A massive global corporation is now the latest threat to American National Security. Or at least, that's what Jonathan Demme wants us to believe in his remake of John Frankenheimer's classic adaptation of George Axlerod's novel The Manchurian Candidate. Demme's version is more edgier than Frankenheimer's in so many ways. Maybe I shouldn't say edgier but rather more darker. He makes the film seem more in touch with a post-9/11 world and thus is able to consumate it with a vision of reality. It all begins with Ben Marco, a Gulf War veteran, leading his men into a mission. They are ambushed and are apparently saved by Sgt. Raymond Shaw. Shaw is made to look like the hero, everybody goes home happy, Shaw receives the Medal of Honor, and everything is all peaches and cream. Or is it? You see, the problem is Marco keeps having this recurring nightmare in which Shaw doesn't actually save his unit but rather the unit ends up being captured and brought to some secret location, where they are brainwashed into believing that Shaw saved their unit. The film thus begins to toy with the concept of illusion vs. reality. Which is the illusion and which is the reality? All the while, Shaw is being pushed by his egotistical mother, Sen. Eleanor Prentice Shaw, to run for Vice President of the United States. It seems to make sense, after all, he did win the Medal of Honor and all of his unit seems to believe so. But is this all a fantasy? Is it only a dream where Shaw is but a pawn trapped in his own self-conscience? The film is a mysterious, dark, twisted thriller that keeps you engaged just like the original did. We spend the entire film following Marco, trying to search for the answers. What he finds is a shocking revelation of a global conspiracy between the government and the corporation to assume the throne of power. It all leads up to a thrilling conclusion that keeps you on the edge of your seat. However, Demme's picture will never compare to the original version even though it is a taut, well-crafted political thriller. And I am sad to say that not even the decent performances of Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep or Liev Schreiber can compare to Frank Sinatra, Angela Lansbury or Laurence Harvey.
Lenny's Grade: B
Lenny's Grade: B