Red Dragon - 5Star

Cannibal and FBI agent meet up

A lip-smacking thriller

Anthony Hopkins relishes his role as Hannibal Lecter in Red Dragon.

Previously filmed by Michael Mann as Manhunter in 1986, this adaptation of Thomas Harris' first Lecter novel brings the jailed cannibal more to the fore and Hopkins, who played the role in The Silence of the Lambs, deservedly gets the lion's share of tasty dialogue.

Edward Norton grapples gamely with the role of the FBI profiler who needs Lecter's help to catch a serial killer, Ralph Fiennes is creepy as the murderer at large and Emily Watson, as a blind girl Fiennes befriends, and Philip Seymour Hoffman, as a seedy reporter, also give great performances.

****