The Manchurian Candidate (2004)

Had Potential

I was disappointed. Meryl Streep was the star of this one, she really didn't need the supporting actors. They could have done a lot with this movie which had my attention in the beginning, but once I figured out what was going on (35 minutes into it) it became boring and predictable. I agree with another reviewer, Denzel did what he could with what was given to him, his pitiful character was sad to watch. They could have done more with Kimberly Elyse as well.

The movie wasn't horrible, it's just one that I won't watch again or recommmend. June 28, 2008

A new incarnation that works well

Manchurian Candidate is closer to the original, at least in spirit, than might be expected. But it's not the exact movie, and it hardly could have been. The relevance of the original to today's events counts little to an audience with little sense of history, and that has a hard time drawing meaning from any social context out of its experience. One glimpse of black and white films stock, men in felt brim hats, and cinematic conventions from an earlier era, and most teenyboppers under the age of thirty grab for the remote. Since they will only sit through a first run, it is good that they have one. Fortunately, the update stands on its own.

The new is less dialog-driven, which tends to make it less literate. But this film runs more on mood than on dialog, and Jonathon Demme's just-barely-odd framing and pacing provoke discomfort on a subliminal level. It is not cozy, and is laid out with less detailed explanation. The resulting sense of uncertainty may also be part of why the film is not universally liked.

The remake does solve some of the problems of the first. Gone are the swarthy, vaguely foreign-looking actors standing in for Russians and Chinese agents. Gone are the poorly choreographed ju-jitsu moves that might provoke giggles in a present day audience, used to world-class martial artists on screen, and the multi-racial world commonly reflected on film now, vs the early 1960's.

The new film retains the acting strengths of the original. Every performance is fine. Liev Schrieber's work is worthy of Laurence Harvey's original, a gut kicking performance, though Harvey still holds the edge. Washington's craft is more than a match for Sinatra's unevenly inspired work. (One of the wonders of the first is realizing that Sinatra -could- act, that he did things with rhythm and cadence because those were his only tools, and it worked. He was no method actor, but he very much had something going on.) Streep's scenery chewing is, frankly, perfect. Because unfortunately, really disgusting people actually do exist, and in positions of power. And unlike an actor's performance, criticism of real public figures whose behavior is over-the-top are rarely heard. Seen any Fox commentators recently? Streep's Senator Shaw may well be over-the-top, but the only thing that distinguishes her from the real thing is that she is only playing the role, not embodying it every day of her life.

Make no mistake, both original and remake are thrillers in the paranoid vein, and the overly literal person will likely say of either, "preposterous" -- though the original is a classic. But the literal representation of reality is not what movies are ever about, and such criticisms fail to register with me.

So is this as excellent a film as the original, adjusting for the times in which each was made? No, but it is a good film. It hits in the right places, horrifies us with an incredibly cynical vision of what our nation is becoming, and yet it is offset by the thinnest sliver of a wild, earnest Patriotism. June 16, 2008

Remake of "Candidate" undone

Despite a great cast headed by Denzil Washington,Meryl Streep & Jon Voight, this remake is extremely disappointing. Washington is excellent but changing the plot and making the chief character to be a politician drains the film of whatever suspense and tension the original did have. Demme is no John Frankenheimer, his direction is competent but plodding and I found myself waiting for this film to end rather than being tied up in knots as I did with the original. Washington may be a better actor than Sinatra yet the original contains proof that Frank was a fine film actor (also check out "Man with the Golden Arm" to verify this!)and he delivers. Rent the original and give this one a pass. May 20, 2008

Save Time

Save yourself 2 hours of your time--watch the '62 version with Frank Sinatra and Laurence Harvey. Angela Lansbury is delicious as the manipulative mother!

Every single character in this re-make is stiff, wooden and can't act their way out of a paper bag! May 6, 2008

Nice

A great paranoic flick. I want 2 see the original flick with Sinatra now. Denzel Washington is perfect in that role. February 15, 2008

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