The Manchurian Candidate on DVD (2004)

A bland remake of a classic film

Philip Concannon from London , 05/02/2005

The fact that Jonathan Demme's remake doesn't live up to the original comes as little surprise, unfortunately the film fails to impress even when taken on it's own merits. Pedestrian and uninvolving, it had me checking my watch within the first hour. It takes forever for the film to set up the basic premise and then never really delivers on it. The plotting is obvious and often ludicrous, leaving some gaping holes along the way.

'The Manchurian Candidate's main strength is in its fine cast, but not the leading man. Washington just seems to sit there in the middle of the screen for long periods, offering nothing of interest until he switches into his twitchy, sweaty, paranoid mode. It's probably the least engaging performance I've ever seen from this normally compelling actor.

Meryl Streep delivers her usual strong performance as Raymond Shaw's mother, and she gets all the best lines, but the real stand-out is Liev Schreiber as Shaw. He's convincingly slick as the aspiring polititian but also vulnerable and racked with doubt when he needs to be. John Voight is excellent in an all-too-brief role but Kimberly Elise is saddled with a very poorly-conceived character that she can't do much with.

The most disappointing thing about 'The Manchurian Candidate' is how a very creepy and unusual film has been transformed into a straight-faced, slick blockbuster, indistinguishable from many other conspiracy thrillers. Demme's tricksy, cluttered direction is annoying, as are his endless point-of-view shots(which worked well in the confines of 'Silence of the Lambs' but not here).

Demme does get one over on Frankenheimer's film with the well-orchestrated assassination climax, but too often this falls short. And its desperate attempts to make everything seem topical and relevant will ensure it quickly dates while the original continues to shine

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Not what you'd expect from the title

A customer from Manchester, England , 31/01/2005

I was very surprised to discover a conspiracy film that has a lot of suspense, a bit of action and an interesting plot. Very entertaining.

Although about war and ploitics, these are only a background for the action.

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Very entertaining!

coleford from Somerset , 15/04/2005

Being a great admirer of the original film with Frank Sinatra, I was curious as to how well this re-make would be.

Despite knowing the plot from the original film I found this version to be very entertaining. Denzel Washington has not disappointed again.

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Hopeless fool

Jellon from Cambridgeshire , 09/03/2005

Ignore any ridiculous reviews referring to this as a 'b-movie'. Whilst the concept is sci-fi, the theme of big business interests controlling the white house is uncomfortably close to the truth.

The current president is a puppet of the oil and weapon companies as is the 'manchurian candidate' here.

The sense of madness and frustration that Denzel Washington evokes is palpable. The direction is daring and original, using the rarely seen effect of dialogue shot straight into the camera.

This film is brilliant and has been wrongly overlooked.

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NOT BAD BIT OBVIOUS THOUGH

A customer from hampshire , 30/01/2006

Quite enjoyed this film although the plot was abit thin

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Manchurian Candidate

robshevlin from Lancs , 21/06/2005

I would watch this film, it is a great film despite being a bit predictable. If you like a contemporary thriller then this is a good one to go for.

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