Driving a truck thru plothole in Manchurian Candidate (SPOILER INSDIDE!!!)

[dld]

Well, maybe not quite that big.

First, on its own, this show was decent. Compared to the original? hmmmm. However, Meryl Streep and Denzel were fantastic. On to the plothole.

Don't read this if you haven't seen the movie.

At the end, Major Marco assassinates Raymond and Eleanor (instead of president elect Authur) and is nearly mortally wounded by his FBI "friend" in his sniper's nest. Remember, the FBI had NO idea of the who, how, when, and where, of the assassination attempt on Aurthur. Marco had gotten his orders from Eleanor and escaped FBI surveillance. The day of the assassination (or the day after) news reports are saying FBI killed the assassin, a WHITE German, Klaus Brockman (SP??).

So we are to believe the following, a severely wounded Black, Marco, is treated by Emergency personnel at the victory party, wheeled out past numerous onlookers, treated later at a hospital (and surely has an extended stay) with the "uninvolved" personnel saying nothing regarding the color of the man they treat and that of the man the FBI claimed was the assassin? And better yet, the FBI, on a freekin moments notice, somehow snags this Brockman dude, kills him, plants evidence on him of some sort (they would have to do that cause there would be one HELLUVA investigation) and present him, a WHITE man, as the assassin? (I mention the colors only to show the obvious discrepancy that any onlooker could have noticed). Again, none of the "civilians" invloved say anything regarding the discrepancy in looks of the man they treated and the man put forward as the assassin? And even better yet, even tho we, the audience, knew Marco was right in what he was doing, the FBI, based on the ramblings of a diagnosed paranoid with Gulf War Syndrome, would believe a non credible, unverifiable tale of cutting edge, unproven, mind control technology regarding BRAIN IMPLANTS, and that tale essentially only told to one FBI underling? Come on. I don't think so. Somebody please tell me what I'm missing here. Still a recommended movie. ***, Joe Bob Says Check It Out!

[mtrycraft]

First, on its own, this show was decent. Compared to the original? hmmmm. However, Meryl Streep and Denzel were fantastic. On to the plothole.

Don't read this if you haven't seen the movie.

At the end, Major Marco assassinates Raymond and Eleanor (instead of president elect Authur) and is nearly mortally wounded by his FBI "friend" in his sniper's nest. Remember, the FBI had NO idea of the who, how, when, and where, of the assassination attempt on Aurthur. Marco had gotten his orders from Eleanor and escaped FBI surveillance. The day of the assassination (or the day after) news reports are saying FBI killed the assassin, a WHITE German, Klaus Brockman (SP??).

So we are to believe the following, a severely wounded Black, Marco, is treated by Emergency personnel at the victory party, wheeled out past numerous onlookers, treated later at a hospital (and surely has an extended stay) with the "uninvolved" personnel saying nothing regarding the color of the man they treat and that of the man the FBI claimed was the assassin? And better yet, the FBI, on a freekin moments notice, somehow snags this Brockman dude, kills him, plants evidence on him of some sort (they would have to do that cause there would be one HELLUVA investigation) and present him, a WHITE man, as the assassin? (I mention the colors only to show the obvious discrepancy that any onlooker could have noticed). Again, none of the "civilians" invloved say anything regarding the discrepancy in looks of the man they treated and the man put forward as the assassin? And even better yet, even tho we, the audience, knew Marco was right in what he was doing, the FBI, based on the ramblings of a diagnosed paranoid with Gulf War Syndrome, would believe a non credible, unverifiable tale of cutting edge, unproven, mind control technology regarding BRAIN IMPLANTS, and that tale essentially only told to one FBI underling? Come on. I don't think so. Somebody please tell me what I'm missing here. Still a recommended movie. ***, Joe Bob Says Check It Out!


Since the girl Marco was with at the apartment was FBI, you think FBI probably opened up the drain trap to see what may be in there?
What orders did he get to assasinate whom? Why did the wrong people were shot?
Was Marco really mortally shot or just a shot to preven the suicide?
Maybe the assasin story was well after the event?
Marco was taken out the back door to FBI or military hospital?
Didn't the FBI found the implant on the guy who committed suicide, well before the assasination? Story checked with Marco's story.

[dld]

Since the girl Marco was with at the apartment was FBI, you think FBI probably opened up the drain trap to see what may be in there?
What orders did he get to assasinate whom? Why did the wrong people were shot?
Was Marco really mortally shot or just a shot to preven the suicide?
Maybe the assasin story was well after the event?
Marco was taken out the back door to FBI or military hospital?
Didn't the FBI found the implant on the guy who committed suicide, well before the assasination? Story checked with Marco's story.

Marco got his orders from Eleanor when he was in the school room with Raymond. how could you have missed that? His orders were to shoot Aurthur. Being the protagonist, his inherent good nature overrode the order and he shot the antagonists.

Torso wounds near the heart and lungs from hi caliber bullets are nearly always fatal. The entry wound was right to the left of the heart, and an inch or two above the left lung. Yes, I think she was trying to wound him to prevent his ordered suicide, but a shot in his shooting arm would have worked better. She was less than ten feet away. He obviously wasn't mortally shot or he would have been dead. Thats what mortally wounded means. You die.

FBI had no advance knowledge of the plan. Why would they have taken a chest shot man out of a back door? He needed immediate, heroic attention. Again, an unplanned "backdoor exit" would have been seen by numerous witnesses anyway. AND, they would have had to have another body ready, the Klaus Brockman(sp??) dude, for an event they didn't know was going to happen. At least not the when and where or how.

The timeline as I remember it, placed the news report very close to the shooting. It would have to be wouldn't it? If the FBI supposedly shot the man who killed the VP elect and a U.S. Senator, it would have been on the news that evening. What, they announce two weeks later, that Oh, by the way, remember the night of the assasination, we killed the assasin? I don't think so

I'm calling bullcrapola on ths one, sorry. It was just a convenient, throwaway, 30 second insertion to unrealistically give Marco a clean escape. Thats what plotholes are. Personally, I'm glad he got away, just wished Demme could have cleaned it up a bit.

[mtrycraft]

Marco got his orders from Eleanor when he was in the school room with Raymond. how could you have missed that?His orders were to shoot Aurthur.

Didn't miss it. Waswn't sure if there were other unseen orders. Why did Marco kill the wrong person then?

Being the protagonist, his inherent good nature overrode the order and he shot the antagonists.

So that is what happened?


FBI had no advance knowledge of the plan. Why would they have taken a chest shot man out of a back door? He needed immediate, heroic attention.

Or not. FBI had an idea what was going on.

Again, an unplanned "backdoor exit" would have been seen by numerous witnesses anyway.

Maybe not.

AND, they would have had to have another body ready, the Klaus Brockman(sp??) dude, for an event they didn't know was going to happen. At least not the when and where or how.

No body needed, just the story of it.

The timeline as I remember it, placed the news report very close to the shooting. It would have to be wouldn't it? If the FBI supposedly shot the man who killed the VP elect and a U.S. Senator, it would have been on the news that evening.

The assasin was in a hidden acess room, easy to hide his killing and removal.


that took place What, they announce two weeks later, that Oh, by the way, remember the night of the assasination, we killed the assasin? I don't think so

When did they supply the video tape? Same night? Probably not as they have had to find the tape after the shooting and find the killer. Perhaps another watching is in order?

[dld]

Didn't miss it. Waswn't sure if there were other unseen orders. Why did Marco kill the wrong person then?

Actually, in our minds, and his, he killed the right persons didn't he? Obviuosly the mind control didn't wotk on him to the extent that he would kill an innocent human being. .

Being the protagonist, his inherent good nature overrode the order and he shot the antagonists.

So that is what happened?

Yup. As in the original, but the original had a twist that this one did not. Rent it, a far better movie, although Lansbury vs. Streep is a draw IMHO. Harvey was a far better Raymond that Liev, but Denzel a better Marco that Sinatra.

No body needed?

I disagree. Hell, bodies are being exhumed 50 years after the fact to see if the wrong body is in a grave or for DNA sampling to solve a killing. There would be a HUGE investigation of the killing of a VP elect and US Senator. HUGE. And certainly a corpse would have to be available for autopsy and positive ID. No way around that one.

The assasin was in a hidden acess room, easy to hide his killing and removal.

No the assassin was Marco. He was in the room. He wasn't killed. And a "hidden" room has public corridors to navigate thru to get there.

The German wasn't in the hidden room. He would have to be:

A) On site already. Very recently killed by the Fibbers and still "warm", (who didn't know the what, when, where, and how of the upcoming assassination)

B) They would have had, on a moments notice, a plan in place to remove a near mortally wounded Marco, surreptisciously(SP?), and insert this recent kill, surreptisciously. Again, no one seeing it. Bullcrap.

When did they supply the video tape? Same night? Probably not as they have had to find the tape after the shooting and find the killer. Perhaps another watching is in order?[/QUOTE]

Nahhh. Seen it once, thats plenty enough. Too many other good flicks out there. I agree the tape was doctored sometime, prolly days, after the shooting to show evidence of the German entering the building. But this was to provide evidence of something they claimed already had happended, that they killed the assassin, a German terrorist. Not a chance in Hell they disclosed they killed the sniper days or weeks later.