Starring: Edward Norton, Anthony Hopkins, Ralph Fiennes, Harvey Keitel, Emily Watson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Mary-Lousie Parker, Tyler Patrick Jones, Anthony Heald

Directed by Brett Ratner

Based on the Novel by Thomas Harris

Run Time: 124 min
Rating: R
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Drama
Release Date: October 4, 2002

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 68%

My Score: 6.5 out of 10

Synopsis:

Will Graham (Norton) is pulled out of retirement, caused by his capture of Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Hopkins) three years before, to help the FBI track down the serial killer known as the “Tooth Fairy” (Fiennes). But Will is soon forced to work with Dr. Lecter and face the demon from his past to discover the identity of the “Tooth Fairy” before he kills again.

Review:

I wasn’t sure what to expect after watching The Silence of the Lambs as I knew it would be very hard for the prequel to live up to the standard set by the first film. But I was impressed with Red Dragon, although it didn’t have the amazing performances of Silence I found the movie overall a lot more thrilling. This was mainly due to the more intense plot line that had a lot more action to it then Silence, where it was more of a subtle horror, Red Dragon was a bit more in your face. This time around, the killer was a main character and had at least half of the time on screen, and you got more of his side of the story showing more of his madness versus Hanniabl and Clarice making assumptions about him. You still had that aspect of the movie with Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal and Edward Norton as Will Graham, which was interesting, but it lacked the chemistry that Jodie Foster and Hopkins had in the original. But overall for the role of Will Graham, I thought Norton was a good fit for the role and he did a good job with it. 

As mentioned, the plot was a lot freakier this time. You saw murders, you had the killer searching out Graham and his victims through out the film, and that absolutely terrifying scene with Phillip Seymour Hoffman, which you know is going to end badly from the second it starts. Just truly terrifying, which is why I found this one more thrilling than the first film. The plot was a lot more involved with more characters which helped to, as Silence only had Clarice Starling and Hannibal Lecter for 90% of the film, where as this one had a whole supporting cast with some great performances. Notably, to Phillip Seymour Hoffman for playing the part who has the living crap scared out of him, and then to Emily Watson as the blind lover of the serial killer who is unable to tell what she has gotten herself into until it is far too late.

Final Thoughts:

A more in your face thrilling ride than The Silence of the Lambs, but lacking the stellar performances, Red Dragon is a great horror thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat for sure!

Starring: Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton, Joan Allen, Albert Finney, David Strathairn, Louis Ozawa Changchien

Directed by Tony Gilroy

Run Time: 135 min
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Mystery, Drama
Release Date: August 10, 2012

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 55%

My Score: 7 out of 10

Synopsis:

Aaron Cross (Renner) is government operative in a special experimental section, but with the mess of Jason Bourne discovering Operation Blackbriar, the section is shut down and Cross is hunted down so that the government can keep their dirty secrets of what they were doing to Cross and other agents from getting out to the public.

Review:

The movie was good. I was worried going into it as it was Bourne without Bourne and it seemed to weird and wrong to work. But the film provided exactly what it needed to provide and I have faith in what seems to be the reboot series of Bourne. Jeremy Renner was the perfect choice for the role, he was able to deliver the same type of character Matt Damon gave to Bourne, so the Bourne mentality to the movie was very alive and present. The rest of the cast was good, but they didn’t bring anything incredible to the film.

The problem with the movie was that it was to similar to The Bourne Identity, way too many parallels for the movie to stand on its own easily wihtout looking like a rehashing of the first film with a new character and plot. But the plot was interesting, going in a more scientific direction than the political way the original series went, which was a nice change though it wasn’t as exciting as the political way the original three went. The other major problem with the movie was that it was a same time sequel as The Bourne Ultimatum, which is a very cool concept, except you weren’t give enough information on The Bourne Ultimatum to figure out where in the timeline you were as it did have an effect on the movie as key events in that film highly influenced this film. 

The action sequences were very good though. The least you can say, you will always be delivered good action sequences so its impossible for the movie to bore you. The motorbike chase scene at the finale of the movie was very cool, but the best one was the one in the house where he was saving Rachel Weisz’s character, got the full Bourne mentality there and it was just great!

Final Thoughts: 

A decent summer action flick that delivers a very entertaining thrill ride, but misses what made the other Bourne movies so different from most action films.

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Edward Norton, Jason Statham, Seth Green, Mos Def, Donald Sutherland

Directed by F. Gary Gray

Run Time: 111 min
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action
Release Date: May 30, 2003

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 72%

My Score: 7.5 out of 10

Synopsis:

When a heist goes seriously wrong in Venice and Steve (Norton) takes all of his team’s share of the job and leaves them for death, Charlie (Wahlberg) gets together the same team and Stella (Theron) to take back the gold from Steve.

Review:

The movie is a lot of fun. The plot is basic enough, get the gold back and get revenge on Steve for double crossing them. The only problem is Steve thinks they are all dead so it becomes a game of cat and mouse to gather all the information they need to break in Steve’s house and get the gold without Steve figuring out they are alive. This makes the movie a lot of fun, and it has such an entertaining cast it makes it a veyr easy movie to watch and enjoy over and over again.

Then there is the big action sequence at the end of the movie were they actually go for the gold, and they all drive around in Mini Coopers through out L.A. It’s a great fun scene that truly makes the movie as let’s face it, how many action movies have you seen that has three Mini’s driving around in the big action sequence. You just can’t beat that!!

Final Thoughts: 

Although it doesn’t have the most intriguing plot, the plot is good enough and the final action sequence is wicked which makes The Italian Job a excellent action flick to enjoy over and over.

Starring: Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, William Hurt, Tim Roth, Ty Burrell, Tim Blake Nelson, Robert Downey Jr.

Directed by Louis Leterrier

Based on the Marvel Comics

Run Time: 112 min
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Superhero, Action, Adventure
Release Date: June 13, 2008

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 66%

My Score: 6 out of 10

Synopsis:

Bruce Banner (Norton) is hiding out in Rio de Janeiro after the horrible accident that turned him into the monster he changes into when he is mad. But he is discovered there by General Ross (Hurt) and he sends in a team led by Marine Emil Blonsky (Roth) to capture Banner. But, Banner turns into the Hulk and escapes and flees to the United States to retrieve data that he believes his ex-girlfriend/scientific partner Betty Ross (Tyler) may have to find a cure for his problem.

Review:

This movie wasn’t bad. The action was entertaining, but the plot was very loose and the acting was so-so. Special effects made the action sequences. Unfortunately, the Hulk story is not done any justice and causes the movie to ultimately fail and be more popcorn crunching entertainment. The film does play as a nice interlude into Marvel’s “The Avengers” when Tony Stark (Dwoney Jr.) appears and announces that he is assembling a team, so the movie fits into the over arching plot line by putting Bruce Banner in the right position for “The Avengers.” Norton and Tyler were probably the best picks for the leads, but due to a poor script and plot, they were unable to give good performances and the chemistry between their characters was limited.

Final Thoughts: 

A entertaining action film and perfect set up for “The Avengers”, but nothing more than that.