Remakes have never really been Hollywood's thing. Usually anyone who has had the time to watch the original version of a remade film will balk at the idea of it being remade, especially when there's no point other than to cash in on someone's idea. Usually with these types of remakes, "updating" is restricted to costume changes, and "adaptation" usually means taking the story and mixing all the T & A parts to some flavor-of-the-week song while cutting out all the relevant material. But of course, there's always an exception to these Hollywood remakes, and The Manchurian Candidate is 2004's.

The Manchurian Candidate, a remake of the 1962 political thriller starring Frank Sinatra, takes the themes, ideas, and paranoia in the original 1962 version of the film and updates it to make it even more relevant and creepy. But, instead of trying to change the movie drastically to suit it's message, The Manchurian Candidate sticks to what made John Frankenheimer's 1962 version so classic while updating a few aspects to get the best of both worlds. The Manchurian Candidate offers some memorable thrills while also leaving a lasting image in your head after the film ends, which automatically makes it one of the best films of the summer.

The story begins in the first Gulf War in Iraq circa 1991, with the burning Kuwaiti Oil Fields in the background. Captain Ben Marco (Denzel Washington) and his men are ordered to patrol the surrounding area to look for insurgents and to keep the peace. While riding through the desert at night, the troop is ambushed by rebels wielding mortars and rockets. What every soldier except the two that died in the gunfight remembers (and they can describe it in exactly the same words) is that Pvt. Raymond Shaw (Liev Schreiber) risked his life to take down the insurgents and save the company's lives. Consequentially, he wins the medal of honor and finds himself a very popular political figure in his home state of New York. Fast forward 13 years into the future, and Marco, still in the Army, continues to make speeches about Shaw's bravery and how well-deserved his Medal of Honor was. After the speech, Marco is confronted by Al Melvin (Jeffrey Wright), one of the men who served under him in Iraq. Al claims to have recurring nightmares about what happened to him and the others in the Gulf War, contrary to what everyone in the company believes, and has a book full of haunting images and recorded nightmares that repeat each night. Despite having the same dreams as Melvin, Marco flatly denies anything and leaves his former friend to his own devices.

This all takes place during the preparation for the 2004 election. An unnamed party seeking to dethrone the opposition has already decided that the key to the winning ticket is through Presidential Candidate Robert Arthur (Tom Stechschulte) and Vice President Thomas Jordan (Jon Voight). Still, a very influential senator in the party, Eleanor Shaw (Meryl Streep) doesn't want Jordan on the ticket instead wants her son Raymond on the ticket. After a melodramatic but convincing argument, the party makes a last minute switch from Jordan to Shaw. It is at this time that Marco, watching the improbable switch occur before his eyes, realizes that a sinister plan is afoot, and that the nightmares he suffers about Iraq from have something to do with it. He knows that both Shaw and himself are both involved somehow, and must figure out what really happened to him and his company in Iraq before it's too late.

The updated premise works perfectly for the Manchurian Candidate, and instead of being a ham-fisted or anachronistic, out of place political allegory, the movie is a not so subtle commentary on the contemporary state of affairs that works very well. It intelligently plays on the paranoia of the audience much like the 1962 version did. Whereas the original version dealt with Chinese Communists as the main antagonistics (hence the "Manchurian"), the new version throws large corporations into the fray (the main corporation portrayed in the film is called Manchurian Corporation). In the age of Enron and an absurd amount of white collar corruption, it works. While everything the movie points to isn't meant to be taken literally (Corporations doing what they do in this movie would be a bit crazy), it still proves quite a point. Another pro of the movie is that it doesn't require you to understand or care for this brand of commentary to enjoy the film. It works as a tense thriller and as a political commentary, but it's not so absorbed with their aspect that it ends up a bad film. Instead it perfectly balances out the two.

Another major plus for the movie are the solid performances that carry the film and make it even more memorable. Denzel Washington, while definitely adding quite a good amount of depth and intrigue to his character, plays Marco the way he plays many of his other characters in other films; in other words, there are alot of similiraties between Ben Marco in this film and Washington's character in other films. Still, he has a commanding presence and makes Ben Marco the perfect protagonist; an honest man looking to figure out the truth. Liev Schreiber on the other hand literally looks like he was taken straight off the set of the 1962 version of the film, with his appearance, voice, and overall acting. Unfortunately, he comes off as a bit wooden in many of the scenes, and really doesn't make himself much of a memorable character. He still offers a decent performance, but is overshadowed often by both Washington and Streep, who he shares screen time with very often.

The scene stealer of the movie by far is Meryl Streep as the cutthroat, ruthless, and incestous Senator Eleanor Shaw. The comparisons to Hillary Clinton are pretty spot on at points, even past the appearance. Streep plays her character with the perfect mix of over the top melodrama, evil, and a good amount of pyschosis thrown in for good measure. Washington and Streep effectively carry the movie on their shoulders, and each scene with them (especially with Streep) is tense and interesting. Streep's character also serves as an important tool for the movie's message. Although we never learn about the "party" looking to get their candidate in the white house, Streep's performance tells us alot about the party, which is quite an accomplishment. Another noteworthy performance is John Voight as Senator Thomas Jordan, who does a great job even with little screen time. Jeffrey Wright is especially noteworthy as the tortured Al Melvin, and although he gets a ridiculously small amount of screen time (about 1 minute during the whole film), he still solidifies himself as one of the most memorable characters. That should say something by itself.

While the premise behind The Manchurian Candidate is especially interesting and while it yields some of the most tense scenes in any film of recent memory, the movie suffers from slow pacing; it's one and only real flaw. Running at over 2 hours, there are quite a few scenes that could have been cut to give the film a leaner and tighter quality; at times it feels loose and uneven when it should be taut and quick. While the movie never loses any of it's tension or intrigue, and while you're never bored, the film does lose a bit of steam here and there which keeps it from being as entertaining as it could have been.

Still, The Manchurian Candidate for the most part is tense and exciting. Director Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs) is quite proficient at creating tense scenes in even the mildest of situations, and The Manchurian Candidate allows him to do that alot. He gives the film a very dark, ominous quality to it that keeps the audience uneasy. Although the story takes place in America, you'd never know it from all the dark shots and the unwelcoming atmosphere of the film. It is very, very dark, and there are no scenes with any forced humor to break the tension. Demme also gets credit for creating one of the most nail biting and exciting climaxes in any film of recent memory. It's tough to describe the scene without ruining the movie, but even people who think they have the film all figured out will still feel the effect of the scene.

The Manchurian Candidate is by far this week's most solid entry, offering up a solid story with a brain and many redeemable qualities. It's a film that many viewers are bound to be thinking about for a while, sending out a strong political message that doesn't come off as pretentious or weak, and also giving moviegoers a tense and unrelenting political thriller. While it may not win over the audience it wants, The Manchurian Candidate still will remain a solid contender for one of the best movies of 2004 in it's genre.

Recommended:
Yes