If V is for Vendetta, then B is for...

Rating: 7/10 (27 March 2006)

Some people have criticised this movie because it 'only' cost $50 million. Others have criticised it because it allegedly makes a 'pinko liberal' point about what some politicians will do to stay in power. Yet more have criticised 'V for Vendetta' because the central character wears an unmoving mask for most of the film. After the 'Matrix' trilogy, a lot of film-goers expected a lot from the Wachowski brothers. Personally, I think that they have delivered.
I also think that the 2nd and 3rd parts of the 'Matrix' trilogy sucked. Too many special effects and not enough plot killed off 'Reloaded' and 'Revolutions' for me, so I was relieved to see very little 'Bullet time' in 'V for Vendetta'. However, the brothers' penchant for protracted exposition and purple prose flared up in a few places. The Wachowski script is a dumbed-down, Americanised version of Alan Moore's eloquent graphic novel.
And while we're on the subject of the script, people in the UK are a lot more creative when it comes to invective than the Wachowskis give them credit for. Aside from a couple of F's and one C, the predominant swearword in the movie is B0110cks. How ironic.
You're probably wondering why I've given this film 7 out of 10 by now. Well, despite the sometimes ropey dialogue and overly flashy direction, I enjoyed watching a cast of mostly UK and Irish actors appearing in a film about the UK: A UK that I hope I never live to see. The parallels with Stalin's Russia, Hitler's Germany and every other dictatorship in history were chilling and well realised. With the wrong people in power, you can create a monstrous and monolithic dictatorship anywhere.
The production designers deserve a mention for their work on 'V for Vendetta". While the Nazi motifs are somewhat obvious, there are quite a few subtle visual references to the Britain of the 1940s and Russia during the Communist Era. This sort of detailed work makes V's world seem much more chilling and believable.
V is a very English superhero and even though Alan Moore distanced himself from the project, the story of his hero/monster is now a movie. The Wachowskis may have sliced and diced the source material, but V is still very much himself; enigmatic, courageous, cruel, caring and self-contained.
I think that last comment sums the film up quite well too. Don't be tempted to make a sequel, chaps.