This "R" rated 2004 remake of The Manchurian Candidate is almost as good as the original movie. The black and white version made certain scenes appear brutally realistic and at the same time surreal. The redo of the 1962 movie of the same name has Denzel Washington (Ben Marco), Meryl Streep (Eleanor Shaw) and Liev Schreiber (Raymond Shaw) as the key figures.

After Captain Marco starts to have recurring dreams about inexplicable incidents which took place during the War he becomes convinced that something sinister took place, but his dreams don't give him answers only more questions. The questions finally lead him to his former Sergeant Raymond Shaw, who came home a hero 10 years ago. Marco's dreams has him questioning whether Shaw is a hero or something else. Meryl Streep is excellent as Shaw's strong willed domineering and controlling mother. In the original movie the role of the mother was played by Angela Lansbury. Lansbury's Eleanor Shaw was disturbing; Streep's is much more so. I especially found one mother and son scene deeply disturbing but felt that the director must have thought it necessary to the movie to show the power and depth of any conspiracy whether one enters into it willingly or by coercion.

In the 1962 movie the incidents took place in Korea; the 2004 new version in Iraq. The fact that our troops are still in Iraq makes this a timely and frightening "what if" movie.

See The Manchurian Candidate (2004)