Heavy-handed, leftist tripe

Rating: 1/10 (5 August 2006)

In vengeance and through the violence that created him, our 'hero' seeks to rectify the tyranny and injustice of a cruel government set in futuristic London, England. Of course, said government is conservative and all of the favorite leftist imagery follows. Nazis. Big brother on your TV screen. Martial law. Covert military and police brutality to silence critics. Mockery of Christianity and its figures. Most of all, our hero. With a theatrical flair and classically educated wit, he emerges as a savior against oppression. His offering? Anarchy. Chaos. All of this he couches in terms like "opportunity" and "hope", but what hope does anarchy ever offer beyond destruction and disorder? Never does our hero offer his vision for a brighter tomorrow. He is a reflection of his real-world counterparts. They have sarcasm and criticism, but never a better idea. They offer only deconstruction, never accord. He thrives by the same tactics as those who he fights, yet it is his example that offers that better, cleaner page? The snide parallels this movie draws to the current political situation are arrogant, melodramatic and clumsy. I find myself wondering if this movie's creators escaped their own secret police raid complete with black bag tied about their heads. Again and again Hollywood rails (but it's only a movie, right?) against the very system and liberties that afford them the privilege of making this swill for a living. It's amusing. Perhaps they would enjoy comparing notes with Cuban, Chinese or Russian dissidents on what real oppression is.
The acting, direction and action of the movie were well done enough, but the story itself was absurd and comically insulting. I can't get past that in rating it, so I give it the lowest possible. One star.