The people's vote is yes - the UK critics' is no!

Rating: 10/10 (25 March 2006)

I did not know what to expect from this film and was unfamiliar with the story and characters of Alan Moore's graphic novel.
But as I was soon to find out that did not really matter....
I now feel extremely lucky to have experienced an amazingly gripping film that ...
a) entertains in the most intelligent 'blockbuster' style possible, shot and directed with a good balance and measure of action , reflection, darkness , twists and turns with an awesomely topical storyline.
b) tackles a variety of issues that affect us all, yes all of us!!
c) has scenes and moments that ignite every emotion ..
and most importantly of all, a film that makes us all aware of the need to take responsibility ,ourselves, for how we look at the world and those who have any influence on our everyday lives and the lives of others... and that from different perspectives the world is a vastly changed place.
many films of a political persuasion these days weigh themselves down with telling you how to think. V for Vendetta just wants you to stop and think! That is all.
Ironically enough the film's stance towards the USA is belligerent and acidly condemning, but most US based critics have embraced the film's refreshing stimulation of the average movie goers brain!
However British critics say its not 'strong enough', and that it portrays england under a fascist regime as a land of people watching TV , going peacefully about their lives -a mediocre vision of the future that is pointless to analyse. They say it should have been set in America to make it more 'controversial' and hit home harder by tellin geveryone to be more anarchic...Its a film dealing with the idea of anarchy and extremism -not them itself!!!
And tell me where a man dressed as Guy Fawkes, and how the centuries of politics in the UK could have been translated to the USA ....without changing the characters, timelines and style completely...I hate to say it but give the film makers a break!
Lets not forget that the world in which main character V lives is a world where any minorities and dissidents have been removed- leaving only herds of 'average' middle class apathetic people who conform to all the rules and believe all they read and see in the press...more or less most of us today....
And if you see the film :- remember you don't need to know 'everything' about the characters -because the film wants you to decide if they are good/bad/crazy/sane, form their attitudes , action and ideas -NOT from who they were, which side they fight for or where they came from! (Most UK critics complain that the characters are superficially dealt with.. in terms of depth of character and background)
So go decide whether you want to become another member of the herd and enjoy the ride in the meantime. I did!
A staggering film- a film for our times.