Meh, somewhat entertaining, except...

Rating: 3/10 (1 April 2009)

I do enjoy films with a message. V certainly has one and it hits you over the head like a sledgehammer. This particularly isn't a problem when executed well, but doing so in a comic bookish fashion with poor acting doesn't make for very entertaining fare. Maybe I was expecting too much from the outset - more eye candy - more "gee whiz" from the Wachowski brothers rather then simply a political statement? I suppose if you're an adult whose buried your face in comic books your entire adolescent years you'll find the characters spectacular no matter how drab. I couldn't help but think this movie was a direct rip-off of "The Man in the Iron Mask (1939)" and "The Three Musketeers", of course minus two swashbucklers in this film. At one point my "stop button" finger was getting rather itchy when I was pelted over the head with a pro-lesbianism/homosexuality propaganda segment. Call me a prude, but it was WAY too obvious and entirely unnecessary in the weak story this was supposed to be telling.
I'd avoid this one if you're expecting sci-fi along the lines and caliber of The Matrix. It doesn't even outshine one of the sequels and those were fairly poor in themselves. You have been warned. Face it Wachowski brothers, your best is in the past.