Manchurian Candidate

Pros: the lead actors all give excellent performances, adapted well to present day
Cons: gives away main plot points too soon

I hadn’t seen the original Manchurian Candidate until a few months ago when discussion about it came up in the comments section of one of y Star Trek reviews. It prompted me to rent the original, so that was still fresh ...

Pros: Meryl Streep, Denzel Washington, and Liev Schreiber. Plot.
Cons: Few slow moments

I heard of the movie The Manchurian Candidate several years ago, but I didn’t know anything about the plot. A few years ago, I read a book that mentioned the book version of The Manchurian Candidate and explained the plot a bit. It ...

Pros: Fast paced and fascinating plot
Cons: none

When I heard there was going to be a remake of The Manchurian Candidate I was positive there was no way this movie could be produced again as well and with a sinister plot as original and unique as the first. Yet I was intrigued by the idea ...

Pros: Strong acting, good special effects
Cons: None

As with many "remakes" of great movies, I entered the theater with great doubts. The most recent "remake" that I saw (and reviewed) was the abysmal "The Stepford Wives"(HOW CAN THEY CALL THIS A REMAKE). As with ...

Pros: Meryl Streep is incredible, and the rest of the cast is better than average.
Cons: I was a bit disappointed in the film's final ten minutes.

The fact that a film like The Manchurian Candidate (1962) didn't need to be remade, hardly prevents it from being a successful remake. In fact, one could easily argue that Jonathan Demme's clever re-make of John Frankenheimer's politically ...

Pros: Every last one of the performances, fast-paced, sporadic humor.
Cons: Not a whole lot of personality, controversial in the light of current events.

Having gone into The Manchurian Candidate with no prior knowledge of any original version, I had no clue what to expect. Except maybe some political breastfeeding and a whole lot of war-related exposition, which is not too far off the mark. But ...

Pros: Intriguing premise, well developed plot, good characterization, chilling atmosphere.
Cons: None.

(The title is quoted from Edgar Allan Poe) Sergeant Raymond Shaw, the popular war hero and vice president candidate radiates sincerity, charisma, and honesty. His brave effort during the Gulf War to selflessly save his fellow officers from a gruesome ...

Pros: Acting, complex characters
Cons: unbelievable plot

I vaguely remember wanting to see this movie when it was playing at the theater, but I just never made it. And I haven’t rented it because I only rent from my local library these days, and they only buy one copy of each New Release, so I only saw it for ...

Pros: Plenty of suspense and great performances.
Cons: Not quite as good as the original.

(With extreme deference to Curtis Edmonds, who wrote a review from a similar perspective sometime ago) Senate Committee Chairman: All rise. We are here to convene the debut meeting of the first Senate subcommittee on Hollywood brainwashing. Testifying ...

Pros: Keeps you off-balance but constantly intrigued.
Cons: Inexplicable closing act.

(Note: The major spoilers occur only in the clearly marked paragraph.) The Manchurian Candidate, an update of the 1962 movie of the same name, is a rarity among recent American cinema, not only in its genre, but in how that genre is approached. ...

Pros: Acting, acting, acting…
Cons: Disjoined incomplete script; plot holes abound.

Famed director John Frankenheimer's opened the original (now classic) "The Manchurian Candidate" during the 13 days of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. The original so perfectly captured the paranoia and political uncertainty of its day that any ...

Pros: Creative concept, most of the actors are very convincing
Cons: Kind of dark, plot is convoluted

Plot Information Manchurian Candidate tells its story primarily from the perspective of Major Ben Marco (Denzel Washington). The film opens with Marco speaking to a troop of boy scouts about the heroic exploits of Seargant Raymond Shaw ...

Pros: Meryl Streep & Denzel Washington's performance, strong political message, very tense
Cons: Slow paced

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. ...

Pros: A tense intricate conspiracy tale!
Cons: Obvious partisan political agenda

The original movie by John Frankenheimer of the Richard Condon novel, "The Manchurian Candidate," was said to have become a classic without ever having been a box-office success. A new version by Jonathon Demme draws upon the Frankenheimer ...

Pros: the performances, the script, the direction, almost everything
Cons: a bit slow in parts, Wyclef Jean's cover of Fortunate Son

The best thing about spending money to see a movie starring Denzel Washington is that you know that, even if the movie sucks, Denzel will be the man and give another solid (and maybe even extraordinary) performance. This was my fear as I ...