A "Testament of Dr. Mabuse" for the new millennium

Rating: 7/10 (19 September 2008)

"V For Vendetta" is a film "The Dark Knight" could have been -- almost the other side of the same coin. It is marked by a similarly dark protagonist with a more impressive (and dangerous) sense of justice, yet he is an endearing and likable character to the end. Thus it is a true superhero film, for despite its deadpan serious tone, it also retains a variety of comic elements that make the characters and plot deeply engaging to the viewer.
The setting is a totalitarian England of the near future, just after the collapse of the USA and their fumbled invasion in the Middle-East. England is now led by evangelical fascists who do not allow homosexuality, artistic expression, freedom of speech, late-night social activity, and all other kinds of "luxuries." The party henchmen all unquestioningly serve a crazed talking head played by John Hurt, who dictates to them through a giant television screen in an obvious reference to the movie adaptation of George Orwell's "1984". In the midst of this unpleasant society lives Evey (Natalie Portman), a young woman who works a dead-end job as an assistant in one of the main propaganda TV news studios. The protagonist, freedom fighter "V" (Hugo Weaving), accosts her in the streets one night (in typical superhero fashion) and takes their chance meeting to be more than just chance (he doesn't believe in coincidences, as everyone in the film eventually learns).
What makes "V for Vendetta" so intoxicating is the way it piles on the horrifying government indictments and heavy-handed polemics in obvious reference to the modern anti-terrorist party-line of the US/UK governments. But the main character repeatedly drives into our brains throughout the film, that as literal as these critiques may be, they (and the movie's entire story) exist merely as symbols, as ideas, which have no original form but continually reappear in contrast to control schemes. So to take everything involved here completely literally would be like taking the Matrix to be the actual hidden reality beneath our day-to-day lives.
But then again, somewhat admirably and dangerously, as they did with "The Matrix", here the Wachowski brothers have unveiled their own eccentric, courageous line of thinking -- one which is uncommonly seen delivered in Hollywood with such "chutzpah" -- especially nowadays. V brings back some of the best elements of "The Testament of Dr. Mabuse", "Twelve Monkeys", "Batman", "1984", and "Brazil", and it's a welcome return in lieu of the stagnant soft-fascism of modern mass-consumer-product-ridden film culture.
The film is not without its quirky flaws. By the end of the film, the villains are not quite as loathsome and sinister as they initially appeared to be; their dimensions are stretched a little thin over the 2+ hour movie. And for as much as V references "Hamlet" and "The Count of Monte Cristo" throughout the film, his tale of vengeance is never quite as fully resonant as anything in these aforementioned works. Additionally, there are some pacing problems about 2/3 of the way through the film, where the story is forced to go through a few montages to speed it up and actually conclude.
But still, even if you think the blatant (almost insane) political tirades are ridiculous, cheesy, inauthentic, exaggerated or offensive, the movie is well-made with some quality perks. The protagonist V has some awesome (sometimes hysterical) lines, and there are a couple of good twists to the film's story. V's first appearance and lines early on are some of the best in the film and Hugo Weaving gives an incredibly enjoyable performance using an endearing method of dead-pan delivery and expressive, jerky body language. And watch for the fight scene where the film pokes fun at the choreography and special effects from "The Matrix" (the director here was the Assistant Director for The Matrix series).
Although the movie is by no means perfect, and certainly unrealistic and at times illogical, it is a fantastic action/suspense film and evokes "The Matrix" and "The Dark Knight" with its cohesive and immersing plot, likable protagonist, endearing performances and insanely bold message. The worst thing you could say is that it's unique, which is certainly no insult in today's movie market.