Initially, one may wonder why anyone would bother remaking a film that was already as close to perfect as movies get. But it actually makes more sense to update The Manchurian Candidate than, say, Psycho or King Kong (sorry Mr. Jackson), for a couple of reasons. First, though the original is justifiably regarded as an all-time classic cold war thriller, it wasn't been widely seen for over two decades until it was given a proper rerelease in 1987 (Frank Sinatra, who starred in the original and owned the rights to the story, pulled it from release after JFK's assassination); it never had the chance to become a part of our pop culture the way other movies have. Second, and perhaps more importantly, author Richard Condon's ideas and themes may be even more relevant today than they were when he wrote the novel on which the original is based; the cold war may be over, but the fear of losing control of one's own actions in an increasingly high-tech, corporate-manipulated political structure is the stuff of great movie fodder. Hence, this remake takes liberties with the original source material (probably necessary in order to make the film relevant to modern audiences), while still trying to retain the essence of what the story is about. This slick, high-tech remake is not in the same league as the original, sort of falling apart in a third act that begins to stretch credibility a bit too far, it is still fairly successful at addressing our fears of being manipulated by a malevolent, powerful (and largely unseen) entity.

Denzel Washington (who's great, as usual) plays Ben Marco, a Desert Storm officer diagnosed with Gulf War Syndrome. He remembers his team being ambushed during a mission, only to be saved by Sargent Raymond Shaw (Liev Schreiber, equally outstanding), who single-handedly leads the team to safety after Marco is rendered unconscious during the battle. But even thirteen years later, his dreams tell him something isn't right about what he remembers. Another member of the team, of those who haven't already died from "natural causes" or accidents, comes to him with the same recurring dream. Ben soon questions the reality of what he remembers. Meanwhile, Shaw, with a lot of help from his manipulative & politically powerful mother, Senator Eleanor Shaw (Meryl Streep), is on the ticket to be the country's Vice President in the upcoming election. Disturbed by the increasing certainty that what he remembers on that night during the Gulf War isn't what really happened, Marco attempts to contact Shaw, even though his superiors have ordered him not to. Marco is soon convinced the whole team has been the subject of brainwashing for nefarious purposes he's yet to discover. Those around him think he's crazy, but his suspicions are confirmed when he discovers an implanted microchip just under his skin. Meanwhile, Shaw is being groomed by the very people - Manchurian Global - who placed implants in his brain to control him when elected Vice President. Though he's growing increasingly unstable, Marco gathers evidence in order to convince Shaw (who's sort of an emotional basket case himself when he's alone) they're being used as puppets for Manchurian to control the country. The many plot changes in this remake don't make it better than the original, but they do render the story more timely, perhaps. Instead of a communist regime, the Manchurian of the title is now gigantic corporate conglomerate; Marco & Shaw, instead of being the victims of brainwashing, are now being manipulated through micro-technology. I didn't really mind these and other diversions from the source material because, up until the final act, The Manchurian Candidate is tense, fast-moving & skillfully crafted by director Jonathan Demme, and extremely well-acted (save for Streep, who kind of overdoes it... and who the hell did her godawful make-up??? ). But credibility is stretched to the breaking point during the last half-hour. Are we really to believe Shaw, who's under constant watch by bodyguards & the media throughout the entire film, is suddenly able to slip away, kill two people, then return to the campaign trail? This version also drops the ball during the climax, where it manipulates the story in order to give it a happy ending, which rings totally false. I wish they'd have had the balls to end it on the dark, tragic note like it logically should have. Until then, though, this is the best film Demme's directed since The Silence of the Lambs , and one of Washington's better recent efforts.

The movie is presented in enhanced 1:85:1 aspect ratio. The image is good most of the time, though there's just a little edge enhancement, and a few specks here & there. The audio transfer is rendered in 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround, and it sounds great, with good balance and no distortion. The effective music score (by Rachel Portman) comes through especially well.

A pretty generous selection of extras are offered on this single disc release. There's a full-length audio commentary by director Demme and co-screenwriter Daniel Pyne, which is mostly pretty informative & interesting. Also included are two featurettes; the first, "The Enemy Within," is a 15 making-of which mostly features Demme & Pyne (also Tina Sinatra, who I'm assuming inherited the rights to the property after Frank died); the second is a ten minute feature about the cast, focusing mostly on Washington, Schreiber & Streep (sounds like a law firm when I say it that way, doesn't it?). 5 deleted scenes are offered with optional commentary (again by Demme & Pyne), as are two 2 outtakes and a feature called "Political Pundits," in which some notable public figures (including director Sydney Lumet) discuss their views of the current U.S. government (not that anyone would actually care about their views, making this feature boring & worthless).

Similar Films: The Manchurian Candidate (1962); The Parallax View; Enemy of the State Summary: While the original Manchurian Candidate is still a much better film, the remake is good in a different sort of way. Where the first was a sharp, satiric & disturbing piece of cold-war paranoia, this slick update is a high-concept popcorn thriller for mass audiences. That's not a bad thing, either, because it's mostly a smart, entertaining movie. I just feel a little short-changed by the ending. I'll stop whining now.