Denzel Washington might be one of the greatest actors of the modern era with a trophy cabinet packed to bursting point, as well as one of the industry’s most reliable box office draws that can always be counted on to pull in a crowd anytime he’s got a new movie releasing, but he’s not averse to the idea of tackling material that’s already been brought to the screen before, if it’s been updated and reinvented to suit his style and taste.
In fact, his very next feature film will see him playing one of William Shakespeare’s most famous creations in The Tragedy of Macbeth, while The Equalizer was based on the cult classic 1980s TV series and Man on Fire, The Magnificent Seven and The Taking of Pelham 123 were all remakes. Even considering his lofty status in the industry, Washington stepped into some pretty big shoes when he filled the role of Bennett Marco in the 2004 version of The Manchurian Candidate, played by Frank Sinatra in the 1962 original.
The modern spin on the story came loaded with pedigree outside of the leading man, with Academy Award winning director Jonathan Demme calling the shots, while Denzel was lent support by the esteemed likes of Meryl Streep, Jon Voight, Vera Farmiga, Jeffrey Wright, Liev Schrieber, Anthony Mackie and more.
The pic follows Marco, who has terrible nightmares after an incident during his military service in the Gulf War, slowly leading him to unravel a major conspiracy with huge implications, but naturally people want him silenced. It might not be one of his very best efforts, but any Denzel Washington thriller is generally guaranteed to post a strong showing on Netflix, and The Manchurian Candidate will be no different now that it’s streaming on the platform.
