You can put a new suit on a distinguished gentleman, but it takes more than just new clothes to improve a man.
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Over the past couple of years, quite a number of movies have been remade with modern retellings. Many of the films remade have either been obscure titles that are unknown to the general population or those that have not received much critical acclaim. There is the exception, where a well-received film gets some shiny new clothes and John Frankenheimer´s 1962 classic "The Manchurian Candidate" starring Frank Sinatra is one of those exceptions that are a critically loved classic. The ´update´ which was helmed by Jonathan Demme and now stars Denzel Washington and Liev Schreiber has a tough assignment in trying to stand up against the film from which it was derived. Can Liev Schreiber step into the shoes of Frank Sinatra? Can Hollywood dollars and big names bring a great story to new levels or is this going to be another "Psycho" candidate?
The original film was set after the Korean War. Sinatra´s Major Marco was slowly remembering that his memories were not as they seemed to be. His former squadmate Sergeant Raymond Shaw has been thrust into the political stage by his overbearing mother and is reunited with Marco. Shaw and Marco´s squad were brainwashed and Shaw has become a political assassin. Marco is the only man who senses that something is wrong and perhaps the only person that can help Shaw overcome the programming that has made him a person he really is not. Shaw is portrayed by Laurence Harvey. Scream Queen Janet Leigh and "Murder She Wrote" star Angela Landsbury round out a familiar and talented cast that helped the original film gain the critical acclaim it deserves.
The remake follows a very similar plotline. Some new characters have been introduced and a couple characters are now an amalgamation. Instead of being overcome by Communists in the Korean War, the new storyline finds Shaw´s squad being captured while doing a reconnaissance mission before the 1991 Gulf War saw combat commence. Instead of using hypnosis to brainwash Shaw and Marco, implants and other cruel methods are used. The newer film goes for the scientific route of explanation versus the theory of hypnosis and this is largely possible because the new film occurs in a time period that is a couple decades more recent. Even with the stronger scientific argument that this ´brainwashing´ of an entire squad and the training of a man to become an assassin with keywords, "The Manchurian Candidate" finds itself struggling to match the original film largely because of plot holes and other moments where things are either too convenient or the amount you are asked to suspend believability borders on the absurd.
How did Marco not find the implant on his shoulder many years before? Instead, he finds himself in a pretty girl´s bathroom, taking a shower and all of a sudden discovers an unusual bump on his shoulder and an implant underneath? It was visual enough that he could find Shaw´s implant incredibly fast, so why did he not see this blemish on his being earlier? Marco suffers from brain disorders or diseases and has a brilliant German scientist for a friend. Why did this scientist not figure out that Marco had issues earlier? I´m sure there were some tests or treatment that this scientist that Marco befriended could have suggested or tried if he believed that Marco was indeed telling some amount of truth. If the Manchurian Corporation was so brilliant and monitoring him, why did they not bring him in for a readjustment like they did Shaw? There are a lot of questions that can be asked after watching this film that pokes a lot of holes into the picture.
"The Manchurian Candidate" is not a bad film. It can be entertaining. However, after being familiar with the original film (and watching it again before the remake for purpose of comparison), the newer and glossier picture is clearly the inferior film. Liev Schreiber is a fine actor and I wish he appeared in more pictures. He does a good job of trying to fill The Chairman´s shoes. His performance cannot be faulted. Denzel Washington is Denzel. I can´t think of a bad role he has ever had. His performance in "The Manchurian Candidate" is pretty standard fare for the veteran actor and at times, his performance is too much "Denzel" and not enough of Marco. He is good in the picture, but I feel there was a bit more room for him to expand as a mentally questionable combat veteran. He almost seemed to be on autopilot (which is still better than many actors out there) for much of the performance. Meryl Streep was quite unlikable as Eleanor Shaw. So, I suppose she did her job well. Jon Voight, Miguel Ferrer and Ted Levine were underused in their performances.
Perhaps the main problem with "The Manchurian Candidate" is that after knowing the story of the original, the remake had little ´new´ to offer. It was a rehash of the original that twisted the plot enough to make it its own movie, but not quite enough of a difference to really be fresh and inventive. There is not a lot of mystery and suspense to be had. It is a given that Shaw is going to go kill somebody and you pretty much know it will be further his mother´s evil political scheme. You know Marco will come close enough to the truth that his character will fall some sort of peril. You just don´t know exactly how all of this is going to happen, but you know it will happen some way or the other. You can put a new suit on a distinguished gentleman, but it takes more than just new clothes to improve a man.
Video:
For the most part, Paramount has had a very good track record with their initial HD-DVD offerings. "The Manchurian Candidate" is the third and final title of the second wave of releases. "Four Brothers" was a visually stunning film and after it got started; "We Were Brothers" shook of the grime to be a tremendous improvement over the standard definition release. "The Manchurian Candidate" is presented in a very good 1.85:1 transfer that rivals or surpasses most HD-DVD releases. I would place this title just under the cream-of-the-crop releases, but you certainly know you are watching something nicer than DVD when you pop this disc in.
The opening scene was a bit frightening. Major Marco is giving a speech about how great a man Raymond Shaw is. He is discussing the Medal of Honor and other awards that Shaw won and is giving the speech to a pack of Boy Scouts. This is done in a large gymnasium that has bright sunlight pouring through the windows. This drowns out any amount of detail and causes the entire picture to look hazy and overly bright. Until the camera pans out and you can see the bright sun rays, the first scene has you questioning the clarity.
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[release]19433[/release]