Review of The Manchurian Candidate (2004) by Stephen S — 09 Feb 2014

[PARAGRAPH INDENT] I read this book a year or two ago as the ultimate political thriller, and although (by today's standards) it wasn't all that thrilling, it was an excellent book that I've been wanting to read again.

[PARAGRAPH INDENT] It's been made into a movie twice - once in the sixties (which I tried to watch after reading the book, but involves a laughable scene of Koreans punching out American troops with cheesy sound effects, and then a white guy playing the Chinese brainwasher) and once, here, in 2004 with Denzel Washington and Liev Schrieber.

[PARAGRAPH INDENT] This is a well made film, but it's ultimately a bit of a flop. It was well reviewed, and it was suspenseful as hell, and certainly well acted, but it's similarity to the source material is something akin to Hawkeye's "Bourne Legacy" to original Ludlum novel.

[PARAGRAPH INDENT] I'm not a purist. I'm really not. In fact, I think it's somewhat pretentious when people scoff at well made cinema because in the books the character had red hair or some such. I understand perfectly that (and this book is an excellent example) certain shorthands must be made. But in this case it didn't work.

[PARAGRAPH INDENT] Without giving spoilers, there's a reason why the novel was great. There's a theme in there that sheds a light on the society of the time (1950s). There's a motive that stands out other than just raw, naked power and money cloaked in a lot of newscast voiceovers. Johnny Iselin is what makes the book, and he's completely cut from the film. Moreover, the politics are so bland in the film as to render the entire conspiracy moot. The politics were strong in the book. Here, you've got Raymond and Jon Voight's characters positions being virtually identical, which makes you wonder what the point of a coup d'etat is. And it completely cuts out the communist connection for this backdrop of the War on Terror and some corporate conspiracy, and renders "Manchuria" nothing more than a brand name.

[PARAGRAPH INDENT] It is a decent movie, and I do like Denzel Washington, and I think Liev Schrieber is great here, but it's probably best watched without having read the novel.