Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Sci-Fi, Suspense, Spy, Political, Mental Illness, Murder
Tagline: This summer everything is under control.
Plot: U.S. Army Major Bennett Marco (Washington) can’t sleep at night … and he doesn’t want to. Marco spends his days giving inspiring speeches about his platoon’s ambush in the Kuwaiti desert and the heroics of Sergeant Raymond Shaw (Schreiber), who won the Medal of Honor for saving Marco’s crew. But at night, Marco’s dreamlike memories of the desert turn sinister and terrifying. And Marco privately wonders whether the two soldiers who died in the firefight might have met darker fates than officially recorded – and whether Shaw might not be the glorious hero that everyone thinks he is.When Shaw takes the national stage as a surefire candidate for vice president – under the thumb of his controversial mother, Senator Eleanor Prentiss Shaw (Streep) – Marco is forced to act on his growing suspicions. With military officials questioning his sanity, and the net of security tightening around Shaw, Marco races to probe deeper into the unimaginable, shocking truth before the White House is
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 The result, regardless of how it was arrived at, is gutless. Let's hope no one tries to remake Chinatown with the same mentality.  --James Berardinelli (ReelViews)
Even Meryl Streep's a bust in Jonathan Demme's toothless, gutless remake of one of the best political movies ever made. In fact, she's the biggest bust of all.--Stephanie Zacharek (Salon)
Demme wisely conceals other secrets, leading to a wickedly different ending just when you think you know everything that will happen.  --Roger Ebert (Chicago Sun-Times)
While not as edgy and thrilling as it could be, The Manchurian Candidate is a solidly directed genre film, with enough suspense to keep curiosity afloat. B--Lee Tistaert (Lee's Movie Info)
An engrossing, paranoid thriller with a terrific turn by Denzel Washington, and a devilishly fun performance by Meryl Streep, Jonathan Demme's reworking of the tale's cold war leanings into homeland security ones are a nice match to the source material. A solid, taught thriller. B+--Brian Orndorf (FilmJerk.com)
‘The Manchurian Candidate’ is one fine film and a remake that for once does justice to the original.  --Joe Rickey (Movie-Gurus.com)
Standing alone, this new version is a finely tuned thriller containing a murkiness which plays up its basic, straight forward plot with fine results. With the 1962 original as its challenger, the remake comes across as disappointing and unexpectedly lacking in complexity, suspense, and character/story development. The film tries hard to be dark and nail biting with mixed results. 6/10--Julian Boyance (Movie-Vault.com)
It took a flawed, frayed, flailing film to ring anew the bell that has always been cracked - to let the light shine in.  --Frances E. Scanlon (MovieWeb)
Everything IS under control...in more ways than one in this nearly-perfect film. --Brian Gallagher (MovieWeb)
This remake is light on the former and heavy on the later, but it still confronts some current issues that are worthy of discussion. But, a riveting film is a riveting film, and The Manchurian Candidate falls into this category. It’s quite an impressive “re-imagining” from quite an impressive director. Who could ask for anything more? --Danny Baldwin (BucketReviews.com)
THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE may be the summer’s biggest surprise. It’s a remake that actually compares favorably to the original. ... Bone-chilling stuff, expertly executed. --Andrea Chase (Killer Movie Reviews)
Perfectly poised to stand beside Fahrenheit 9/11 and The Corporation this election year, The Manchurian Candidate is a worthy companion piece to both. --Elaine Perrone (eFilmCritic.com)
Demme does a more than functional job though, keeping the weight of its implications pressed down hard on the audience to keep them appropriately uncomfortable. --Erik Childress (eFilmCritic.com)
With such a paint-by-numbers screenplay and generally uninspired performances, THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE is a disappointing and tepid entry from the man who brought us SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. While it's nowhere near horrible, it resides of the realm of the completely forgettable.  --Brian McKay (eFilmCritic.com)
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| Directed by |
Jonathan Demme
The Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia, Married to the Mob |
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| Written by |
| George Axelrod
The Manchurian Candidate, Breakfast at Tiffany's, The Seven Year Itch |
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| Cast |
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 | Bill Irwin
How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Hot Shots!, Igby Goes Down |
 | Al Franken
Trading Places, Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism, The Rutles |
 | Jon Voight
Heat, Pearl Harbor, Mission: Impossible |
 | Meryl Streep
Adaptation., The Deer Hunter, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events |
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| The political satire is subtle, often funny and alarming simultaneously, and the film never forgets to thrill us. B --Eric D. Snider (EricDSnider.com)
Presents a world awfully close to the one we live in, which makes everything that happens all the more disturbing, helping turn this Manchurian Candidate into a winner. 76/100--Brian Webster (Apollo Guide)
In movie heaven, the original is still the one for all time. Still, this update is remarkable for its performances, resolve and timeliness, and could well revive the snoozing political-thriller genre.  --Jami Bernard (New York Daily News)
At the end of the day, if you're a fan of suspense movies on any level, I'm pretty sure that you'll greatly appreciate this tense thriller, particularly if you consider any of its main thespian players, personal faves. 8/10--'JoBlo' (JoBlo.com)
...lacks some of the heart and soul of the original, but it still manages to be entertaining thanks in large part to the talents of Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep and Liev Schreiber.--Paul Clinton (CNN Showbiz)
It's a decent diversion, but no substitute for the original. --Jay Seaver (eFilmCritic.com)
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