Captain Bennett Marco is what you would call the perfect soldier; he has dedicated his life to the military and served many active duties in combat. The most important one being during the Gulf War when his combat unit was ambushed and the lives of two of the soldiers under his command were killed. If not for the brave efforts of Sgt. Raymond Shaw the entire ambush might have been more tragic as it was Shaw’s bravery that seemed to save the entire unit after Marco was knocked unconscious. That is at least Captain Marco remembers it but lately he is beginning to doubt those memories as he has been having the same dream that may suggest something else happened on that day. The medical doctors suggest the problem to be Post War trauma and for the first ten years that is what Marco accepted but when another member of his unit approaches him about also having these dreams he is no sure that there is something more sinister at work. In those ten years, Raymond Shaw has been climbing the political ladder, as his mother's new husband is a powerful senator helping a presidential candidate. It his her desire to see Shaw sitting in the White House as the newly elected Vice President and she might just have the influence to pull it off. Knowing that it's just a matter of time before his handler calls Shaw to service, Marco contacts Shaw to try to get through to him before something terrible happens...

What makes the movie so good is not the performances, which are stellar, but the story, which is almost paranoid at times. It is actually quite easy to get caught up in all the conspiracy theory as it is very likely the government and private agencies would try something like this if they had the technology to do so. That almost makes the movie frightening as we look upon ourselves in a retrospective way. Denzel Washington of course steals the movie once more as his very presence on the screen is so commanding that you cannot help but be enthralled by him. His acting style is almost flawless at times as he slips into whatever role he is playing and makes you believe he is that person. While a lot of the other performances were good like Meryl Streep’s portrayal of the corrupt senator who wants to see her son in the White House that she will go to any means to accomplish it, it was Washington’s that you will remember as he captures you with his portrayal of the paranoid, brainwashed military man. I have to admit that I have never seen the original starring Frank Sinatra but after seeing how compelling and interesting this story is, I cannot help but be intrigued by the original to see if it is as good at casting the audience in a blanket of doubt and conspiracy.
4 stars out of 5