The Manchurian Candidate (2004)

The Manchurian Candidate (2004)

The Manchurian Candidate (2004) is a remake of the 1962 version, of the same name. It was directed by Jonathan Demme. It stars: Denzel Washington, Liev Schrieber, Meryl Streep & Jon Voight, aswell as featuring many others. Unlike the previous version, this film has an all-star cast, where as the original's only real star was Frank Sinatra, a well known singer and actor of the time.

The majority of the plot is the same as the original film, focusing on the idea of the soldiers being brainwashed into believing that Shaw (Liev Schrieber) had saved their lives in the apparent battle, and Marco (Denzel Washington) is made to recommend him for the Medal of Honour. There are differences however, such as the brainwashing techniques, the enemy being a massive corporation, Manchurian Global, and instead of Shaw being the step-son of a vice-presidency candidate, he is the candidate. Also, the end is different, instead of Shaw being in charge of the rifle, Marco himself is brainwashed into doing so, in this case Shaw and his mother are killed by Marco, although the former knew it was going to happen, also Marco doesn't shoot himself, the FBI, and potential love interest, shoots him in the shoulder to stop him from doing so.

One thriller element in this film is the suspense. One example of this is when Marco is aiming the rifle. The audience is in complete suspense, anticipating who he will shoot. Will, he shoot the opposition, will he shoot Shaw's mother? Will he shoot Shaw?. The way he hovers is scope over the opposition makes us feel as if he is going to shoot him, however, when he hovers over both Shaw and his mother, we wonder if he is going to shoot him.

Another thriller element in this film is the protagonist overcoming an obstacle which could make endanger the outcome of his mission. An example of this when Marco is in federal custody and he manages to sneak out the micro-chip he bit out of Shaw's back. After having his bags searched etc he gets home and pulls it out of his mouth, where had concealed it, as he believed that the government would confiscate eveything he had for his investigation.