Red Dragon Review (2002) Worth Watching?

It's about an FBI agent tasked with capturing an elusive serial killer known as the Red Dragon. Oh, and there's this guy named Hannibal in there as well.

Red Dragon was directed by Brett Ratner and stars Anthony Hopkins (from The Rite, The Wolfman, Hannibal), Edward Norton and Harvey Keitel (from From Dusk Till Dawn, Two Evil Eyes).

Before the Silence.

Red Dragon is a remake of Manhunter, with an extra scene slapped on the end to make it a prequel to Silence of the Lambs . The Silence of the Lambs is a remake of Manhunter. Watching all three is like watching the same movie three times. After watching the full Hannibal Lecter series I can honestly say I'm a bit tired of the story.

Manhunter was an original concept and was the movie that introduced Hannibal Lecter to the world. It was an engrossing crime thriller with fantastic character depth and a haunting, very catchy, score. Red Dragon was a watered down shot-for-shot remake of Manhunter. It was a good movie... if you haven't seen Manhunter. It's basically a rushed and and dumbed down version of Manhunter.

The cast, however, was fantastic. Edward Norton, Anthony Hopkins and Harvey Keitel crushed it. They could make any movie watchable. Ralph Fiennes plays the role of the elusive serial killer. He pulled it off, but lacked the disturbing vibe of the original Red Dragon or Buffalo Bill. Both of these dudes were creepy AF. Ralph, not so much.

Red Dragon isn't a bad movie, it just feels a bit rushed which robbed it of any real suspense or tension. There's also a few jump scares sprinkled throughout which felt out of place in this series.

Worth Watching?

If you haven't seen, or don't want to see, Manhunter than yes. If you've seen Manhunter than it's safe to skip this one, unless of course you're just looking for your Anthony Hopkins fix.