With such a paint-by-numbers screenplay and generally uninspired performances . . . it's nowhere near horrible, but it resides of the realm of the completely forgettable
Comment
09/04/04
The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
82
%
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
Conspiracy buffs, thriller aficionados and Denzel fans will likely be satiated … but audiences resistant to remakes might want their Candidate to remain black and white.
09/03/04
Demme serves the picture completely.
08/28/04
An "A" for effort...Still, the frayed plot strands of the 2004 Manchurian Candidate make it a lame duck to Frankenheimer's first-term thriller.
08/23/04
As remakes go Demme's film is one of the better ones, but why does Hollywood insist on remaking classics when there are so many bad ones out there needing improvement?
08/18/04
The Manchurian Candidate, at bottom, has commitment problems. It is more serious and more diverting than your average summer release, but it isn't necessarily better.
08/17/04
Jonathan Demme's reworking of the tale's cold war leanings into homeland security ones are a nice match to the source material.
08/16/04
Strikes me as a very artful cover -- about the cleverest imaginable transliteration of the story from its historical moment to ours.
08/13/04
...the levels of deceit and high-level politics was masterfully handled here.
08/13/04
Despite the political pizzazz and updated plot twists, the film still felt like a rerun.
08/13/04
The subtext of this film is about John Kerry: The Manchurian Democrat.
08/11/04
a political thriller crossed with a horror film
08/10/04
Demme’s trail of dualities surveys a contemporary America that thrives on predatory divisions of profiteers and victims, the rich and the poor, information and truth.
08/10/04
An ambitious example of intelligent summer counterprogramming, this is one remake that doesn't cannibalize the greatness of the original.
08/08/04
Far from a disgrace, but it's not freewheeling enough, not strange enough to make sense of our gathering dread.
08/08/04
If you’re a fan of literate suspense, then “The Manchurian Candidate” is the film to see.
08/07/04
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08/07/04
Beautifully made and unsurpassingly creepy, it's the rare remake with something contemporary to add.
08/07/04
The political satire is subtle, often funny and alarming simultaneously, and the film never forgets to thrill us.
08/07/04
Fast, slick, glitzy...had me asking, "Where’s the beef?"
08/06/04
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