Taking A Bite Out Of Crime
In "Dragon," Hannibal (the Cannibal) Lecter is played once again with relish — and probably wasabi mayonnaise — by Anthony Hopkins. But Lecter is such a huge presence at this point that he capsizes the picture's narrative, which is presumably a manhunt for a serial murderer other than Lecter. Lecter is in prison, but a killer is attacking families in their homes on a lunar cycle. The F.B.I. asks Will Graham (Edward Norton), a now retired agent, to help find him before the next full moon. So Graham asks Lecter for help. The best material in the picture is sparkling, drawing-room comedy, like the exchanges between Graham and Lecter. And there are gamey comic moments featuring Philip Seymour Hoffman as the tabloid reporter Freddy Lounds. But while Mr. Hopkins excels at Grand Guignol comic relief, it's tiresome because we've heard it all before. The entire picture is a third-generation Xerox copy: it's a thriller too timid to thrill. — Elvis Mitchell
