Hugely Influential Version of Classic Graphic Novel

Rating: 8/10 (14 July 2013)

V for Vendetta is one of those films that transcends its source-material and becomes a truly influential piece of work. Set in a Fascist Great Britain following the victory of Germany in World War II, it shows the mysterious V (Hugo Weaving) taking revenge on all those government servants and employees who consciously used human beings for experiments, while deliberately creating an epidemic so as to encourage the people to support them. Among the assorted bad guys he exterminates are Roger Allam as a military leader and media personality (bearing a strong resemblance to the UK Independence Party's Nigel Farage), Sinead Cusack as a crooked scientist and John Hurt as a truly awe-inspiring Big Brother figure. V is aided in his quest by Evie Rutherford (Natalie Portman), who discovers a lot about herself and her commitment in the process. With astounding special effects, including a rousing climax when the Houses of Parliament is set on fire - in a deliberate reenactment of the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 - V FOR VENDETTA offers a chilling vision of what can happen to so-called 'democracies,' when individuals acquire too much power. If nothing else, we should aim to retain the capacity to disagree with people, even at the cost of our own lives.