VONWERNER

Here we have yet another film by Hollywood's seemingly endless list of "dilettante directors" who insist on portraying their anti- war stance on an unsuspecting audience. I felt "ambushed" by the subtle ways our "hero" is portrayed as a "wandering soldier in the wilderness" who is forced to read from a script that contains such memorable lines such as "Welcome to the suck" ! Our young men and women in our armed forces have been dishonored by this latest waste of time and money which only adds to the many reasons why box office numbers are in the toilet. A half hour into the film, a woman walked out of the theater saying loudly (for everyone to hear)." I'm sorry, this is an awful movie" She was the first of about four patrons I noticed leaving the theater. It's been a long time since I've seen this happen during a film. I had to share this with you. .. Bottom line .."duck it if you can.

Oliver Stone outdid himself if his purpose was to produce yet another

anti-war movie in that he used the main character's true story to

malign Vietnam Veterans and prove once again that Hollywood never has understood why America went into Vietnam in the first place. War is hell and no one can deny the human sacrifice suffered by our veterans during that period but Stone unfortunately fragments a true story and angles it simply to make a political statement which is unfortunate since the

performances are outstanding especially that of Tom Cruise.The movie

drags on before Stone's intent becomes quite clear and the audience

is left to wonder why it took Stone such a long time to make his

point.

Denzel Washington commented on a TV interview that this movie should

not be compared to the original. He was right ! The original was far

superior, but more importantly, why did they pick the title

"Manchurian Candidate" then ? As the plot begins to unfold, one wonders if this movie started out with a real desire to update the Sinatra

original and then got caught up in the cast's political agenda. If

you look at the cast, almost all are outspoken advocates against our Iraqi policy etal. The obvious inuendo of the evil big Corporations

and military failings is presented, not to entertain the audience.

but to make a political statement.As I left the theatre, I overheard

a man exclaiming "We've got to make a change in the White House" ! Whether you're a Democrat or Republican, after you've plunked down

your ten dollars to be entertained, a spin on a good story line is

unforgivable. It gets a 4 at best !