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OFCS Rating: 75% Fresh |
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| "If they didn't get it, why did they want to remake it?" |
| Blogcritics.org |
| Alan Dale |
| "This newfangled 'Manchurian Candidate' delivers old-fashioned mesmerizing entertainment." |
| ReelTalk Movie Reviews |
| Betty Jo Tucker |
B+ | "This is a good old-fashioned thriller, nothing less, and nothing more." |
| FromTheBalcony |
| Bill Clark |
4.5/5 | "The new Manchurian Candidate isn’t just a great remake – it may just be the greatest remake ever remade." |
| Filmcritic.com |
| Christopher Null |
| "The film draws a line between the corporation and the government, sustaining a hope that the U.S. system might be salvaged by an honestly free election." |
| PopMatters |
| Cynthia Fuchs |
2/5 | "A remake was wholly unnecessary, especially when it’s as sloppy and inefficient a thriller as this one turned out to be." |
| eFilmCritic.com |
| David Cornelius |
B | "Demme’s visuals are as captivating as Frankenheimer’s were in the 1960s… yet the plot of this “Manchurian Candidate” lost quite a bit in the translation." |
| EDGE Boston |
| David Foucher |
3/4 | "As remakes go Demme's film is one of the better ones, but why does Hollywood insist on remaking classics when there are so many bad ones out there needing improvement?" |
| Movie Boeuf |
| David N. Butterworth |
3/4 | "...an above-average contemporary remake..." |
| Reel Film Reviews |
| David Nusair |
B- | "Its wishy-washy approach to these grave problems depicted lacked the artistic freedom of the
original and thereby failed to say anything new or mind-bending." |
| Ozus' World Movie Reviews |
| Dennis Schwartz |
3/10 | "the ending is mother of all disappointments" |
| Draxblog Movie Reviews |
| Dragan Antulov |
3.5/4 | "Absolutely riveting entertainment, a chilling portrait of human paranoia also posing as an engrossing and visually vibrant political thriller. This is one arresting film." |
| TheMovieBoy.com |
| Dustin Putman |
B | "The political satire is subtle, often funny and alarming simultaneously, and the film never forgets to thrill us." |
| EricDSnider.com |
| Eric D. Snider |
3/4 | "A more scary than suspenseful affair, created in workmanlike fashion by all those involved." |
| eFilmCritic.com |
| Erik Childress |
C | "A disappointingly poker-faced remake that turns John Frankenheimer's brilliant 1962 satire into a confused, convoluted paranoiac thriller." |
| Film Blather |
| Eugene Novikov |
3/4 | "Demme’s The Manchurian Candidate is a political popcorn pleaser that’s rousing in its sheer rawness." |
| TheWorldJournal.com |
| Frank Ochieng |
C+ | "For those of us with fond memories of Frankenheimer's classic, this Candidate can only be a distant also-ran." |
| One Guy's Opinion |
| Frank Swietek |
4/5 | "The Manchurian Candidate does a fine job of reviving the paranoid thriller genre in this engrossing tale of politics, corporate power and mind control." |
| Spirituality and Practice |
| Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat |
C | "Even in Hollywood, the more things change (technology, end of the Cold War, corporate influence), the more things stay the same (greed, avarice, powerlust)." |
| Mixed Reviews |
| Gabriel Shanks |
2.5/4 | "Almost good enough to earn a recommendation." |
| ReelViews |
| James Berardinelli |
3/4 | "a political thriller crossed with a horror film" |
| Q Network Film Desk |
| James Kendrick |
4/5 | "Remake of '60s pop masterpiece doesn't equal its predecessor, but it's still got some bitter, tasty moments of commentary." |
| Netflix |
| James Rocchi |
1.5/4 | "This humorless and nonsensical so-called thriller--a total misread of Frankenheimer's classic original--never quite engages..." |
| Perihelion Journal |
| Jay Antani |
2.5/4 | "When it’s good, it’s very good, keeping its twists close to the vest and unfolding its mysteries in marvelous movie time." |
| Palo Alto Weekly |
| Jeanne Aufmuth |
8/10 | "Demme's version is assured and stylized; if anything, it also lends support to this American story's bid for timelessness." |
| Window to the Movies |
| Jeffrey Chen |
8/10 | "...the levels of deceit and high-level politics was masterfully handled here." |
| JoBlo's Movie Emporium |
| JoBlo |
73/100 | "Demme’s film is far from perfect and decidedly out-of-date, but it’s a fantastic cast that make this version so successful." |
| FilmFocus |
| Joe Utichi |
| "Demme's remake won't leave the same historical thumb print, but for the moment, in the moment, it manages to convey the same sense of uneasy mistrust." |
| Light Views |
| John Larsen |
4.5/5 | "Fantastic cast, excellent updating of the original screenplay, and superb handling of mood make this a good movie. See Garden State first, though." |
| Cinerina |
| Karina Montgomery |
4/4 | "A frightening update to John Frankenheimer’s war-as-game scenario—except the battle now is for our very souls." |
| Slant Magazine |
| Keith Uhlich |
1.0/4.0 | "... if you’re reading this now, you can resist your brainwash programming for weak thrillers and go see The Bourne Supremacy instead." |
| MovieCrypt.com |
| Kevin A. Ranson |
C+ | "The only actor who outshines his predecessor is Schreiber, a criminally underrated actor who thoroughly sells both Raymond’s public allure and private confusion." |
| FilmStew.com |
| Larry Carroll |
3.5/5 | "A fine and thought-provoking film in its own right." |
| TV Guide's Movie Guide |
| Maitland McDonagh |
2.5/4 | "Just when you think Demme lost it, a brilliant moment of phototography, lighting, or acting appears" |
| Movie Habit |
| Marty Mapes |
| "[T]he film’s overabundance of preposterous pop-corny-ness and simultaneous and surprising naivete defang it." |
| Flick Filosopher |
| MaryAnn Johanson |
3/5 | "A polite attempt at a modest reimagination, and on those grounds it succeeds." |
| Goatdog's Movies |
| Michael W. Phillips, Jr. |
B+ | "This sleek and supple thriller features powerhouse performances but never quite persuades us that it has anything to add to the cold war classic." |
| Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies |
| Nell Minow |
B+ | "An exhilarating, if politically wishy-washy, modern-day reimagining of Frankenheimer’s gem." |
| Lessons of Darkness |
| Nick Schager |
4/5 | "What is surprising is how fresh Demme's version is and how close it approaches the original in terms of quality." |
| Film Threat |
| Pete Vonder Haar |
| "A smart contemporary film that, like 'The Bourne Supremacy' and the upcoming 'Collateral', takes familiar genre conventions and gives them a reasonably intelligent spin." |
| Critic Doctor |
| Peter Sobczynski |
3.5/5 | "This solid thriller only works if you're unfamiliar with the 1962 original, one of the best films ever made." |
| Shadows on the Wall |
| Rich Cline |
5/5 | "Demme's filmmaking has lost none of its jazz." |
| eFilmCritic.com |
| Rob Gonsalves |
B | "The whole film has the creepy quality of a nightmare about it. Maybe that is why it works so well, despite the plot holes." |
| Laramie Movie Scope |
| Robert Roten |
B+ | "Jonathan Demme makes the new millennium version [of The Manchurian Candidate his own." |
| Reeling Reviews |
| Robin Clifford |
B+ | "Harder, edgier and more disturbing than its Cold War predecessor, and ultimately benefits from an improved motive rooted in current political affairs." |
| Eclipse Magazine |
| Sean O'Connell |
| "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." |
| Salon.com |
| Stephanie Zacharek |
9/10 | "One of those superbly crafted, topical, relevant, content-driven chillers that makes you think. Meryl Streep delivers an electrifying, Oscar-caliber performance." |
| Modamag.com |
| Susan Granger |
3/4 | "Although I doubt that it'll have the longevity of Frankenheimer's piece, at least in terms of time-capsules of wounded nations, it's--shockingly--almost as fascinating." |
| Film Freak Central |
| Walter Chaw |
| "Click here to see review" |
| Wolf Entertainment Guide |
| William Wolf |
8/10 | Read review |
| Movie Gazette |
| Anton Bitel |
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OFCS Rating: 75% Fresh |
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