ou may want to skip dinner before seeing the new installment of the Hannibal Lecter franchise. Unless, of course, you have a bit of Chianti and some fava beans.   Sir Anthony Hopkins (Meet Joe Black, Titus), whose character was voted Hollywood's scariest villain, is back in his third movie about the diabolical doctor gone mad.   Based on the chilling trilogy written by novelist Thomas Harris, his first appearance was in 1988's Silence of the Lambs with Academy Award winning actress Jodie Foster (Panic Room), where audiences were introduced to the true face of horror.   Back then, he was collaborating with a nearly-graduated FBI cadet to catch a deadly and impulsive killer. In 2001's Hannibal, the sexy Julianne Moore (Magnolia) took Foster's reins as Agent Clarice Starling, who finally confronts Hannibal years after his hospital escape.   Red Dragon, the Silence of the Lambs prequel, shows the more human side of Lecter as a trusted, working professional and how he evolved into the nefarious liver-eating Hannibal "the Cannibal."   There are many scenes of the young Lecter, but no one else could ever dare play the evil character but Hopkins himself. Director Brett Ratner (Rush Hour 1, and 2) applied computer graphic effects to remove wrinkles and take years off Hopkins's face.   Ratner says the story is told chronologically, but in the book it is told in flashback. "I mean, you knew they capture Hannibal, but you didn't really see it," says Ratner. "So we chose to show events as they happened preceding Jack Crawford going to ask him to come and catch the Tooth Fairy."   Ratner said that Hopkins worked hard to portray the younger Hannibal Lecter. "He was on a workout regimen and lost 20 pounds," said Ratner. "He is back to the weight he was during Silence of the Lambs."   Yes, there was a time when Hannibal actually helped his patients instead of eating them. But when the urge took over, he started a vicious chase with FBI Agent Will Graham, played by Edward Norton (Death to Smoochy). To help Graham through the psychological maze, he gets some tips from FBI mentor Jack Crawford, executed by Harvey Keitel (Little Nicky).   While Graham almost loses his life capturing Lecter, justice is finally served and the doc is put behind bars. A dramatic case indeed, it forces the young agent into an early retirement.   But years later when all seems calm, another killer strikes. We quickly learn that Francis Dolarhyde, nicknamed the Tooth Fairy, is not so appreciative of human life and has no remorse for ending the lives of entire families. Portrayed by Ralph Fiennes (Sunshine), the FBI has no idea how to stop the troubled Dolarhyde before his next killing spree.   Yet they know of one person who can help, and that man is Hannibal Lecter. Now nestled safely behind the gates of a maximum security jail, he enjoys doodling and sports fashion accessories like body restraints and his famous mouth piece.   With Lecter's guidance, Graham confronts his dark past to search deep within the killer's mind. In the process, twists and turns from all angles are used to thwart the now-retired FBI agent where he risks losing his sanity to the mastermind of evil. - Zack Medicoff