I normally don't like remakes of films I like but this is not bad. Denzel Washington is excellent as the troubled Army officer having nightmares about the mission helped into Iraq. Meryl Streep gives a knockout performance as his mother. It is very different from Angela Lansbury's dark incestuous brooding. Streep takes to heart the old Shakespearean adage the one can "smile and smile and be a villain." In fact she doesn't just smile; she bursts out laughing in her enjoyment at being bad. Which makes us want to see her downfall even more.
Lieberman Schreiber has the most difficult role as Meryl Streep's son and her makes a better job of it than Laurence Harvey did. One thing like to divide the generations is that this film is in colour. For those who grew up in a black and white world, this has drawbacks. Washington politics is something people used to watch on b/w television, where colour wa slow to spread. So older viewers don't demand colour in the way that new viewers do now. They might even be put off, just as colorised footage of World War II somehow feels less real.
Given a choice where I could only see one version I would go for the original 1962 black and white with Sinatra and a great cameo by Janet Leigh. But this is highly skilled film making and well worth a look.
Lieberman Schreiber has the most difficult role as Meryl Streep's son and her makes a better job of it than Laurence Harvey did. One thing like to divide the generations is that this film is in colour. For those who grew up in a black and white world, this has drawbacks. Washington politics is something people used to watch on b/w television, where colour wa slow to spread. So older viewers don't demand colour in the way that new viewers do now. They might even be put off, just as colorised footage of World War II somehow feels less real.
Given a choice where I could only see one version I would go for the original 1962 black and white with Sinatra and a great cameo by Janet Leigh. But this is highly skilled film making and well worth a look.