Daring, timely and gripping. Up there with the best.

Rating: 10/10 (22 September 2006)

For reasons known or unknown, the publicity machinery for V for Vendetta had been relatively muted compared to its less deserving cohorts this year  so much so that I only finally managed to watch it on board an airliner's in-flight entertainment program, months after its screening in the cinemas. I really did not know what to expect then, but I can safely say now that it was probably the best 2 hours I had ever spent in cargo class.
Not being familiar with the original graphic novel, I can only judge the movie on its own merits. It is certainly one of the most intelligent and beautifully nuanced commercial movie releases for a long time. The Wachowski brothers had finally redeemed themselves for their underwhelming Matrix sequels.
There were invariably several issues that were left hanging at the end. Indeed, should every maligned individual with a cause célèbre or an axe to grind, be entitled to go after the detractors? Where does one draw the line? Perhaps the fundamental answer lies within us, or Valerie says, "Our integrity sells for so little but it is all we really have. It is the very last inch of us but within that inch we are free." One of the best movies of all time.