The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:195
Fresh:159
Rotten:36
Average Rating:7.2/10
Consensus: While not the classic its predecessor is, this update is well-acted and conjures a chilling resonance.
Theatrical Release:19-11-2004
Synopsis: Jonathan Demme updates the original 1962 John Frankenheimer classic with plenty of new paranoid twists: This time a sinister Halliburton-style corporation is behind the brainwashing of a Gulf War... [More]
Starring: Liev Schreiber, Meryl Streep, Denzel Washington, Jon Voight
Director: Jonathan Demme
Reviews for The Manchurian Candidate
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Happily, this extremely timely entertainment matches, even perhaps surpasses its predecessor. Full Review |
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4/5 |
Impressively accomplished and highly entertaining, with sufficiently smart new twists to keep you guessing all the way to the nerve-wracking climax. Full Review |
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An intelligent, provocative blockbuster that succeeds on its own merits. Full Review |
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3/5 |
A polished remake of a 60s classic. Full Review |
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73/100 |
Demme’s film is far from perfect and decidedly out-of-date, but it’s a fantastic cast that make this version so successful. Full Review |
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4/5 |
A rare case of the remake being as good as the original. Full Review |
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3.5/5 |
This solid thriller only works if you're unfamiliar with the 1962 original, one of the best films ever made. Full Review |
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Click to read the article Full Review |
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 2/5 |
Click to read the article Full Review |
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Demme's direction is as punctilious as it was in Silence of the Lambs, careful with details and craftsmanlike with storytelling -- although we do have to work a bit to stay on top of things. Full Review |
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2/5 |
The original film worked also as delicious satire, where this wannabe cousin to Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11 ignites unintentional laughs. Full Review |
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3/4 |
...an above-average contemporary remake... Full Review |
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3/4 |
No review available.
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5/5 |
Demme's filmmaking has lost none of its jazz. Full Review |
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86/100 |
With an inchoate admonition implanted in its aggrieved, post-modern heart, Demme's Manchurian Candidate is blippy and fractured and smeared with color. Full Review |
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3.5/4 |
The movie is playing with ideas, and they're important enough to bear thinking about now. What it's playing on are our fears. And they're real enough, and worth addressing. Full Review |
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1.5/4 |
This humorless and nonsensical so-called thriller--a total misread of Frankenheimer's classic original--never quite engages... Full Review |
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4.5/5 |
A superb piece of filmmaking by directing icon Jonathan Demme that surpasses the John Frankenheimer original in ways I didn't think possible. Full Review |
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4/5 |
What is surprising is how fresh Demme’s version is and how close it approaches the original in terms of quality. Full Review |
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3/10 |
the ending is mother of all disappointments Full Review |
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