Ranking Every Hannibal Adaptation Worst To Best

Based on the 1981 novel of the same name, Red Dragon is the fourth film in the Lecter franchise, and serves as a prequel to the events of The Silence of the Lambs. This film marked the third and final time Hopkins took on the role of the notorious cannibal serial killer.

The story details the initial capture and imprisonment of Lecter due to his relationship with FBI Agent Will Graham. The two men worked together to create a psychological profile of a serial killer who was consuming various body parts of his victims.

As the profile develops, Lecter is implicated and the two men nearly kill one another in a struggle that leaves Graham almost disemboweled while Lecter takes a few arrows and a slew of bullets. He is subsequently tried, convicted, and sentenced to life in prison. Eventually, his expertise is needed once more when a new serial killer called the Tooth Fairy kills entire families on the full moon.

This film may not have worked had it not been for the performance by Edward Norton who could play a corpse and make the movie watchable. While this movie wasn't better than the film and novel it was based upon, it was still an exceptional movie and one every fan has to watch if they love the franchise.

Red Dragon was the story that began the franchise and while it wasn't the first adaptation of the novel, it stands as a highly successful adaptation.