late Phil Hartman would say) and cute as a button. She's the kind of Amelie-esque character... You know the kind you just want to hug and protect through life's difficulties. I wasn't expecting to, but I fell in love with Watson in this role. Her final scene in the film is especially endearing.
Fiennes' Dolarhyde is also exceptional and multi-layered. If Fiennes dropped the ball with his performance the whole movie would have crumbled around him, but thankfully he pulled it off effortlessly. You feel for Dolarhyde. You're also scared of him. You want him to beat the Dragon and settle down with Reba, even if you're still creeped out by those images of his somewhat mutilated victims. You're never really rooting for him, but we see glimpses of the kind of man he could have been if life had dealt him a better hand.
Now for the great supporting characters! First and foremost: Philip Seymour Hoffman as Freddie Lounds, tabloid sleaze reporter extraordinaire. Hoffman plays a great slime-ball and surprisingly is able to flex his acting muscles in this very small part. Harvey Keitel does a fine job as Crawford, but by playing things so close to the events in SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, I think I would have preferred Scott Glen in the role, but that could just be me. Anthony Heald returns as Dr. Chilton, the guy you love to hate. The man hasn't fucking aged. God bless him... he plays a slimy little weasel like none other. Also keep your eye out for Lalo Schifrin as the orchestra conductor at the beginning of the film.
Overall, RED DRAGON is not better than SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, but is a damn good movie that more than deserves a place in the Lecter universe. Ratner has proven without a doubt that he can switch gears when he wants to and make a really damn creepy and atmospheric film... Hell, he has one shot in RED DRAGON, during Graham's second visit with Lecter... In the workout room... It's just beautiful... Where was I? Oh, yeah... Ratner... He made a very restrained film. It's tight and full of great performances. I can't attest to his SUPERMAN yet, but he's at least proven he can tonally tackle any genre he wants to.
The score! Can't forget good ol' Danny Elfman! Props go to Danny Elfman for his great score! Very sweeping, very creepy. Good job!
Well, squirts. I'm tired. Gotta turn in, but I'll be back with some more coolness before I head out to the MILL VALLEY FILM FESTIVAL in San Rafael, CA on Thursday. 'Til that day, this is Quint bidding you all a fond farewell and adieu.
-Quint
email: If you want to see my Red Dragon, all you gots to do is click here and ask politely!
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Oct 02, 2002 12:57:41 PM CDT
A hearty 'Congratulations' to Mr. Ratner and crew for ap
by johnnytremaine
On a side note:
As the New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman said, there are two types of criticism: the type of criticism that one offers because he wants you to succeed, and a second type full of contempt because one wants you to fail. My criticism, and I'm sure many others', of Mr. Ratner, is of the first category; I want to be pleasantly surprised and entertained at the movies, so I genuinely root for the filmmaker to hit out of the park. -
I read RD, and SOTL a long time before they were made into films. I always thought Red Drogon the best. I didn't like MANHUNTER because it wasn't a decent adaption of the book. I Loved SOTL film BECAUSE it was a near perfect adaptation...
Hanibal was a near perfect adaption of the book, BUT the book was just awful, a major disapointment.
I always thought Ridley Scott was unfairly critised, he did an excellent job, with piss-poor source.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed... -
I went to my college's advance screening last night & I really thought it was very well done. Couple of things:
1.) I also disagree w/everyone who said Ed Norton "sleepwalked" through the role. It's called subtlety, people. Look into it. He was fantastic, as usual.
2.) So Fiennes? Just plain creepy.
3.) I also disagree w/anyone who says you can't tell Brett Ratner directed this. You can. It's got that certain commercialized feel to it. And you just KNOW it's gonna make a crapload of money.
Anyway, saw it, loved it, am recommending everyone go see it come Friday. -
Oct 02, 2002 1:04:18 PM CDT
Michael Mann was RIGHT to change the ending of the book
by osmosis jones
Having seen Manhunter first, then hearing how much Mann had futzed the climax, I picked up the novel and read it last month. Hoo-boy, what a load of slasher-movie crapola! Mann's inspired use of "Innagaddadavida" (or whatever) in his film was a brilliant capper. Still, I want to see this, if only for Elfman's score and to see how Dante Spinotti handles the same material twice.
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But Ed Norton has done fine work in plenty of movies. Primal Fear was his breakout movie, and he deserved not only his Oscar nomination, but also to win. American History X, Fight Club, The People vs Larry Flynt. Rounders wasn't great, but he was good in it. Just in the previews for this movie, he kicks William Petersens ass. Could you imagine William Petersen sharing a scene with Anthony Hopkins? That would have to be one of those matter, anti-matter things that would cause the universe to explode.
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Oct 02, 2002 1:24:52 PM CDT
WAY-THA-FUCK-OFF-TOPIC: Harry, how DARE you post that FAKE Night
by modern_achilles
I mean, JESUS! You're suppose to know better than this! You're suppose to be the "HEADGEEK"! The awful yellow background alone should have alerted your senses that it was a pathetic FAKE! That blue paint was awful.
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Did not suck. It wasn't the best movie in the world, and I was hoping it would go a little farther with the humor, but it wasn't terrible like everyone says.
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That part where the cop comes flying through the window at the same exact moment the music crescendos!! Very artificially timed, since the music is supposed to be playing in the killer's house.
The ending of that movie is cool, but pretty dumb if you think about it even a little. -
Got ahold of a copy of this last week, and really enjoyed it. Not quite as good as Silence, but definatly better than Hannibal.
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Is there any Shriekback in this film?
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Oct 02, 2002 2:53:50 PM CDT
Hey Quint, Did you know that Watson was Jeunet's first choic
by happiwerld111
Because she was
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Harry, weren't you the one saying that what worried you most about the new Superman film was the fact that Ratner was directing it? Why are you attacking the talkbackers for recognizing his hackosity? Are you having some sort of midlife crisis?
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...is that Red Dragon's not supposed to be about Lecter, yet they've gone out of their way to promote Hopkins' involvement in it. They even show the scene in the movie where Graham confronts Lecter. In the book, that scene had already happened.
My major irritation is that Brian Cox was a far and away better Lecter than Hopkins. To be fair, I haven't seen Red Dragon yet, but I saw Silence and Hannibal, and talk about chewing the scenery. Cox's portrayal was cool because he didn't play it as creepy; he was as normal as you and me (well, maybe you). Hopkins' interpretation was too self-aware..."Ooo, I have to appear spooky in this scene." Additionally, I think the hospital where Lecter's confined in Manhunter looks better because it looks like a hospital...again, contrasting the fact that there's a no-holds-barred psycho inside. Demme's version of the hospital is as self-aware as Hopkins..."Ooo, bad guy Lecter lives here, so let's make it look like a haunted house."
I'll probably end up seeing this anyway, 'cause I'm a friggin' lemming, but I've already made up my mind about the whole Lecter debate.
No, thank YOU.
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The part I was talking about where Graham confronts Lecter is where Lecter is actually captured, not the scene in the hospital. Sorry for the confusion.
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I loved Silence Of The Lambs, Anthony Hopkins is the only Hannibal Lecter as far as I'm concerned (but Dennis Farina is the only Jack Crawford). But one thing that always bothered me, when Lecter was moved and was being kept in that cage in the middle of the room, they had what appeared to be just about every cop in the city on the bottom floor, but only two actually guarding Lecter. Oh well, doesn't matter, still a great movie.
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You didn't feel sympathy for Dolarhyde in Manhunter? I thought it did a great job making him sympathetic. that scene where he's almost crying in bed with Joan Allen and puts her hand over his mouth. You can see he's scare because he's found what he was looking for - acceptance and passion. In "Red Dragon" they give us this lame crap about how his mommy tortured him. Bullshit. I'll take Tom Noonan's performance over this one any day. as for 'manhunter' being a poor adaptation ... well, except for the very beginning and very end of red dragon, the story was almost identical. and the opening scene in red dragon is referred to in manhunter. so, really, the climax is different and that's about it. there's similar dialogue, verrrrrrry similar scenes. having said that, i like them both, and the styles they are done in make them difficult to compare. by the way, if you're going for synergy with silence of the lambs, why cast Keitel as Crawford? I don't think Scott Glenn's all that busy and he would have been better. I love Keitel, but he sleepwalks through this flick.
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Because Suzie was my first love squeeze way back in High School when I used to wrangle the weasel watchin' that sitcom Maude. That all ended when her ex-boyfriend came back from Vietnam with a damn eye twitch from some grenade shrapnel explosion that he got while trying to set a rice paddie on fire with a lighter and a can a' Crisco. Fuckin' Crisco!!! Damn pack of dogs chased me down the alley after I stole a can from Forman's supermarket, all growling and breathing that dogbreath on my neck thru their sharp fangs. Almost got me, but I farted out that El Ranchero I ate for lunch and they started squealing and running away. Cowardly four-legged varmints (however the fuck ya' spell it)...
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I like him because his name rhymes with mine
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They've made this into a movie more about the Tooth Fairy than Manhunter did, but they're also making it more about Lecter. Lecter's role in the book is just a cameo; in the movie, it's become a supporting role by adding the backstory and more scenes. The big reason why this is not a true adaptation comes from having Graham ask Lecter for help on everything. Lecter didn't help Graham on his own case (he's a psychologist, not a forensic psychiatrist), and he didn't help him that much on the Tooth Fairy case. In the book, Graham only goes to see Lecter to "recover the mindset," not to get Lecter's help.
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Man, I dont see what the big deal is about him.The most impressive thing he has ever done is get in shape for American History X.
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I for one love manhunter its one of my favorite films.Mann makes films Ratner makes movies it will always be this way.One of my favorite scenes in manhunter is when peterson is at a crime scene,the murdered family one.And he looks at the blood sprays on the wall and says something like"your throat was slashed yet you still moved towards the killer..because you knew he was heading to the childrens room".That scene gives me chills to this day.
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That's too bad because SOTL bit the big weenie. Between Jodie Foster trying to act 'haunted' and Hopkins doing his impression of a ham sandwich, the film was impossible to watch without switching into MST3K mode. Manhunter was a flawed adaptation of the book but it it was still a better movie than SOTL or that abortion Hannibal.
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Ratner can direct. End of story.
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"Oh, Manhunter isn't a faithful adaptation of the book, oh woe is me" - eeeerrrrr, excuse me, but Mann did a great job didn't he? He took the source material and managed to make a film that predated the stupid conception that serial killer flicks all have to look grimy and gothic, and at the same time make something truly eerie. Congratulations to Ratner on his apparent success (and yes, I'll go see it), but don't you think he's running Manhunter down like crazy to make his version seem better? Ratner, be a good boy, shut your mouth, and I'll pay my
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PERIOD.
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Why the fuck didn't you mention Mary-louise Parker?
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he steps effortlessly into the Will Graham role. I loved seeing him doing his usual crazy ass moves to take down the Red Dragon at the end, wild stuff!!
....Chris Tucker is also very good as Hannibal Lecter......I really hope Ratner does a good job of directing Jackie and Tucker in Superman, it will be great to see Jackie in the Superman suit. -
all you idiots are sheep! "duh whats that guy say, mann's bad? i thought ratner was bad, um i like cheese" *booming voice from above* "YOU WILL NOW LIKE BO SVENSON MOVIES AND HATE TAWNY KITAEN MOVIES. THAT IS ALL." "uh duh you know what, i hate tawny kitaen, but that bo svenson is pretty cool" "yeah buts hes only so-so cool, tawny kitaen is extra sucky" "no shes medium sucky, and svenson is high cool" IDIOTS !!!!
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That "cool (place) that looked like a hospital" in Manhunter is Atlanta's High Museum of Art. most of the audience I sat with nearly passed out from laughing when William Peterson went scampering in there to interview Hannibal Lecter.
That shot is so typical of his form-over-substance visual style. Cool building, but a prison?!?
You can take the person away from Miami vice, but ya can't take the Miami Vice outta the person. -
SimpsonsQouteMan, that was some damn funny shit. Damn truthful, too. I personally think Ratner is OK, nothing special. Anybody with a modicum of film knowledge could have filmed both RUSH HOUR films. Maybe he'll change my mind after I see RED DRAGON this weekend. One thing for sure, I'll have my own opinion and won't be a memebr of the dreaded SHEEP!
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"He's the guy you love to hate." Ok, so fucking what, go into detail about the movie not plot, but break it down from different angles, what worked here, what didn't work there? It's just an annoying way to read a review by it being so splash-dash. You may not have even seen the film, it's like filler. "This is your movie." "He's the guy you love to hate." Spare me. I don't know. I'm in a mood.
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Just reading his pretentious crap makes me want to grab him by the throat and force him to follow his real calling in life, video rental sales clerk. Does this clown actually draw a salary for his efforts, or does he do it for the craft and ego?
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bigpackagemax, I've always thought that Brian Cox was a better Lecter, even when Silence of the Lambs came out. And I'm sorry, no one can convince me otherwise.
As to the esteemed Dr. Eddy Jessup...okay, I was unaware that the exteriors were of an art museum. Was Lecter's cell a set, then, or did they film that part on location at the museum, too? I agree that Mann has always put a high emphasis on style, but didn't Demme do the exact same thing in Silence, with Lecter's Bedlam-esque cell? I think Mann's choice of contrast worked a lot better than Demme's gloom and doom, Heart Of Darkness stylings. So laugh away, Doctor. I stand by my opinions. -
IT RUBS THE FUCKIN' LOTION ON ITS SKIN!
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