The right movie at the right time

Rating: 9/10 (25 March 2006)

V for Vendetta is a comic book style allegorical thriller. Although the setting is England, the film is really about what is happening in present day America, and what the rest of the world will be like in twenty or so years given current political trends. America has already collapsed, and the UK is in the grip of a neo-con dictatorship that has risen to power by creating high level of fear and religious faith in the population, while at the same time pumping them with high tech propaganda. The dictatorial coup is initiated by the ruling elite executing a false flag attack on their own people. Vendetta is a remake of "1984" in the context of the Bush administration. It alludes to 911 and anthrax attacks, the Patriot Act, Abu-ghraib, the fearful and passive American public and its corrupt, greedy, and even evil government and much more. But you can also enjoy this film simply as a futuristic thriller, fast moving with excellent special effects and some violence. Neither the effects nor the violence is overdone. Direction, acting, and writing are also good. There are a lot of good literary quotations and memorable speeches. At one point V says, "The artist lies to reveal the truth; the politician lies to conceal the truth." The movie is worth seeing on a lot of different levels.