20 Great Movie Remakes With One Miscast Role

While not the best of the Hannibal Lecter films (The Silence of the Lambs will forever be the benchmark), Red Dragon is nonetheless a worthy entry in the series, bringing back Anthony Hopkins as the fine old cannibal, whom FBI agent Will Graham (Edward Norton) reluctantly enlists to help track down serial killer the Tooth Fairy - known by his acquaintances as Francis Dolarhyde, and known to his other personality as the Great Red Dragon (Ralph Fiennes).

Much like The Silence of the Lambs, the film finds its FBI agent balanced and teetering between the two killers and struggling to come out on top. It’s tense, it’s violent, and it’s one of the best movies the now-disgraced (but apparently returning) Brett Ratner made.

Red Dragon is actually a remake of Michael Mann’s Manhunter, which had a serviceable Brian Cox as Lecter, and William Peterson getting it right the first time as Will Graham. Norton was too young for the part of the seasoned agent, but also perplexingly played the character far more naïve and youthful than he needed to, and we know he could do grown-up at that time, given the performance he turned in for American History X four years earlier. This leaves us without a strong tether for the film, following a wishy-washy lead dwarfed by the supporting cast.