Denzel Washington's 2004 Sci-Fi Remake Is Good, But It Couldn't Match The Original's Acclaim

Some sci-fi remakes are better than their original counterparts, but they are few and far between. Still, many reimaginings are entertaining, even if they miss the original's magic. A prime example is 2004's "The Manchurian Candidate," which stars Denzel Washington as a Gulf War veteran out to untangle a political conspiracy involving brainwashed soldiers.

Directed by Jonathan Demme, the 2004 "The Manchurian Candidate" updates the classic story for a new era. John Frankeheimer's 1962 original, based on a book by Richard Condon, focuses on the Korean conflict, which ended nine years before the movie came out, and Cold War panic. Meanwhile, the remake is more attuned to contemporary issues while still being entertaining and intense.

"Impressively accomplished and highly entertaining, with sufficiently smart new twists to keep you guessing all the way to the nerve-wracking climax," Empire Magazine wrote. Elsewhere, Sight & Sound described it as a relevant thriller. "Frankenheimer's monochrome masterpiece would seem impossible to top and foolish to remake. This new version, however, feels not just refreshingly vital but uncannily topical."

On Rotten Tomatoes, "The Manchurian Candidate" boasts a 79% rating, with most critics echoing the same points as above. However, it was never going to beat the original, one of the all-time great sci-fi movies of the '60s. So, why is it so acclaimed?

The original "The Manchurian Candidate" is widely considered almost perfect by critics. The reviews have been overwhelmingly positive throughout the years, as evidenced by its 96% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Although the film was released in the '60s, many critics believe it's as relevant as ever.

"Its story of Cold War intrigue, murky East-West dealings, assassination, brainwashing — and the idea of a glorified cue-card reader playing president — resonates today like never before," The Washington Post noted.

Roger Ebert gave "The Manchurian Candidate" a perfect score, praising it for not spoon-feeding viewers. "'The Manchurian Candidate' is inventive and frisky, takes enormous chances with the audience, and plays not like a 'classic' but as a work as alive and smart as when it was first released," he wrote in 2003. 

You can't go wrong with either "The Manchurian Candidate" movie, so why not watch both and have an intense double bill? What's more, Denzel Washington has starred in other great thriller remakes that are worth your time — but he's always been pretty reliable when it comes to these types of flicks.