This remake of the 1962 original diverges more from that picture's story line than it does to emulate it. In keeping with the tenor of the times, it's no longer a foreign power that engages in brainwashing techniques, but a multi-national corporation with the unlikely name of Manchurian Global. Personally, I'd be wary of doing business with a company with a name like that, it just smacks of foreign intervention and manipulation. It's also not clear what Manchurian Global's end game was with the hypnosis techniques and the implants. In Frank Sinatra's version, it was the Chinese who utilized sophisticated brainwashing methods to get inside the heads of their targets, and it didn't take much of a stretch to understand that a foreign enemy intended to exert their influence in American politics. But what would a multi-national gain in the scenario developed here? The main thrust of pushing Raymond Shaw
(Liev Schreiber) for a spot on the Presidential ticket appeared to be a concession to Shaw's mother (Meryl Streep), who's ambitions for the Presidency failed when her Senator husband died twenty years prior. In that regard, the character of Eleanor Shaw was every bit as manipulative as that of Angela Lansbury in the same role in the earlier version, right down to that borderline incestuous kiss given her son. That creeped me out both then and now.
It's been a long time since I watched and reviewed "The Manchurian Candidate" of the Sixties, but it seems to me that the tension and suspense was greater in the original picture. It was certainly more of a political thriller than it's successor for reasons mentioned earlier. Nevertheless, the performances of the principals was outstanding, even if the motivations of Manchurian Global were suspect. I found it interesting that this film was co-produced by Tina Sinatra who inherited the production rights from her father. What Frank would have thought about the movie is anybody's guess.
It's been a long time since I watched and reviewed "The Manchurian Candidate" of the Sixties, but it seems to me that the tension and suspense was greater in the original picture. It was certainly more of a political thriller than it's successor for reasons mentioned earlier. Nevertheless, the performances of the principals was outstanding, even if the motivations of Manchurian Global were suspect. I found it interesting that this film was co-produced by Tina Sinatra who inherited the production rights from her father. What Frank would have thought about the movie is anybody's guess.