"The Manchurian Candidate" may have had strong acting and a measure of suspense throughout. I thought Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep and even Liev Schreiber all provided convincing roles. The movie also maintained an ongoing creepy air adding to its 'thriller' status. But unlike "The Sixth Sense", for example, which emphasized story and characters over blood and gore, "The Manchurian Candidate" relies too heavily on disturbing visuals for impact. In addition to the entire story being based on a brainwashing, violence in this film includes drownings, asphyxiations, torture and point blank shootings. Such material could have been implied rather than vividly shown. It becomes the focal point of the film detracting from everything else. That is not what I go to the movies for. 2/10
Review of The Manchurian Candidate
