A Solid, Compelling Action, Thriller

Rating: 9/10 (22 January 2019)

18 March 2006. What will be interesting regarding this movie is how Hugo Weaving as V will be assessed, not Natalie Portman's performance as Evey. Hugo plays the mysterious, quite literate, masked man who emotes with a fixed smiling mask. This sharp looking action thriller with political overtones to the terrorist policies of America today even though the exclusive focus on the movie is the action occurring in Britain. V echoes back to 1984 (the movie) and even Phantom of the Opera. The introduction of a stylish mask hero and a female heroine subjected to vile torture with a twist makes for compelling film-making. Yet for all the heroics, consistent script, the exaggerated and graphic novel appeal is also its distraction. Unlike 1984, V doesn't have that believability component. Unlike Brazil, V doesn't have the complete ethereal feel. Unlike Sin City, V doesn't manage to hold true to its comic roots. Eight out of Ten Stars.
4/28/2016. Perhaps it is the times. Like a resurrection, V dramatically presents an eerie sense of contemporary political times. with the mutant viruses, the civil wars, terrorism, big brother surveillance, and now the fear-plagued Presidential election of the United States, V seems to resonate even more poignantly and relevantly since its initial release. This movie now brilliant shines as an emotive, political statement as well as a smoothly, entertaining statement of timeless and important ideas.