Review of The Manchurian Candidate (2004) by Carter Y — 01 Jun 2010
This muddled modern day remake of the classic 1962 Cold War thriller about a plot to brainwash an American soldier and then use him as a political sleeper agent is a major disappointment, particularly given the pedigree of the talent involved with the film.
The new 'Manchurian Candidate' simply fails to deliver the tension, thrills, or political paranoia of the original film, which was directed by John Frankenheimer and starred Frank Sinatra as an Army officer whose unit is abducted during the Korean War, Laurence Harvey as a member of the unit who is brainwashed by Chinese communists, and Angela Lansbury as the latter character's politically powerful scheming mother.
This 2004 version, helmed by 'Silence of the Lambs' director Jonathan Demme and starring Denzel Washington, Liev Schreiber, and Meryl Streep, replaces the Korean War with the 1991 Gulf War and the communist Chinese with a corporate conglomerate called Manchurian Global.
The result, despite a superb director and cast, is murky and altogether uninspiring.
This review of The Manchurian Candidate (2004) was written by Carter Y on 01 Jun 2010.
The Manchurian Candidate has generally received positive reviews.
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