Oct. 4, 2002 – Beating its stateside premier by one day, the new Hannibal Lecter thriller, "Red Dragon," opened in the Virgin Islands on Thursday.
Although Market Square East and Sunny Isle Theaters won't have klieg lights brightening the night skies, the lines are bound to be lengthy for the long-awaited film. It is called a "prequel," adapted from Thomas Harris's first Hannibal novel, published in 1981.
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie says in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "'Red Dragon' is the true sequel to 'The Silence of the Lambs.' Even if it is a prequel, this movie restores Hannibal Lecter's macabre fascination. It honors the character and Anthony Hopkins, not the Halloween costumes and campy catch phrases."
The story begins after Hannibal (Hopkins, who in fact has copyrighted Lecter) is once again behind bars, but there's a quirky (for lack of a better word) prologue showing how he got there. He is shown as host to a symphony board annual dinner where, unbeknownst to the diners, the piece de resistance is the symphony's flutist. Hannibal observes his guests with that look of unique contentment only he could muster at such a menu.
The story actually begins some time later. Lecter is locked up in an asylum and Will Graham ( Edward Norton), the detective who caught Hannibal, has retired and moved to Florida with his family. His ex-boss Jack Crawford (Harvey Keitel) lures Graham out of retirement to consult on a bizarre new case. They need the help of Hannibal, who was a brilliant forensic psychologist before his cannibalistic self took charge, and only Graham can get that help. Sound familiar?
This time, the killer is a grim, gruesome serial psychopath nicknamed the Tooth Fairy (Ralph Fiennes) who shatters mirrors and uses the shards to kill entire families. Graham must worm out of Hannibal the psychological means of getting to the Tooth Fairy.
The movie is basically Hopkins. Gillespie says it best: "His Hannibal is a thing of terrible beauty: a silken, horrifying, hypnotic monster. Hopkins has restored Hannibal's demonic grandeur, his soul-sick pride. This is a Hannibal worthy of Jodie Foster."
"Red Dragon" is directed by Brett Ratner. According to one critic, Ratner's direction is "less emotionally affecting than 'Silence,' but it's a movie that gets under your skin." All things considered, that may be too graphic a description.
It is about two hours long and is rated R for violence, grisly images, language, some nudity and sexuality.
It is playing at Sunny Isle Theaters.
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