Red Dragon (the remake)

[IanS]

I just saw the new installment in the Hannibal series and I think this will go over better with the public than the over the top sequel "Hannibal" It wasn't as intriguing as "Silence of the Lambs" but I didn't expect this one to top it. (I saw Manhunter a long time ago and I enjoyed this one more)

What was great about this film was when the wife of Special Agent Will Graham goes out to practice with a revolver after their family was threatened. This is one of the few films that I have seen that is unequivocal about relying on a gun to defend oneself and their family. Granted, she is the wife of a law enforcement officer but she is a civilian nevertheless.


********Spoiler************Warning***************



*********** *******Don't tell me I didn't tell you so




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At the end of the film both he and his wife defend themselves from the killer that is stalking them. Its fictional, but a good vindication against the frequent images on celluloid where guns in the hands of non-LEO's only end up hurting themselves.

I also loved the scene where Special Agent Will Graham relies on his BUG against Hannibal the Cannibal.

 

[BamBam-31]

Yeah, I thought it was a pretty good movie. It got lukewarm reviews, but the audience I saw it with sure seemed to enjoy it. Hannibal should host the next MTV Music Awards or something.

Spoiler warning:

I had a long day at work before the movie, so I may be wrong. At the end, Graham pulls out a revolver from the closet to gun down Dolarhyde, right? He and Dolarhyde then have a shootout in the hallway, with the wife caught in the middle. Only Dolarhyde isn't quite dead yet, so the wife picks up Graham's SEMI-AUTO?? and shoots Dolarhyde dead.

Did I miss something?

Anyways, overall, it was a rather enjoyable movie. Especially compared to some of the other stuff out there currently. Better than Hannibal, not quite Silence of the Lambs.

 

[Spackler]

I'll leave some spoiler space...
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What did Graham carry in the movie? In the novel and the film "Manhunter", he carried a Charter Arms .44 special.

There's a cool scene in Manhunter where Jim Zubiena, playing FBI SWAT leader Spurgen, instructs Graham to load his .44 with Glaser Safety Slugs, which he gives to Graham in a plastic baggie. Zubiena is a real shooter. He's the guy who played the Argentinian hit man in the first season Miami Vice episode "Hit List". Watch him in that show and you can tell he knows his way around a pistol.

I enjoyed Manhunter a great deal, though I imagine the new movie has quite a different look. I like the way Manhunter is all slick and glossy. It's a neat snapshot of the whole 80's look.

 

[bobs1066]

Spackler, I agree with you on Manhunter, it is a vastly underappreciated movie.

You never actually see a lot of gore in it, but you know that just off-camera unspeakable things are going on. I didn't see Manhunter in its first release, just on video & it was on broadcast TV one time.

Oddly enough, there were two scenes in the broadcast version that were not in the video version I saw...

 

[IanS]

Bam-Bam,




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When Will runs to his closet to get his gun its a 2 1/2 " Ruger SP-101 (before its time). After he shoots it out with Dolarhyde he warns his wife to shoot D. again. She then picks up a Walther PP and unloads it on his face. I know, it didn't seem like Will had the time to pull out both guns. But througout the movie Will ALWAYS SEEMS PREPARED with a backup for every contingency. Whether they're guns, knives, or arrows.


I believe his primary carry was a blued S&W auto carried in a Galco Miami Classic or strong side carry. I couldn't tell whether it was 9mm or .45

 

[Cosmoline]

I thought Silence of the Lambs was amazingly stupid. I could never get beyond the absurdity of little old Hopkins biting people's faces off, overpowering guards, etc. Nobody can bite your face off. First of all, the skin on your face and neck is amazingly strong and flexible. It takes a VERY sharp high-carbon razor to cut it off for operations, and even then it will dull the blade quickly. Secondly, any confrontation between your cheek bone and an old man's teeth will only end one way--BROKEN TEETH! There isn't even a contest. This is why there is no martial art based on biting people ;-)

Yet we hear that Lecter bites off a nurse's face and see him biting a guard's face. The guard just yells, flailing like an idiot teenage victim in a slasher film. Maybe this works for Friday the 13th, but this crud won an OSCAR!

The facts of life--only animals with jaws twenty times as strong as ours and much sharper fangs can do what they claim Hannibal did.

 

[Spackler]

Yeah, you know, it's a MOVIE. I guess you don't see to many Sci-Fi films either. No such thing as space ships.

 

[BamBam-31]

But throughout the movie Will ALWAYS SEEMS PREPARED with a backup for every contingency. Whether they're guns, knives, or arrows.

Aaahhh. Makes more sense now. Thanks for that.

I remember Will observing the arrows in the den and pocketing a second knife from the kitchen, but I don't remember seeing the Walther before his wife actually picks it up.

Consistent with Will always having backups, though. I only paid attention to Will's revolver because I wanted to see if it was one of those infamous Hollywood 17-shot models.

 

[GnL]

If I'm not mistaken, when Graham was teaching his wife to shoot the bales of hay, there was no muzzle flash at all from that gun. Just a lot of noise and an invisible bullet.

 

[Gomez]

On the gun incongruities in Red Dragon:

Dolarhyde uses a Glock in the final sequence. Glock didn't exist in the early 80s, when the story takes place. Will carries a S&W blued steel 9mm, probably a M459, in a Galco Miami Classic tan Shoulder rig, which wasn't real popular prior to Miami Vice and may not have existed in that config at the time of the movie. Anyone who carries a gun as low slung as Will's Galco rig doesn't strike me as someone who would be terribly proficient at accessing his backup gun, which he does with a quickness.
Then there's the practice session where he teaches his wife to shoot, the gun is never at eye level, because then you couldn't see her face while she's shooting!!! Hollywood uber alles. And, of course, the magical revolver/semiauto transition in the final sequence.

And Cosmoline, there is a martial art based on people biting people, it's called Kina Mu Tai and it's from the Philipines.

 

[answerguy]

"If I'm not mistaken, when Graham was teaching his wife to shoot the bales of hay, there was no muzzle flash at all from that gun. Just a lot of noise and an invisible bullet."

Hell, there wan't even an attempt at pretending the gun had any kick either.

 

[New_comer]

there is a martial art based on people biting people, it's called Kina Mu Tai and it's from the Philipines

<Gulp>

I'd stick to stick-fighting or "arnis"... <pun not intended>

And leave the people-biting to IronMike!

 

[vulcan]

Answerguy, I told the wife that in the theatre,No recoil or muzzle flash! She just elbowed me in the ribs. Some people are no fun with hollywood gunplay critiques! I dodged seeing a"chick flick" with her anyway.

 

[JohnKSa]

Thanks for the review--and ESPECIALLY for the spoiler warning

I'll give it a looksee.

 

[TexasVet]

Read the book years ago and flippin' love the original movie "Manhunter" with William Peterson (currently of CSI). (Hey, it uses almost the entire length of In A Gadda Da Vida in the climax!) Can't even picture that wimp actor as Graham. Absolutely horrid casting. Won't go see it because of him.

 

[Larry Wright]

Peterson played a pretty decent Texas Ranger in one of the Lonesome Dove spin-offs. I noticed some of the inconsistencies in Red Dragon but it was entertaining..

SPOILER ALERT








I found it to be like "Fatal Attraction" years ago when a group of our friends (married couples)were sitting around talking about it. One of the guys said "the lesson to this is not to cheat on your wife" (a sentiment I totally agree with) and I said "Like Hell, it's to have a wife that can shoot straight!" Red Dragon re-proves that very important point at the end.

 

[Joe Demko]

Saw it Friday night. Overall, a very good effort. Where it tended to lag, IMO, was in the parts dealing with Dolarhyde's relationship with the blind girl. Those parts of the book were very affecting because we were aware of Dolarhyde's internal dialog which was absent in the movie.
Anthony Hopkins was very entertaining doing his interpretation of Dr. Lecter. The other supporting actors were, likewise, good.

 

[k5blazer]

Thought it was a entertaining movie except for the actor who played Graham. I thought William Peterson did better in 'Manhunter'. Liked the movie better then 'Hannibal'

 

[BamBam-31]

Wow. That's two negative reviews of Ed Norton.

Personally, I think he's one of the better up-and-coming actors of his generation. His performances in "American History X" and "Fight Club" were amazing.

True, his role in "Red Dragon" isn't on par with those performances, but part of that is to be blamed on the role itself. I thought Norton did what he was supposed to with the role.

My two cents.

 

[Larry Wright]

Bam_Bam 31, agree Norton is a fine actor. I think Graham was supposed to be a dedicated, resourceful agent not some hotshot, super cowboy. When the chips were down, he did what had to be done. As is stated here all the time, the mind is the deadliest weapon and he used his to great effect. Norton was also great in Primal Fear (I think, that was the name with Richard Gere) and in a flick with heist flick with Robert DeNiro, Angela Basset and Marlon "I can't believe I ate the whole thing" Brando. I don't know what his politics are, and I'm scared to find out, but he's probably the best "young" actor out there today.