Final outing for Lecter (From Western Telegraph)

Final outing for Lecter

Red Dragon Directed by Brett Ratner Starring Anthony Hopkins, Edward Norton, Ralph Fiennes, Harvey Keitel, Emily Watson, Mary-Louise Parker, Philip Seymour Hoffman. Cert. 18, Dur. 124 mins

The psycho is back. In 1986 Michael Mann adapted the novel 'Red Dragon' into a movie which he renamed 'Manhunter'. You may not even have heard of it. It starred Brian Cox as a serial killer called Hannibal Lecter... (Are you with me yet?). It wasn't terribly close to the superior source material (the novel by Thomas Harris) and it didn't do well.

In 1991 came the sequel to that first film. Hannibal Lecter is stewing prison when a young but determined FBI agent comes to get help from him in her efforts to catch a serial killer.

Lecter, this time played by Anthony Hopkins, steps forward to tell Clarice Starling all kinds of things about herself, her history and 'The Silence Of The Lambs'. The rest is cinema history.

Hopkins won an Oscar, and his portrayal of the serial, cannibalistic, killer entered our 'world psyche'. Over the years his lines and mannerisms have become some of the most quoted ever. Hannibal Lecter is one of the biggest characters ever thanks, almost entirely, to the performance by Sir Anthony. The depths of evil that he exhibits with his stillness, coldness and, surprisingly, his charm, are utterly fathomless. Even in last year's slightly disappointing sequel 'Hannibal' he was brilliant.

This week sees the release of 'Red Dragon'. So, already made once as 'The Manhunter', 'Red Dragon' tells the story of Will Graham's hunt for a crazed serial killer. Three years after early retirement from the FBI (because of a near-fatal encounter with Hannibal Lecter). Will Graham (played by Edward Norton) is asked by his ex-partner Jack Crawford to come back and solve one latest case.

Two families have been slaughtered on successive full moons by a killer the police are calling The Tooth Fairy (Ralph Fiennes). The police have three weeks until the next full moon to find the madman.

The performances from the support cast are faultless, almost, and the faces on show include Emily Watson, Mary-Louise Parker, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Harvey Keitel, as well as Ralph Feinnes. Edward Norton is great but his role, replacing that of Jodie Foster/Julianne Moore, means that the male-female dynamic between agent and Lecter is missing. But Norton is so good it makes up for that loss of sexual tension.

But it is Hopkins' talent that makes 'Red Dragon' both fantastic and frightening. It's a MUST see, because, although anything is possible in Hollywood, this is almost certainly the last outing for Hannibal Lecter... except in your nightmares. VAUGHAN SIVELL