Red Dragon

Red Dragon (2002) Most remakes suck. It’s just a rule of the game. But a certain percentage don’t need to hang their heads in shame. This is one, a pretty faithful new take on Manhunter, with Edward Norton as Will Graham and Ralph Fiennes as Francis “Tooth Fairy” Dollarhyde. Emily Watson is the blind girl who touches Dollarhyde’s diseased heart, and Philip Seymour Hoffman is Freddie Lounds, the scumbag tabloid reporter who is burned alive. Always fun to watch. It is clearly the case that the only reason for this to be remade was to get us yet another glimpse of Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lektor, the role much pumped up from the original … but it’s a classic character by now, and a great performance, so who cares? This one is worth a look.