Plot In the not-too-distant future, Britain has become a fascist, totalitarian state, its population cowed and apathetic. But the nation receives a wake-up call when mysterious masked terrorist "V" (Weaving) blows up the Old Bailey and calls for the citizens to rise up against their oppressors.
Review
Graphic novelist Alan Moorehasn’t had much luck with the movie adaptations of his work: The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen was downright risible and From Hell deeply so-so, while Watchmen — Moore’s masterpiece — has stalled, spluttering somewhere in the pre-production netherworld. Or rather, it’s fans of Alan Moore who haven’t had much luck with movie adaptations of his work. The man himself has given up caring, and is so uninterested in this take on his ’80s serial V For Vendetta that he declined any involvement and ordered his name off the credits. The irony being, this is the best Moore-to-big-screen translation yet.
Which does sound horribly like faint praise. But what marks V out from its Moore-ish predecessors is that it’s been far less compromised by bottom-line concerns.
So much so that the result is decidedly uncommercial. Despite the trailer’s promise of slo-mo action scenes with swooshing knives pirouetting through the air while bullet casings bounce artfully off concrete, this is no teen-pleasing slam-banger. Rather it’s a very talky, deliberately paced political thriller; yes, V is handy with a stiletto, but said scenes occupy fewer than five minutes of screen time, while his preferred method of assassination is lethal injection; no need to draft in Yuen Wo-Ping to assist with that.
We have a protagonist whose face — eyes included — is hidden beneath an inexpressive Guy Fawkes mask throughout and who packs his lengthy monologues with as many multi-syllabled words as possible. We have a leading lady who spends half the film with an unflattering skinhead. And we have a plot which makes a hero of a man who wears bomb-belts and makes his political points turning major landmarks into fireworks displays.
That all these landmarks are found in London arguably makes V For Vendetta an even trickier sell in the UK. One sequence involves a tube train carriage packed with explosives… That’s not going to go down well with a fair chunk of British cinemagoers. Yet we shouldn’t get too hot under the collar, as all this is taking place in a nightmare UK of the future — a Daily Mail heaven of a nation, if you like: God-fearing, racially ‘pure’ and purged of all its sexual ‘deviants’. In Moore’s comics, this society was a post-apocalyptic reflection of Thatcher’s Britain, Moore’s way of launching a simplistic left-wing attack on the then-seemingly unyielding Conservative power-grip. In his world, the only justifiable response was that of an enlightened anarchist, a Fawkes for the modern era. Moore’s V For Vendetta, Moore’s politics, were firmly rooted in the ’80s (where the writer obviously wants them to stay).
The Wachowskis’ version is post-9/11 and proud of it. Their Britain is portrayed as a potential end-point for the current reactionary trend towards the restriction of personal liberty and for the Western media’s fear-frenzy; avian flu and anti-Muslim sentiment are both mentioned while, crucially, V is never referred to as an anarchist, only as a terrorist. Still, the Fawkes parallels are played up (a prologue outlining the Gunpowder Plot has been included for the benefit of American audiences) and the brothers remain respectful of the material they’re playing with; indeed, the comic’s most powerful episode — we don’t want to give it away; suffice to say it involves Natalie Portman’s Alien3 ’do — survives largely intact, providing one of the heftiest gut-punches you’ll see in a movie this year.
Yet the film does have its problems. Debut helmer James McTeigue (former first assistant director to the Wachowskis and George Lucas) doesn’t quite recapture the grimy, neo-Dickensian feel that characterised the comic, his future Britain largely looking rather plain and everyday — perhaps the point, but it leaves the picture feeling somewhat bereft of style. And while physically good casting for Evey, the doe-eyed innocent who has to conquer her fears just as the populace should to overwhelm their oppressors, Portman’s accent flounders, trembling painfully at every vowel enunciation.
Opposite her, though, Hugo Weaving proves compelling as V, even if his performance is largely vocal. He has some clumsy moments to deal with (V’s overly alliterative entrance speech is a dire scripting mis-step), but he overcomes them to make this borderline psychotic vigilante a memorable and unsettlingly charismatic anti-hero. Alan Moore may be snubbing Weaving’s vicious cabaret, but that doesn’t mean everyone else should.
Verdict Setting out more to challenge us with its ideas than make us whoop at the action, Vendetta can be clumsy, but there are enough impressive flourishes to make up for its stumblings.
My Alan Moore-a-thon was cut short due to my mate coming over on Saturday and us getting rather trollied.
I shall watch Watchmen as soon as I can! ... Read More
Good, but messy. I know they had to have the detectives sub plot to act as exposition for the histories of Evi and V but the constant back and forth between the two sets of characters became quite jarring as the film progressed.
Still, a daring blockbuster nonetheless.
... Read More
L: BishopQuaker
I've just watched V for Vendetta and it seemed daft to make a new thread when there was one already here so I'm sorry for bringing this back up to the top when there's all the new films but I thought I'd add my 2 cents as it were.
John Hurt - Brilliant
Hugo Weaving - Brilliant
and I can't quite believe I'm saying this but even Natalie Portman was good!
Alan Moore - Give him an OBE or something!
Excellent use of the word "Bollocks" throughout.
In fact ... Read More
I've just watched V for Vendetta and it seemed daft to make a new thread when there was one already here so I'm sorry for bringing this back up to the top when there's all the new films but I thought I'd add my 2 cents as it were.
John Hurt - Brilliant
Hugo Weaving - Brilliant
and I can't quite believe I'm saying this but even Natalie Portman was good!
Alan Moore - Give him an OBE or something!
Excellent use of the word "Bollocks" throughout.
In fact I'm almost inclined t... Read More
Ultra-cool but it dosen't go over the top, V is a amazing character even if he is killing people and destroying buildings. this film is terrific it pulls no punches from the terrific speeches to the slow-mo action sequences this film shows how when the American's and the British join together they can make a cracker of a movie. Superb. ... Read More
It was on over christmas, BBC 2 I believe, on the 22nd. I was hooked, and when january sales came around, i shot straight up to the shops and bought the dvd and graphic novel. Great story, compelling characters, slightly irritating natalie portman, but other than that, marvellous. ... Read More
An outstanding film fom the Wachoswki brothers and a mesmirising performance from hugo weaving. The ontroversial and philisophical ideas it explores are incredible making me want to watch it over and over again. The action set-pieces are (in true wachowski form) brilliant and the ending is perfectly handled. I strongly recommend this film ... Read More
Without a doubt one of the best films I have ever seen. It has a great (gunpowder) plot and characters that you can relate to. I really found myself being sucked in.
can't beleive it took me this long to see it. Hugo Weaving should play more anti-heros ... Read More
Without a doubt one of the best films I have ever seen. It has a great (gunpowder) plot and characters that you can relate to. I really found myself being sucked in.
can't beleive it took me this long to see it. Hugo Weaving should play more anti-heros ... Read More
Good film and highly enjoyable to watch for the action but the dialogue at times for me is often annoying and at times extremely pretentious.
When writing a script you should really take into account that not everybody who is eventually going to see this film is not going to be as intelligent or pretentious as you so save your scripts for a David Lynch film and give the public some understanding.
Apart from all of this irritating and at times needless dialogue V For Vendetta is an amazin... Read More
Classic
Excellent
Good
Fair
Tragic
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