A set of grisly murders brings FBI Agent Will Graham out of retirement and puts him in search of an atrocious killer who's driven by the image of a painting. Yet his only means of survival and success are to seek the help of another madman, whom he himself captured, Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Marked by past scars and quickly running out of time, Graham finds himself tangled in a heap of madness, sacrificing his work, his family, and above all his own life, to put an end to pure evil.

"To me, you are a slug in the sun. You are an ant in the afterbirth. It is your nature to do one thing correctly. Before me, you rightly tremble. But, fear is not what you owe me. You owe me awe."                   - Francis Dolarhyde

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         When I heard Red Dragon was being released back in 2002, it was another one of those circumstances where I questioned the motive of the filmmakers. Of course I'm talking about the "squeeze a good thing until you've drained every last penny out of it" situation. But when I heard Edward Norton was a leading role in the film, my lack of interest in the project suddenly took a 180 degree twist. To me, if Edward Norton feels the project is worth his time and energy it must be good. Or at least a good concept. Since were on the topic of Edward Norton, we mind as well cover the cast while were at it.
         The actors chosen to bring Thomas Harris' best selling novel "Red Dragon" to life is amazing. Combining the talents of Anthony Hopkins, Edward Norton, Ralph Fiennes, Emily Watson and Philip Seymour Hoffman creates a power house that would make nearly any script spectacular. I was not familiar with Ralph Fiennes' work until he appeared as Francis Dolarhyde, our mentally ill villain in the film. (Ralph later went on to play Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and also Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.) In my humble opinion, there is not an actor on the planet who could've portrayed our villain any better. Fiennes combined the emotions of anger, shyness, fear and rage with precision that only a dedicated and talented actor can accomplish. Then we have Emily Watson, a blind woman seeking friendship and love in a world which feels foreign to her. Stellar performance by Watson. I've been a fan of Philip Seymour Hoffman since his work in Patch Adams. (Yes, I said Patch Adams) Although, his character in Red Dragon is the exact opposite of his portrayal of Mitch Roman in Patch Adams. Nothing needs to be said about Anthony Hopkins, he's amazing as usual.
         One thing I'm extremely pleased with is director Brett Ratner's refusal to mimic the style of directing from Silence of the Lambs. Ridley Scott pissed me off with Hannibal by reenacting many of the shots from Silence of the Lambs in attempts to create another cult-classic block-buster. He failed. But Brett Ratner pulled through and gave us something fresh, not cookie-cut like many sequels/prequels try to pull over our eyes. The direction and tempo of the film was also well balanced. The viewer is not left looking at their watch wondering when things are going to pick up. It's simply a matter of placing the DVD in and you're instantly involved with the film.
         Red Dragon has one of the best twists that I've ever seen in a film. I'm usually pretty good at guessing what's about to happen, but it's very rare that I'm surprised as much as I was at the end of the film. I refuse to give any information that would spoil it for you, but I'll give you a hint. It has to do with a shotgun.
         On a scale of 1-10, Red Dragon scores a 9. Get a copy of this film or die.

          - Harvey Keitel is playing a character originally played by Dennis Farina in Manhunter. In Get Shorty, Keitel played Farina's character during the 'movie within a movie'.

          - Dante Spinotti, who is the DP on this movie, also filmed the movie Manhunter, which was the first adaptation of the novel "Red Dragon".

          - Director Brett Ratner also made Rush Hour 2, in which a Casino named "The Red Dragon" can be seen.

          - Both Sean Penn and Nicolas Cage were considered for the role of Dolarhyde.

          - Anthony Hopkins, Anthony Heald and Frankie Faison all reprise their roles from earlier films in the series. Frankie Faison is the only one of them to have appeared in all four 'Harris, Thomas' "Hannibal" adaptations, having also appeared in Manhunter (in a different role).

          - Ralph Fiennes' back tattoo took eight hours to apply.

          - The Chinese character "zhong" seen in the film doesn't actually mean "Red Dragon". It means "center" or "middle". Red Dragon is an odd translation used just in Mah Jong when played in English; in Chinese the tile is called the "center tile".

          - The Leeds' house previously appeared in Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

          - The painting on Byron Metcalf's wall is a portrait of John Wilkes Booth.

          - Although Anthony Hopkins was more than 10 years older than the first time he played this role, the film takes place before the first one. To help make him look younger some of his wrinkles and crow's feet were removed digitally for the close-ups, and he had to lose an substantial amount of weight.

          - Ethan Hawke was the first choice to play Will Graham.

          - Frank Langella recorded lines as the Voice of the Dragon, but his dialogue was later cut.

          - Michael Bay was offered the chance to direct to the film.

          - Jeremy Piven auditioned for the role of Dolarhyde.

          - Brett Ratner's first choice for the role of Reba was Téa Leoni.

          - After the release Anthony Hopkins said this would be his last portrayal of Hannibal Lecter.

          - Edward Norton says he took every penny from what he made on this film to finance 25th Hour

          - Brett Ratner originally wanted Michael Mann, the director of Manhunter, to do a cameo as a taxi driver.

          - When asked to reprise his role of the film, Anthony Heald wasn't sure if he'd be able to. Tim Roth became a candidate for a younger Dr. Chilton and negotiations began. At the last second, Heald became available.

          - Screenwriter Ted Tally was unaware that Frankie Faison would reprise his role of Barney, and indicated that he would have elaborated on Faison's role if he had known.

          - After finding out that Dolarhyde knows where he lives, Will brings his family to a horse and sheep ranch. A reference to the story of Clarice's childhood in The Silence of the Lambs.