4/4  "But now, we have come almost to the end."
Thank God this film was resurrected after its long disappearance following the Kennedy assassination and the ensuing legal battle over rights to profits. Frank Sinatra gives his finest performance as the brainwashed POW who begins, in nig... (read full)

4/4  The Manchurian Candidate Quick Review
Oh this was soo good. I was thrilled recently to see my purchased copy arrive in the mail. Sinatra's film equivalent to his singing.

3.5/4  The Manchurian Candidate Quick Review
Skip the remake, go for this original. Political intrigue, deceptions, sinister plans - and an incredibly evil Angela Lansbury make this one of the greatest political thrillers of all time.

3.5/4  The Manchurian Candidate Quick Review
A great drama involving an incredible performance by Angela Lansbury. This movie diggs deep into war and those who are a part of it. See this over the remake, and you will see a much better film!

3/5 Fantastic Political Intrigue
  by Acute Observer (North Jersey Shore)
The film begins with soldiers gambling. The flames suggest the Iraq war of 1991. There is an ambush. Sergeant Raymond Shaw won the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions in the battle. Years later Major Marco tells the Boy Scouts about this event. Corporal Melvin tells of his bad dreams. A news program tells of problems for the American people. Congressman Raymond Shaw makes a speech to cheers. "We can prevail." [Who is "we"?] Politicians pick the party ticket. Elly Shaw pleads for her son Congressman Shaw as the VP. It works. Does Major Marco recover a forgotten memory? "Don't touch me." Marco gets his orders and meds. Shaw practices his rhetoric on the public. Later he has a strange experience. What about his brain? "Do you remember me?"

Marco meets Eugenée Rose on the train to New York city. Who would implant a chip in his back? [Does the film start to drag here?] Does the conversation between Shaw and Marco seem real? Is the confrontation too dramatic? "He hit me!" Did the Army experiment on its soldiers? Will that physician work on Marco? Can a brain be rebooted from a crash? Can he recover his memory? [Is the story becoming weird?] Marco reads about "Manchurian Global". Senator Thomas Jordan explains it to Marco. Later he discusses this with Raymond and Eleanor Shaw! Does Jordan have a suggestion to regain the VP slot? Will this problem be neutralized? Jocelyn runs out of the house without a cell phone or firearm! Does it look like an accident?

Is the Shadow Unit watching Marco? Could a powerful corporation use scientists to create global changes? Will friendship trump sworn duty? Does Elly have more balls in her game? There is another meeting between Shaw and Marco. Was this foreseen? Is there a diabolical plot? Will the country be saved? Will there be a dramatic and shocking ending? [You know its coming.] Will the plan go wrong? And so another "lone gunman" changes history again. Will history be rewritten again?

This more complex recreation of the original isn't as good. But it is good enough if you never saw the 1962 film or read the novel by Richard Condon. Was the personality of Elly based on a well-known politician? There was no need for "Manchurian" in the title given the extensive changes in the story. "The Corporate Candidate" would be more apt. Corporations have been controlling politicians since the Civil War era. Before that the privilege of limited liability was reserved only for those who served the public need (water supplies, canals, railroads).
[I wonder if the original story of a lost patrol that led to political success was a subtle parody of PT-109? What would happen to America if someone became President because his father was a powerful politician or Executive?]

3/5 A Missed Opportunity...
  by D. S. Thurlow (Alaska)
1962's "The Manchurian Candidate" was an outstanding classic of an earlier era of movies, crisply shot in black and white and featuring a talented cast and a tightly wound, haunting plot firmly embedded in the tensions and paranoia of the Cold War. 2004's remake also features a talented cast in Denzel Washington, Liev Schrieber, Meryl Streep and Jon Voigt, but misses badly as a movie. Produced for an audience that might only dimly remember the Cold War, the substitute premise of a rogue corporation selling arms fails the plausibility test, while a major change in the plot undercuts the credibility of one of the principal characters.

Major Ben Marco (Denzel Washington) is a veteran of the Gulf War, suffering from nightmares that seem to present an alternate version of a fire fight in which his life was saved by a Sergeant Raymond Shaw. Shaw, played with disquietingly detached deameanor by Liev Schrieber, is now on a greased path to political stardom, coached by his ambitious and prominent mother, played by Meryl Streep. Marco's attempts to resolve his nightmares lead him to contact Shaw and to suspect that his experience in the Gulf was an illusion. Marco's quest for the truth will lead him into a nasty conspiracy involving brainwashing, with a shocking outcome for Marco and Shaw.

"The Manchurian Candidate" has a good build-up, as Marco relentlessly seeks the truth of his experience in combat. However, the movie loses its way in its closing stages. An effort to be original by introducing changes in the basic story makes for an incoherent and implausible ending. 2004's "The Manchurian Candidate" may well be a perfectly acceptable movie for someone who had never seen the original. For those who saw and appreciated the original, this remake is a missed opportunity, worth a look mostly for the outstanding cast.

3/5 2.5 stars out of 4
  by One-Line Film Reviews (Easton, MD)
The Bottom Line:

As far as remakes of beloved films go this one isn't too bad, with good performances by Streep and Schrieber and a reasonably successful updating of the original's premise; however, the ending is such an uninteresting copout that the film as a whole is just barely not worth recommending.

5/5 Amazing!
  by one of a kind
I love this movie. It is suspenseful and kind of creepy to think that our government could do such a thing (as you will find out once you watch the movie). It kept my attention and I just wanted to know what would happen next. I really enjoyed it and felt that it should be a part of my small DVD collection.

5/5 Denzel at his best!
  by Pastor Greg Heenan (Baton Rouge, LA)
This is an excellent movie. Very much like the original but with differences that are done very well. I highly recommend this movie. The acting is fantastic.