Only Hollywood could have dismissed the Wachowski brothers

Rating: 9/10 (25 March 2006)

Well, I put off going to this film after reading a couple of reviews. It sounded a little lame, and the last time I saw Natalie Portman she was less than rewarding. This time, however, she captured my attention and held it like you would expect a beautiful young woman to do, though with her own twist, namely that her persona manages to speak of her humanity more strongly than her physicality. It seems Natalie has deepened her skills since The Professional. Still, the movie relies on her performance to the extent that it would have failed if she had faltered. She doesn't.
No, I walked away from the movie tonight totally amazed that this 2 hour plus movie had managed to keep me riveted to my seat like some old Bingo player needing only one mroe square to win the night's big jackpot. And my wife, no fan of either action movies or political thrillers, was miraculously just as mesmerized.
This movie is a towering achievement, and there's no doubt in my mind that it will be the standard in its genre for a long time to come. And if you thought Hugo Weaving a slightly odd choice for Agent Smith in his last big role, watch him win you over in this film. He does it with insight and intuition despite extreme limitations (a Guy Fawkes mask). And John Hurt is every bit as righteous and outraged as some of our real politicians, making him all too easily recognizable.
I love this film! V may introduce himself with about 1,000 more words than necessary, but quickly, this film makes its points like some master litigator building an ironclad case. Oh I looked at my watch alright, but not to see how much more I had to endure, but how much of this cinematic miracle was left before I'd be unceremoniously thrown out into the cold, cold night. To say this screenplay is brilliant is a colossal understatement. It's almost impossible to believe any writing team could have dreamed it up, much less one where one of the team is seeking a sex-change operation in a real-life. And considering that the Wachowski brothers were responsible for The Matrix as well, I thank my lucky stars that I didn't grow up to be in competition with these guys! Quite unlike the Matrix sequels, this movie is very much the worthy of successor of The Matrix.
A couple of after thoughts: If you've heard about the Holocaust allusions, don't worry. You're not pummeled into submission with yet another account of that tragedy. And two, I fervently hope this operation they're talking about doesn't diminish their ability to create mind boggling cinema. That would truly be a tragedy, all around.