Perhaps it is because I didn't see "The Manchurian Candidate", based on a novel by the same author, before watching this movie. Some say that this one is more or less a sequel to that movie. Fact is that I didn't like it all that much and that has nothing to do with the fact that I didn't like the humor in it (some even call this a comedy). In a way this movie has been based on the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Even though you'll not find any connections to that incident, it is all too clear who the murdered President Timothy Keegan stands for.
Nineteen years after the president was shot, his brother finds a dying man claiming to have been the gunman. While he has to try to avoid his rich and powerful father's attempts to control his actions, he follows the clues that have been handed to him. But as his investigation continues, it gets harder and harder to separate the real trails from the dead ends. And those aren't the only difficulties he has to deal with: several unknown, but dangerous parties try to stop him from uncovering the truth, at any cost...
I admit that the idea behind the story is nice. Conspiracy theories around the assassination of a president can always be interesting to watch and certainly when they have been (loosely) based on some actual events. But the main problems which this movie has to deal with are believability and historical correctness. Several options are given, going from a mafia connection, to the Cuba crisis, over some police connections, leaving you with a plot that probably no-one can unravel and making it almost impossible to like it. And that these 'connections' are only theories and that they have never been proved right, doesn't really help either. But that never seemed to bother the makers of this movie. All they thought of was the spectacle.
Still, not everything in this movie was bad. The acting for instance, and especially John Huston's performance, are worth watching. In my opinion this saves the movie from a complete disaster and that's also the reason why I give this movie a 5.5/10.
Nineteen years after the president was shot, his brother finds a dying man claiming to have been the gunman. While he has to try to avoid his rich and powerful father's attempts to control his actions, he follows the clues that have been handed to him. But as his investigation continues, it gets harder and harder to separate the real trails from the dead ends. And those aren't the only difficulties he has to deal with: several unknown, but dangerous parties try to stop him from uncovering the truth, at any cost...
I admit that the idea behind the story is nice. Conspiracy theories around the assassination of a president can always be interesting to watch and certainly when they have been (loosely) based on some actual events. But the main problems which this movie has to deal with are believability and historical correctness. Several options are given, going from a mafia connection, to the Cuba crisis, over some police connections, leaving you with a plot that probably no-one can unravel and making it almost impossible to like it. And that these 'connections' are only theories and that they have never been proved right, doesn't really help either. But that never seemed to bother the makers of this movie. All they thought of was the spectacle.
Still, not everything in this movie was bad. The acting for instance, and especially John Huston's performance, are worth watching. In my opinion this saves the movie from a complete disaster and that's also the reason why I give this movie a 5.5/10.