Nicholas Thurkettle

Originally published 9/9/04

The Manchurian Candidate
Director: Jonathan Demme
Writers: Screenplay by Daniel Pyne and Dean Georgaris, based on the screenplay by George Axelrod and the novel by Richard Condon
Producers: Jonathan Demme, Ilona Herzberg, Scott Rudin, Tina Sinatra
Stars: Denzel Washingston, Liev Schreiber, Meryl Streep, Kimberly Elise, Jon Voight

When the characters in this remake of 1962’s landmark paranoid head-trip thriller The Manchurian Candidate speak of a tentacular global conglomerate that profits handsomely from war and enjoys influence at the highest levels of government, no bonus points if you can guess of whom in the real world we should be thinking.

In fact, no bonus points will be awarded at all, because the elements of this movie which are meant to provide a chilling satiric commentary are its weakest, and end up serving as a distraction in an otherwise well-mounted vehicle for suspense.
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