FBI criminal profiler Will Graham (Petersen) is called out of early retirement to assist on a serial murder case involving a killer known as the Tooth Fairy (Noonan). Graham enlists the help of imprisoned serial killer and cannibal Dr Hannibal Lecktor (Cox), who is the reason Graham took an early retirement. Soon, Graham and the FBI are entangled in a deadly cat-and-mouse game between the Tooth Fairy, Lecktor and an interfering journalist (Lang).
- Based on the novel Red Dragon by Thomas Harris.
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For a while now, I’ve been hearing great things about Manhunter, the prequel to The Silence of the Lambs. Critics loved it – audiences thought it was okay. So what would I think? After Anthony Hopkins iconic portrayal of Hannibal Lecter, would anyone else trying to fill his shoes look like a joke? Or, since this film took place first, would Anthony Hopkins look like he was the imitator?
William Petersen (of CSI (TV) fame) takes on the lead in Manhunter, and it’s kind of hard not to compare him with his later iconic role as Gil Grissom. For one, he’s a lot younger here. Aside from that, he really doesn’t quite have the Grissom character down pat yet. He’s following the clues as usual, but he’s spending time yelling at the air and pulling a Criminal Minds (TV) “get inside the head of the killer” thing – which he apparently has a hard time handling. His character Will Graham is like a wet-behind-the-ears version of Grissom, and doesn’t quite have the screen presence to pull it off – yet.
Then there’s Brian Cox. He plays Dr. Lecktor (notice the different spelling and lacking first name) in Manhunter, and gives off an entirely different vibe. While he’s been very good in other films, he just doesn’t live up to the future performance of Hopkins. To Brian, this is just another character – not one he’s going to be remembered for. He’s nowhere near as chilling, and watching Will panic after their meeting seems almost laughable.
The rest of the cast has some surprises. Dennis Farina brings his likeability as Will’s boss (even though he’s in the thankless role of pulling the guy out of retirement for another case), and Joan Allen is decent as a blind woman who accepts a ride from the wrong man. Sadly, unlike Buffalo Bill, the villain of Manhunter isn’t that memorable. He actually just seems kind of mentally handicapped, rather than frightening.
The storyline, on paper, seems pretty good in Manhunter. Pulled out of an early retirement (for his mental health) after catching famed serial killer Dr. Lecktor, Will once again thinks like the killer in order to find a family annihilator nicknamed The Tooth Fairy. And, on paper, the trail leading to the killer is pretty solid. Unfortunately, something goes majorly wrong when translating that story to the big screen.
While Petersen seems out of his depth, it’s not just him that fails to entice viewers. The whole film looks like it was shot on a shoestring budget, and rides a fine line just above B movie territory. While it’s a well though out plot, the execution just doesn’t have it. The music doesn’t help either, as viewers may find themselves laughing inappropriately through the film as the cheese factor overwhelms them. It’s mostly in the style of a bad 80’s hair band that never had what it takes for a hit single, and definitely detracts from the tension the film is trying to induce, that’s for sure.
With a good storyline, a lot of things are easy to overlook. Unfortunately, Manhunter, with all the wrong 80’s touches (the bad music, Petersen in small pink shorts, etc.), just seems silly. It’s like a B movie version of The Silence of the Lambs that tries for the same tension, but is hampered at every turn by Petersen’s not-quite-developed acting and a pitiful villain. While critics in the 80’s may have loved this, to viewers now it just seems silly. No wonder it was remade as Red Dragon years later.
