Great Reviews for Richard Armitage as Hannibal's Great Red Dragon are Rolling In

Here below are a few quotes from some of my favorites, and I agree, it was a great beginning.

I haven't watched any of the previous versions of Frances Dolarhyde, or even Silence of the Lambs, so Richard is my first Great Red Dragon.

I also love mysteries and what they call police procedurals, and Nordic Noir. They are my escape, sort of what romance novels are for some readers.  Mysteries in all formats, books, TV series, films, have always been my escape.  So I was in my element last night for Hannibal and greatly enjoyed it.  Seems strange I'm sure for some for me to say I enjoyed, because I was also nervous, horrified, sad for Will, scared and sad for Dolarhyde and scared and yet amused by Hannibal himself. 

I only started watching Hannibal because of Richard Armitage, and have only watched Season 3. Once again I have dear Richard to thank for taking me down a new uncharted path, and once again I've discovered something new that I have grown to like, even with some trepidation.

Thanks to Hannibal also for discovering my compatriot Raul Esparza.  (Sorry, I don't have accents on my keyboard). Donde has estado toda mi vida Raul?  I see people tweeting how much Raul and Richard look alike. I don't really see an exact resemblance to be truthful, though they are both tall, good looking men, great actors, who sing like angels. Though the British did invade Cuba for a short while, so who knows? LOL

Truly, to me Richard Armitage looks like no one else. He's unique. I never understand all these comparisons. 

I also thank Hannibal for rediscovering Hugh Dancy. Only series before this I remember seeing Hugh Dancy in was Daniel Deronda, not one of my favorites.  I don't dislike Daniel Deronda, just not one I seek out to see again. But now I will seek out Hugh Dancy and what he does in the future. 

And Mads....well...Mads Mikkelsen and I go way back.  Right now I'm rewatching one of those Police Procedurals - Nordic Noir series, Unit One, starring a younger Mads. A very different character than Hannibal.  Check it out. 

I did promise some quotes from some of my favorite reviews of last night's episode of Hannibal and our first encounter (for US viewers) with Richard Armitage as the Great Red Dragon. 

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"Armitage is doing a lot of character building without any dialogue here: the operatic self-loathing, the estrangement, the difficulty with identity and reality – as good as Tom Noonan is in Manhunter, he only hints at these deep, percolating anxieties. (Ralph Fiennes was totally miscast in Red Dragon.) In the cold dark night, Dolarhyde rises up, glazed in blood as black as tar."
www.vulture.com  

Read the rest of this review here:

 http://www.vulture.com/2015/07/hannibal-recap-season-3-episode-8.html?mid=twitter-share-vulture

 "When we first see Francis Dolarhyde (Richard Armitage), he's sitting in what appears to be a cafeteria, having coffee, looking over a Time magazine with rapt fascination. On the cover is a reprint of William Blake's The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed with the Sun, one of several paintings the poet and artist produced depicting images of a seven-headed, 10-horned monster from the Book of Revelation.....In just five minutes... capture an element of Thomas Harris's novel Red Dragon that has mostly eluded its two prior film adaptations: Francis's pitifulness and operatic self-loathing." 
www.slantmagazine.com

Read the rest of the review:

 http://www.slantmagazine.com/house/article/hannibal-recap-season-3-episode-8-the-great-red-dragon

 "Let’s talk about this new killer, shall we? We don’t know much about him yet, but the dialogue-free opening sequence in which we were introduced to him was absolutely masterful. After finding one of William Blake’s engravings of Satan, or the Great Red Devil, this man decides that is what he wants to become. His exercise routine (more like an exorcise routine) was absolutely terrifying, as it looked like he was about to sprout wings and horns at any moment."
www.theguardian.com

Read the rest of the recap:

 http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/jul/25/hannibal-recap-season-three-episode-8-the-great-red-dragon

 "Armitage doesn’t utter a word as Dolarhyde, and Marshall, working from a script by Bryan Fuller, Nick Antosca, and Steve Lightfoot, smartly accentuates his physicality, his hands being manipulated into a claw-like form or his back muscles flexing, shifting in the hopes of dragon wings sprouting out suddenly. Even in an episode that saw the giddy return of the inimitable Scott Thompson as Special Agent Price and Aaron Abrams as Zeller, Armitage’s instantly unnerving performance dominated the episode, as the introduction of such a major character should, but never overwhelmed the palette."
 www.collider.com

 http://collider.com/hannibal-season-3-episode-8-recap-the-great-red-dragon/?utm_campaign=collidersocial&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social


This is only a small sampling of the reviews, recaps, and the marvelous interviews with Richard out there in the media. Go search and enjoy, even if you didn't watch Hannibal.

Update:  I just have to add this review this evening. Was thinking today this year marks 10 years since I discovered Richard Armitage (though I've only been an active fan for 6 years). I'm curious about people, fans or even journalists/reviewers who discover him at different points in his career.


"When Richard Armitage was announced as Dolarhyde, I wasn’t sure what to think. I’m not too familiar on his work, as I only knew him as Thorin Oakenshield from The Hobbit. So to say he blew me away in the role is an understatement. He doesn’t even do much in this episode really. We only see the aftermath of Dolarhyde’s murders. All of our time spent with him is while he’s alone and has time to revel in his delusions. He makes a series of mewling noises, he gets tattoos to match William Blake’s “Red Dragon” paintings and he collects news articles about himself while marking out the “Tooth Fairy” nickname he hates so much. Even with all these seemingly unimportant things happening, it’s fascinating to watch."
www.411mania.com 

To read entire review/recap:

http://411mania.com/movies/hannibal-review-3-08-the-great-red-dragon/