Using his uncanny ability to get inside psychopaths’ minds, former FBI agent Will Graham (William Petersen) returns to action to hunt down a serial killer. Graham retired after catching Hannibal Lecter (Brian Cox) and subsequently suffering a breakdown. Now, he engages in a risky cat-and-mouse game with Lecter to capture a new killer. This gripping psychological horror film is based on the novel Red Dragon, the prequel to The Silence of the Lambs.
I have to come clean and say I am very biased on movies made in the 80’s. The 80’s were a great time. It is when I went to college. It was the first time I kissed a woman; it was the first time I got drunk. All these stories are going in my memoirs.
I can’t help but appreciate the music, clothes and technology we see in this movie. Who remembers Polaroids? Do they still exist? Do families still watch home movies with a screen and projector?
Netflix recommended this movie to me as I rated “To Live and Die in LA” pretty high. Both movies starred William Petersen. I can see why they picked him to star in CSI.
It was a hoot to see Stephen Lang in a very different role from his character in Avatar (tough bad guy Colonel Miles Quaritch). He plays the not so tough Freddy Lounds, the annoying press guy. I also noticed Chris Elliott (former SNL regular) and Dan Butler (Bulldog on Frasier) in small roles. This movie had a plethora, a cornucopia of great actors.
I should probably talk about the movie. I am sorry I went on a tangent. It is a good story. I was really impressed with Tom Noonan as the serial killer Francis Dollarhyde. His performance was chilling. William Petersen and Dennis Farina played the standard good guys. They did not do anything that stood out but were satisfactory.
It is a 3 star movie but I am giving it 3.4 stars for the nostalgic value.
Click here for the Netflix link in case you would like to add it to your queue.
All the best,
Alan
Alan Zibluk
The Film Movie Critic
http://www.filmmoviecritic.com
E-mail: the@filmmoviecritic.com
