I still remember the first time I watched Silence of the Lambs. Its one of those movies that freaks the life out of you… but you really can’t explain why, other than the fact that Hannibal is one of the most brilliant film villains of all time. There’s just something so suave about him, so brilliant, so frightening… and so darn cool. All brought to life by one of the best individual performances of all time courtesy of Anthony Hopkins.
Then came news of the sequel, Hannibal. Sadly, the film had a strike against it before day one of shooting began, Jodie Foster had decided not to reprise her role as Clarice. Julianne Moore did a great job filling in… but the character already belonged to Foster and seeing someone else in the part never felt right. Not to mention, the movie didn’t live up to it’s predecessor at all. It was a half decent film (I will always remember Ray Liotta getting his brains eaten), but no where near as special as Lambs.
Last night, before going to bed, I sat back and watched the third installment again. I had forgotten just how good Red Dragon was. I’d go so far as to say that I LOVED it. Unfortunately, I think the general movie going audience had already made up it’s mind that the Hannibal franchise was in decline and that the third one would be a bust. Red Dragon never did do all that well at the Box Office (although it was certainly no bust) and I’m still surprised at how many people I talk to that have never seen it.
After seeing it again, I began thinking to myself “There’s still gas in this tank. I hope they do another one”. The fact of the matter is that Hannibal is just too damn cool a character to not explore further. No, I don’t think another “prequel” is the way to go (I still want to know if Lecter cut off his own hand or not!!!). Get Foster back on board and I think there is still another good story to be told. Look, I’m not one who thinks you should make a sequel just for the sake of making one… but there’s just too much story still to tell, and I for one would like to see it told. Not to mention, I don’t think Hopkins has come across a role that’s truly been worthy of him since Lecter that’s allowed him to really show off his talent (except perhaps Shadowlands).
