Manchurian Candidate - 2004

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  • Manchurian Candidate - 2004

    I liked it.

    And yet, it was somehow less than it could have been.

    It touched on some interesting issues: Crazy Gulf War vets with undiagnosed maladies, mind control / implant / MK Ultra issues, politicking / electioneering / PR spinning, corporate greed and government corruption, Stage Mom / Call Me Eddie (Oedipus) syndrome, etcetera.

    And while it touched on these issues, it didn't really engage them. Maybe it was trying to do too many things at once, or maybe the filmmakers were simply too timid to come flat out and say what they really felt out of fear of alienating half the audience.

    And so, while it was a decent, watchable film with some good moments, it was not the hellish descent into total paranoia that I wanted.

    Worth a rent, I'd say.

  • #2
    Re: Manchurian Candidate - 2004

    The original version was much better.

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    • #3
      Re: Manchurian Candidate - 2004

      Saw it in the theatre and was disappointed. I think the script was too talky and plotty to present the paranoia it needed. Denzel's role seems to belong in another film, and I'm sure Figgis or Frears would have done a better job directing something like this.
      "I ask every producer I meet if they need TV specs they say yeah. They all want a 40 inch display that's 1080p and 120Hz. So, I quit my job at the West Hollywood Best Buy."
      - Screenwriting Friend

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      • #4
        Re: Manchurian Candidate - 2004

        Meryl Streep needs more roles like this though - she was unnervingly good at being bad.
        Half a bubble off level... systems normal.

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        • #5
          Re: Manchurian Candidate - 2004

          Not to go back and forth but I thought Streep (and I love her to death) was a little too over the top. I kept thinking this is Streep going ballistic and not the mother. Lansbury was dead on.
          "I ask every producer I meet if they need TV specs they say yeah. They all want a 40 inch display that's 1080p and 120Hz. So, I quit my job at the West Hollywood Best Buy."
          - Screenwriting Friend

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          • #6
            Re: Manchurian Candidate - 2004

            I like the first film more than the remake but the 2004 film was well made. The acting was great and it holds your interest but the political overtones and strange SFX took away from the story.



            I say 2 1/2 stars out of 4.



            I'd rather get bank credit, than screen credit.

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            • #7
              Re: Manchurian Candidate - 2004

              I had a tough time with the remake, because I love the original so much. Strepp did fine, but she was filling really big shoes in that role!
              Don't repeat it; create it.

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