Kubrick would be proud

Rating: 8/10 (20 August 2008)

The V for Vendetta graphic novel would surely have been loved by Stanley Kubrick and the V for Vendetta movie is surely one Kubrick would have loved to direct.
In the future, England is over run by a totalitarian government made possible by an evil conspiracy that left several hundred's dead and one horribly scarred survivor whom the government would rather forget. In other words, England has become the country Hitler wanted the whole world to be back in the forties, and there's one man out there determined to change that. He goes by the name V, expertly wields a set of knives, knows all kinds of ways to kick your ass and proudly sports a Guy Fawkes mask. Guy Fawkes was a man in English history who was hung for trying to blow up the parliament building in the 17th century, and now V is determined to finish what he started and along the way rally the population of England against their fascist government.
The film is loaded with historical references and their modern day parallels, political connotations and in its own way debates the rights and wrongs, causes and effects of activism. It encourages freedom of speech and the righteous stance but does this all within the context of an action movie. V is basically a terrorist standing up for the little guy, he goes about the film raising hell, blowing up monuments, picking off those who done him wrong and doing his best to make it clear to everybody that things need to change, and he's only gonna be the beginning.
There are scenes in this movie that can stand next to many of the great action flicks and some that can ride alongside that of a political thriller. There are some slower moments here too, but they're so enriched with great acting and story telling that you can hardly fault the makers for slouching on the pace...especially when it all builds to its big finale.
This film may very well not be for everybody, which in of itself is a good reason to compare it Kubrick. It's a smart action movie with a bit of interesting commentary. The morality of it all in my mind comes second to the spectacle of it all, but it's a great add on to a solidly entertaining film.