A little review

Rating: 9/10 (11 October 2006)

"Remember, remember, the fifth of November, the gunpowder treason and plot. I see no reason why gunpowder treason, Should ever be forgot." The old rhyme of Bonfire Night comes out of the speakers, and then a story starts to be told. This is the beginning to V for Vendetta, a film about remembering treason and oppression.
It must be told that Bonfire Night on November fifth is a celebration in England of a failed attempt to blow up the House of Lords, in the Houses of Parliament in London, in 1605. Guy Fawkes was the man in the plot who was to blow it up. He was caught underneath the building with barrels of gunpowder. Fawkes was tortured and hanged along with the other conspirators.
The movie takes a new look at treason, here the hero is the terrorist V. V is a man in a mask; he wears a Guy Fawkes mask. Behind the mask and voice of V is Hugo Weaving, who does a remarkable version of the vandalistic villain on a very voracious vendetta (the best line by V is all to do with "v" words). The movie is set in the future, around 2040, in London. London has gone to a fascist government that has exterminated all the non-heterosexual-god- fearing-whites.
The audience falls in the middle of this dark oppressive world. The first character to be seen is Evey Hammond, played with perfection throughout by Natalie Portman. Evey is normal, if not stumbling into the terrorist V and running from police. It is not until the later half of the film does Evey become the character she needs to be to complete the films message. The scenes of just her are innocently powerful due to Portman's ability to just stare.
A very powerful cast supports Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving. Consisting of the comedian Stephen Fry, Stephen Rea who does a great job as the chief inspector, John Hurt who plays as the dictator of London, and Tim Pigott-Smith as Creedy. Creedy is the evilest man in the film, and Tim Pigott-Smith makes that possible with the surly looks he has at all times. The film also has a lot of recurring characters who represent the public, and the movie moves back to them as so one sees the change in public opinion. This is great since it truly makes the movie have such a great depth. Creating the ending to be such a greater climax than it would be with out them.
The action of the movie is very Matrix-ish, and why not since the creators of the Matrix films, the Wachowski brothers, also wrote the script for V for Vendetta. They use the slow motion fight scenes with all the blur and special effects quite soundly. The brothers even brought in the assistant director from the Matrix films to be the director of V for Vendetta. James McTeigue in his first film as Prime Director, and he shows he knows what to do. The movie has just flawless direction as it travels through the story.
V for Vendetta is a movie that divides it audience. Some see it as an anti-Christian anti- heterosexual and anti-American film. Others see it as a very core value American film. This is because of what the Wachowski brothers portray the future as and how it got there. The film is big on gay rights and the rights to privacy. Besides this after effect most come out of the theater liking it, even when they thought they would not.