One of my all time favorites.

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Thrilling and suspenseful movie. Well produced, acted and directed.The character Mrs. Jacoby is not listed in the credits. I found this interesting because the rest of the Jacoby family was listed, (the husband and 3 children), but not the mother. Would anyone know the reason for this?

After following up the incredible "Silence of the Lambs" with a very-lacking "Hannibal", the Hannibal Lecter series of films goes back to its origins with "Red Dragon". The results are much more enjoyable (if a bit repetitive), making one wonder what might have happened had THIS been the original?For a basic plot summary, "Red Dragon" takes place before the events of "Lambs". Brilliant young FBI agent Will Graham (Edward Norton) finally captures the mysterious Hannibal (Anthony Hopkins), but sustains wounds both psychological and physical in the process. Fast-forward a few years into the future, and Graham must revisit Lecter in order to solve the gruesome "Tooth Fairy" (Ralph Fiennes) murders.Clearly, director Brett Ratner studied the faults of "Hannibal" and made sure not to include them in this third installment. This time, the plot takes the same basic form as the original, only with a new killer and agent. This results in a much better overall narrative and interesting movie. Basically, if you enjoyed "Lambs" then this one will give you a similar experience.Why isn't this film regarded as more of a classic, then? Well, frankly it is because it already WAS done before in "Lambs"! In effect, its greatest strength is also what prevents it from being a true classic. It is (almost quite literally) a "Cut, Copy, Paste" of the original format. This is good in comparison to "Hannibal", but by definition it just can't quite attain the success of "Lambs", since the original is always the original.Overall, then, "Red Dragon" is a solid movie that, truth be told, probably resurrected the Hannibal series of movies and gave it some hope for a future. It completely goes back to its roots to tell an interesting story, and it succeeds in utilizing Hopkins to his fullest. It just won't go on your "best of" list because "Lambs" is already there. One has to wonder, though, what could have happened if this plot would have been the original...?

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

In some places, this film was a great improvement on the book. In others, it wasn't great. I do like how the film cut out a lot of the book's clunky exposition and development. It was a vast improvement in that sense. But I didn't like how they cut out the backstory of Francis Dolarhyde. He was such an interesting character and I wanted to learn more about him. I also didn't like how the film referred to Dolarhyde's character alternately as the Tooth Fairy and the Red Dragon. I found this confusing and it did make the film difficult to follow in places. That notwithstanding Ralph Fiennes was great as the Red Dragon and Anthony Hopkins was wonderful as Hannibal Lecter.Read my full review here: http://goo.gl/JYCsWP