Storyline
Years after his squad was ambushed during the Gulf War, Major Ben Marco finds himself having terrible nightmares. He begins to doubt that his fellow squad-mate Sergeant Raymond Shaw, now a vice-presidential candidate, is the hero he remembers him being. As Marco's doubts deepen, Shaw's political power grows, and, when Marco finds a mysterious implant embedded in his back, the memory of what really happened begins to return.
Directors
Cast
Meryl Streep, Zeljko Ivanek, Charles Napier, Anthony Mackie, Jude Ciccolella, Denzel Washington, Vera Farmiga, Jeffrey Wright, Jon Voight, Liev Schreiber, Jose Pablo Cantillo, Simon McBurney, Marin Ireland, David Neumann, Ted Levine, Obba Babatundé, Miguel Ferrer, Bruno Ganz, Kimberly Elise, Adam LeFevre, Beau Sia, Pablo Schreiber, Ann Dowd, Shing Ka, Dean Stockwell, Joshua Elrod, Tom Stechschulte, Robyn Hitchcock, David Keeley, Tymberly Canale
Trailer
Reviews
100
A hugely entertaining thriller shot through with dark shards of agony and paranoia. It takes nothing away from the original while delivering pleasures all its own.
90
Variety
Structurally and thematically similar to John Frankenheimer's original but entirely different in style, feel and nuance, this political thriller about a brainwashed soldier being positioned for the White House provides a delectable network of dramatic tripwires that teases the mind and quickens the pulse. This is brainy popcorn fare.
90
The A.V. Club
Shockingly, he's (Jonathan Demme) pulled it off, replicating the original's tricky feat of investing a paranoid plot with timeliness, psychological complexity, sociopolitical acumen, and almost frightening conviction.
80
The updated classic is a chiller of a political thriller in its own right.
80
If Demme's version lacks the wallop of its predecessor, it is more likely to be popular with contemporary audiences, who will enjoy not only its labyrinthine twists but its stars' burnished professionalism.
