"Remember, remember the fifth of November."
V for Vendetta adapts the brilliant political graphic novel from Alan Moore into a good action/thriller film that keeps the cinematic look of the book even if it lacks some of the teeth of Moore’s original story.
Set in 2020, the film follows the “hero” V who is determined to remind the masses that they shouldn’t fear the government – the government should fear them. At the same time, he plans a murderous revenge on the government that made him what he is.
V (Hugo Weaving), lives in a future that has shades of ‘1984’ England where the “Big Brother” government controls every aspect of society through the use of fear and a single message that is broadcasted by the country’s Chancellor Adam Sutler (played by John Hurt). His party rules the nation through force and fear. They gained their authority when the world was in chaos, and continue control through abuse of power - where minorities and political dissenters are gathered and killed. Artistic and unacceptable religious works have been removed and only the voice of the party is now heard.
Taking inspiration from Guy Fawkes (the 17th century Catholic co-conspirator who tried to blow up Parliament on November 5, 1605) V dons a Fawkes mask and costume as symbols of his quest to “free” England from the government that has robbed the people of their freedom.
As he begins his quest, V (who could also be easily described as a terrorist) rescues Evey (Natalie Portman) from a group of police officers when she is caught out after curfew. After saving her life, he takes her to see his “fireworks” and gets her caught up in his scheme (the government assumes she was in on his plan).
V is out to remind people of freedom
When Evey helps V in his second attack on a television station, he is forced to take her to his underground home. He tells her that she must remain there and also shows her the beauty of the world that he longs to return to England (his home is filled with art, literature, music, and everything the government has censored).
Evey eventually escapes only to be captured by the “government” and tortured for the whereabouts of V. Instead of revealing what she knows, Evey finds freedom in the fact that she will die on her terms, and comes to understand what V is attempting to do for England. While this is going on, V continues his attack on those who tortured him and continues his pans to blow up Parliament in an attempt to return the government to the people. I won't go into more details about the plot in the review so that the story isn't spoiled.
The film’s screenplay was written by the Wachowski Brothers (of The Matrix) and directed by their protégé, James McTeigue. The making of the film was surrounded in controversy and criticism due to the story’s glorification of terrorism to overthrow a corrupt government, and the very blatant similarities and shots at the current U.S. political arena (the graphic novel was aimed at the Margaret Thatcher’s conservative government).
Moore even removed his name from the film to distance himself from the big screen adaptation of his work (in the film’s defense, Moore hasn’t liked any film version of his comics). He stated that he disagreed with how the Wachowski Brothers changed elements of his story to reflect the Bush administration, and also did not like how they changed V into a freedom fighter instead of an anarchist.
Even without Moore’s approval and with the watering down of different elements of his original story, V for Vendetta is still an extremely good film with a strong message about the need for the public to be responsible for its government.
McTeigue does an excellent job in the director’s chair. He takes a rather dense plot and keeps it moving with enough action to keep fans of the genre happy, and enough political commentary to give the film more weight than the average “superhero” movie. The movie has a slick look to it. The film also manages to look futuristic, but also has a feel that it could happen next year. The film moves at a pace where the audience can follow the story, but never get bored at the slower parts between V and Evey.
Portman is great as Evey and carries the film
Hugo Weaving’s voice (his face is never seen) is perfect for V, and he makes the character more than a guy in a Fawkes mask. Since we never see V’s face, his voice is needed to show the emotions of the character, and Weaving accomplishes this task and more.
Portman and Hurt are also great in the film. Portman carries the movie, and represents the unaware public. As she journeys through the film, our eyes are opened to what V is doing, and we forget about the means that he is using to carry out his task. Some of what she goes through is a stretch, and her quick forgiveness of V towards the end of the film might be a bit hard for some audience members to accept.
As Chancellor Adam Sutler, Hurt snarls his way through the film, and seems to be a cross of a modern day Hitler, and the average politician out to preserve his seat of power. I wish his role could have been a bit expanded in the film, but I liked how he mostly appeared on large television screens – adding to the “Big Brother” feel of the movie.
The two disc special edition includes several features that fans of the movie (and comic) will enjoy. However, all the special features could have been included in one disc, and you get the feeling the second disc is just to get a few extra bucks out of the buyer – it is about $5 higher.
Disc One features include the film, and Freedom Forever!: Making V for Vendetta – which is a 15 minute standard making of feature where the various people involved in the project discuss how it made it from the page to the screen.
Disc 2 has several really great features that take you further into the movie, and provide you with a look at how groundbreaking the comic was when it was released. Designing the Near Future is a 17 minute look at the film’s production and how they came up with the look for the movie.
Remember, Remember: Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot is a 10-minute history lesson on history behind the story. It includes interviews with Guy Fawkes historians, filmmakers, and Portman. England Prevails: V for Vendetta and the New Wave in Comics is a 15-minute look at the comic and features interviews with David Lloyd (who illustrated the comic) and other comic industry leaders (such as Paul Levitz and Bill Sienkiwicz). It features discussion about British comics, and they talk about how V for Vendetta helped moved graphic novels and comics to a larger and older audience.
The second disc also has the film’s theatrical trailer, a Cat Power Montage, and an Easter egg of Natalie Portman rapping that was taken from her appearance on Saturday Night Live.
V also seeks personal revenge
V for Vendetta is not a film that everyone will enjoy, but it is one that I would highly recommend taking the time to watch. If you are diehard fan of the graphic novel or Moore’s work, you might be disappointed in the movie version, but it is still worth watching. The film captures the essence of Moore’s story, and relates to what is happening in the world today. At the same time, it never gets so preachy that it forgets that it is also an action movie.
V for Vendetta is now available at Amazon and AmazonUK . Visit the DVD database for more information.
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