Review of The Manchurian Candidate (2004) by Mohamed A — 03 Oct 2012

Denzel Washington once again shows his brilliance. He is truly one of the greatest actors of our time. Here he portrays an emotionally and spiritually wounded career Army officer with just the right note of humanity, confusion, and terror.

He reacts and navigates through a (frighteningly) plausible scenario where the wheels have come off his world. The leaders and structure he had grown up trusting and serving have revealed themselves to be the real evil, the enemy we should all fear.

Meryl Streep, another great actor, was spookily terrifying as 'Mother', the devil incarnate.The movie entertained, enthralled, and thrilled me at every turn. Further, the object lesson and cautionary tale it delivers makes this required viewing for everyone in the UK, the US, and the world.

It is not a strict roman a clef, but it also wasn't hard to see many of our current leaders' actions and behaviors mirrored in the villainous plots"The Manchurian Candidate" is good on its own.

, it is well directed, and its subject has been made timely.However, I do have a problem with the film. My problem is with the title. I believe the only reason it is titled "The Manchurian Candidate" was to benefit from the aura and popularity of the original 1962 film.

In the new film it is a different war, a different era, a different manipulative international force, a different method of control, and more than one assassin. The way they managed to include the name "Manchurian" in this movie was a real stretch.

I think it would have been far better and more honest to title it "The Corporate Candidate," or some name that fit this particular film.