By Mike Burnett BBC News Online

It is a return to roots, but not to originality as Sir Anthony Hopkins makes his third outing as Dr Hannibal Lecter in US spine-tingler Red Dragon.

Moving away from the gore-fest that was last year's sequel Hannibal, Red Dragon, directed by Brett Ratner, attempts to recreate the chilling atmosphere of the original smash hit Silence Of The Lambs.

But while the film, a prequel to the 1991 classic, works as a competent thriller, it is proof that Hollywood's most famous cannibal should stay locked up from now on.

Even a star-studded cast including Ed Norton and Ralph Fiennes, along with Hopkins himself, fails to lift this remake of Thomas Harris' first Hannibal book above the standard affair.

Philip Seymour Hoffman and Harvey Keitel also join the heavyweight cast

One problem is that Lecter, for all his creepy qualities, has become too much of a familiar character, whose sharp ironic quips are funny, but drain from the drama of the film.

This is obvious from the start as Lecter feeds his favourite culinary delights to some unsuspecting guests at a dinner party in his home.

The action takes place before Silence Of The Lambs, charting the moment that brilliant psychiatrist Dr Lecter is first revealed as a hideous murderer by FBI agent Will Graham (Norton) and his subsequent incarceration.

Years later, after a series of particularly gruesome murders, a mentally-scarred Graham is called out of retirement to track down a killer known as the Tooth Fairy.

Thus, like Silence Of The Lambs, Norton is forced to probe the mind of his old adversary Lecter in order to help catch the killer.

The Tooth Fairy, alias Francis Dolarhyde, is the most impressive character

Where this film differs from the original hit movie is in the twisted but somewhat sympathetic depiction of the Tooth Fairy, alias Francis Dolarhyde, impressively portrayed by Fiennes.

Dolarhyde successfully comes across as a complex character, moulded by years of subjection to intense cruelty, and helps give the film some much-needed depth.

But there are too many flaws that bring the film down.

Despite the computer "de-ageing" process allegedly used in the film, Hopkins simply looks too old to be a younger version of the character he played more than 10 years ago.

It also raises the question: "If it ain't broke, why fix it?"

Harris' novel Red Dragon had already been made into the 1986 film Manhunter by Michael Mann with Scottish actor Brian Cox as Dr Lecter, and many would argue it is the superior adaptation.

The remake might be glitzier and have a more high profile cast, but the Hannibal formula is now looking tired.

Hopkins' hammed-up Lecter and the film's familiar feel often leads to laughter replacing fear as the natural reaction to the scenes of terror, torture and suffering.

Red Dragon still provides plenty of intrigue and the occasional scare, but only diehard fans will be truly satisfied with their Hannibal fix.

Red Dragon opens in the UK on 11 October.