BY LARRY CARROLL | In 1986, director Michael Mann adapted the Thomas Harris novel Red Dragon into a feature film that marked the first screen appearance of a charismatic serial killer named Hannibal Lecter. Fearful of being associated in the minds of moviegoers with the recent flop Year of the Dragon, Producer Dino De Laurentiis changed the name of the project to Manhunter to avoid having "dragon" in the title. It didn't help much, as the film grossed a mere eight million dollars domestically, but those who gave the film a chance were rewarded with a taut, suspenseful thriller.

Five years later, another Harris adaptation brought Lecter back, this time in a film entitled The Silence of the Lambs. Anthony Hopkins, a character actor with great experience but little recognition here in America, donned the prison suit and protective facemask for this go-around. What a difference a few years can make: Lambs grossed one hundred-thirty million dollars, won five Oscars (including Best Picture), and turned Hannibal Lecter into arguably the greatest villain in cinematic history.

Now, after the phenomenal success of Lambs and the 2001 "sequel" Hannibal, De Laurentiis and Hopkins have decided to re-team and bring Red Dragon to the screen once again with Hopkins as Lecter. Fans of the original (and there are quite a few out there) might be inclined to ask why they would bother - news of this remake brought up questions not only about the dearth of original material in Hollywood, but also about the willingness of the De Laurentiis-Hopkins partnership to milk an Oscar-winning film for every dollar that could be had.

I am pleased to report, however, that Red Dragon is every bit as good as Manhunter. It stays true to the original storyline (which is quite possibly the strongest of the three Lecter novels), but still reserves the right to go its own way from time to time. When it does stray, the results are quite satisfactory, so that whether you've seen the original, read the book, or have no idea who Hannibal Lecter is (there must still be somebody out there), you're going to be surprised and scared to death.

Red Dragon is the story of Will Graham (Edward Norton, Fight Club), a top FBI agent with an uncanny ability to put himself into the minds of the deranged killers he is assigned to locate. His biggest claim to fame is that he is the man who captured the notorious Dr. Hannibal Lecter, but Graham knows that it was nothing but pure luck. Spending his days in a self-imposed retirement state following his near-fatal confrontation with Lecter, Graham wants nothing to do with his old job yet can't help but keep up with the serial killer news of the day. When his old friend Jack Crawford (a wonderfully curt Harvey Keitel) shows up to talk the former agent out of retirement in order to help catch a sicko named "The Tooth Fairy", he finds himself having a hard time mustering up much opposition.

While Graham's pursuit of The Tooth Fairy (Ralph Fiennes, The English Patient) is certainly the main story in play, it also acts as a vehicle to introduce us to other well-designed characters, any of who could be the subject of their own movie. Director Brett Ratner (The Rush Hour films) has wisely cast these roles with several of the top supporting actors in today's film community, and each comes through quite nicely.

My personal favorite was Phillip Seymour Hoffman (Almost Famous) as sleazy tabloid reporter Freddy Lounds. Writing for a publication called The Tattler, Lounds has followed Will Graham's career very closely and turned the pursuit and capture of Lecter into front-page news. Now, with Graham on the trail of another murderer, Lounds is determined to use the story to sell a few more papers. There have been lots of memorable portrayals of scrupulous journalists in movies - Robert Downey, Jr. in Natural Born Killers, Danny DeVito in LA Confidential, Robert Duvall in The Natural come to mind right away - and this is right up there with them. Hoffman brings an amazing amount of humanity to the role when you consider the small amount of screen time he actually gets. It pays off in his final scene, when he meets The Tooth Fairy for the first and final time. Hoffman has Lounds to the point where he'd curl up in the fetal position if he only could - half-naked, desperate and begging for help, the man is convinced he's going to die, but you can also see the recognition of hope in his face as the killer taunts him by making him think that he might be able to go free.

As far as acting tools go, the eyes are perhaps the most powerful weaponry. Which makes the performance of Emily Watson (Gosford Park) all the more remarkable. Watson is Reba McClane, the blind woman who manages to calm the beast within The Tooth Fairy by giving him the attention that no one else ever has. Watson projects herself as tender, world-weary, but wanting so badly to trust in others. Watching her fall for the very definition of "the wrong guy", you just want to reach onto the screen and wrap her in your arms and keep her from harm's way. Never for a moment is she anything but perfect in the role, and it is her skillful work that makes it believable when this determined killer actually begins to contemplate changing his ways.

Which seems like it could never happen, because this guy is nothing short of a maniac. The Tooth Fairy is closer to the freakishness of Buffalo Bill (the subject of pursuit in Lambs) then he is to the charming Hannibal the Cannibal. But the tattooed, oft-naked slasher sees enough of Lecter in his own work that he considers the (not-so) Good Doctor to be a mentor of sorts. This sets up a brilliant parallel that has both the pursuer and the pursued approaching Lecter for advice, and no one knowing for sure whether what he's saying can be trusted at all.

One of the many smart things about Red Dragon is that it doesn't rely on Anthony Hopkins and his patented scary face to carry the whole movie, as the mediocre Hannibal too often did. Lecter is a supporting character here, part of a cast of talented actors in solid roles. Rather than making him run around the streets of Florence and ridiculously overpower men half his age, this story maximizes the power that Hopkins can project from behind that glass partition. This allows the potential of Lecter's wrath to remain within the imagination of the viewer, where it is far scarier.

My only real problem with the film is the way that Graham and The Tooth Fairy seem to be, well, watered down. While it might be true that if I hadn't seen Manhunter it might not be an issue, the fact is that the movie is in existence. Because of that, I know that Graham (as portrayed by William L. Petersen in the original) could have been a much darker character. He could have been more of an anti-hero, which makes sense because he spends so much time in the heads of the type of people who could kill an entire family and then put pieces of glass in their eye sockets (for reasons I won't get into here). The old saying goes that if you lie down with dogs you wake up with fleas, and Graham's been lying down with a lot of really, really filthy dogs over the years. This version shows him as too much of a husband and father. Manhunter was a movie about a man fighting with his own demons, hoping he could hold them off long enough to bring one more sicko to justice - this script and Norton's performance only occasionally scratch the surface of the character, and too often he ends up drifting along as a fairly generic cop.

The Tooth Fairy is also a bit of a letdown because I can't help but be reminded of the great Tom Noonan in the same role seventeen years ago. It might be unfair to judge Fiennes based on this - he does a commendable job, baring his soul and rear-end for the part - but as I said earlier, you can't help but make the comparison, and that just makes you realize that it could have been better. Fiennes' portrayal of Francis Dolarhyde (The Fairy's real name) is much more human than Noonan's was, which some might see as being more realistic, but I think it is less scary and often comes across as too derivative of Norman Bates.

Noonan made his Dolarhyde into an absolute monster, more Frankenstein than anything else, and you never knew what he would do from one moment to the next. This made his relationship with Reba more terrifying, even when it was taking place with that horrible Eighties music that Michael Mann pumped into every scene he could: Heartbeat...heart beat...can't you feel my Heartbeat...."

Which brings up one more point that I feel I must address: the time frame of this movie in relationship to the others seems out of whack. This film is clearly supposed to take place before The Silence of the Lambs, which would place it pre-1991, yet in several scenes you can spot items that came along after Lambs (most noticeable is a copy of Mrs. Doubtfire in a drawer of videotapes). Also bothersome is the final scene of the film, which is a cute-enough wink at Lambs, but it is also out of whack. If Dr. Chilton hasn't yet met Clarice, then how can he know that she's attractive? If you watch Lambs, you'll see that Chilton and Agent Starling never meet until she comes into his office and he walks her down to Lecter's cell. These might be minor details to most moviegoers, but fans of the Lecter films might have appreciated a little bit more care towards continuity from Ratner.

Whether you've seen Manhunter, read the Red Dragon novel, or none of the above, you should enjoy the newest addition to the Anthony Hopkins-as-Hannibal Lecter trilogy. The story is smart, the acting is above average-to-excellent, and the whole film will keep you on the edge of your seat. When the credits are done rolling, and your friend asks you what you thought of the movie, you'll no doubt find yourself repeating one of Dr. Lecter's favorite phrases: Goody-goody.

GRADE: B+