The Manchurian Candidate 2004

Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press: As much as I love Sinatra and Harvey, I'll argue that Washington and Schreiber are more than up to the challenge, while Streep, who says she has never seen the Frankenheimer movie, has to be commended for taking the job at all. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: Filled with conspiracies, intrigue and the suggestion that modern-day society is purposely designed to drive us a little nuts, The Manchurian Candidate is a paranoid fantasy for our time. Read more

Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune: I liked it, but I was also a bit disappointed. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: While Demme's Manchurian Candidate may be unnecessary, it's a worthy homage to the original; lacking the first film's spark but containing smarts of its own. Read more

Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Angela Lansbury was right. A remake of John Frankenheimer's brilliant 1962 thriller, The Manchurian Candidate, is a lousy idea. Read more

Bill Muller, Arizona Republic: Demme never captures the clammy paranoia of the original, instead settling for a competent but largely hollow reinvention. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: Demme's film is more nuanced, less crazy-brilliant and, yes, probably less necessary, but it's still a confirmation of all the anxieties out there on the table and festering in our heads. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: A political and psychological thriller that is richer in texture and nuance than its predecessor without sacrificing impact. Read more

Cliff Doerksen, Chicago Reader: Strikes me as a very artful cover -- about the cleverest imaginable transliteration of the story from its historical moment to ours. Read more

Eric Harrison, Houston Chronicle: An even more powerful comment on its time than the movie on which it's based. Read more

Paul Clinton (CNN.com), CNN.com: Lacks some of the heart and soul of the original, but it still manages to be entertaining thanks in large part to the talents of Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep and Liev Schreiber. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: This is an intelligent and detailed work, full of fine performances. Read more

Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper: [A] wild ride that never, never commits the crime of being dull. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: The Manchurian Candidate is meant to creep us out by building on a foundation of paranoia just this side of solid. Demme builds his model on stilts of fancy that let too much hot air blow through. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: Packed with strong performances and a literate script, it is rich in resonances torn from the headlines. Read more

Philip Wuntch, Dallas Morning News: This is one popcorn movie that provides food for thought, all the while remaining tense and witty. Read more

John Powers, L.A. Weekly: If Demme's version lacks the wallop of its predecessor, it is more likely to be popular with contemporary audiences, who will enjoy not only its labyrinthine twists but its stars' burnished professionalism. Read more

John Anderson, Newsday: Like its fabled predecessor, and novelist Richard Condon's 1959 potboiler before that, Jonathan Demme's remake of The Manchurian Candidate refashions an old gag into something cautionary, frightening and far less than far-fetched. Read more

Peter Rainer, New York Magazine/Vulture: Far from a disgrace, but it's not freewheeling enough, not strange enough to make sense of our gathering dread. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: Still works as a scary thriller, and if this version no longer seems absurdly impossible -- well, that's scarier still. Read more

Jami Bernard, New York Daily News: In movie heaven, the original is still the one for all time. Still, this update is remarkable for its performances, resolve and timeliness, and could well revive the snoozing political-thriller genre. Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: Jonathan Demme, updating John Frankenheimer's classic exercise in cold war liberal paranoia, has made a witty, anxious thriller for a new age of political uncertainty. Read more

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: Given a story with meat and purpose and importance, Demme delivers a masterfully cast and smartly constructed film of devastating effectiveness. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Almost good enough to earn a recommendation. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: Demme has taken a story we thought we knew and, while making its outlines mostly recognizable, rotated it into another dimension of conspiracy. Read more

Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com: A picture that purports to have a galvanizing, liberal-minded theme (big business is taking over our country and our lives) but is really just ploddingly pedestrian. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: The remake shakes down as a conventionally plotted thriller. It's the performances that make it exceptional. Read more

David Edelstein, Slate: Beautifully made and unsurpassingly creepy, it's the rare remake with something contemporary to add. Read more

Jeff Strickler, Minneapolis Star Tribune: That rarest of remakes: a reworking that puts an interesting new spin on a familiar premise but stands strongly on its own. Read more

Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star: This one plays more like a contemporary techno-thriller with ultra-clammy '70s conspiracy thriller overtones, and Demme milks the atmosphere of pervasive, sleep-deprived dread beautifully. Read more

Geoff Andrew, Time Out: Happily, this extremely timely entertainment matches, even perhaps surpasses its predecessor. Read more

Mike Clark, USA Today: A case of smart and talented people trying to jam a Cold War square into a Gulf War circle. Read more

Todd McCarthy, Variety: This political thriller about a brainwashed soldier being positioned for the White House provides a delectable network of dramatic tripwires that teases the mind and quickens the pulse. Read more

J. Hoberman, Village Voice: Following a dozen years of docs, light comedy, and p.c. weepies, Candidate represents Demme's best dramatic filmmaking since The Silence of the Lambs. Read more

Desson Thomson, Washington Post: A stylish hoot: entertainingly edgy and ludicrous all at once. Read more

Stephen Hunter, Washington Post: It shunts through the material, doing some interesting synthesizing, some genetic recombining, but it all adds up to something less powerful and interesting than the original. Read more