Exceeded very high expectations.

Rating: Null/10 (22 March 2006)

I had high expectations for this film because of all the creative parties involved, and was not disappointed at all. I hope for an extended DVD cut of the film. I am excited about the director, and even with the genius Wachowski brothers' involvement and influence, McTeigue definitely has his own style.
The politics of the film felt very timely due to the current circumstances in the US, though upon repeat viewing of the film I felt the story itself was less tied to a specific political situation then many suggest. I read an interview where a South Korean reporter made the assumption that the film was about the situation in North Korea. I enjoyed reading some of the shrill negative reviews of the film from certain persons concerned overly with a perceived comparison between Nazi Germany and the Bush Administration  gee, why so sensitive about that I wonder?. These are certainly missing the point when claiming the Nazis were a leftist party, and thus the message of the film is bogus  since fascist regimes rise to power under the guise of many of political ideologies, but they seem to use the same tactics to accomplish such goals.
There were some rather clever bits in the film (spoiler alert) that were particularly notable, such as the media referring to the single individual V as a "terrorist organization". The attempt to explain away a building destroyed in an actual attack as a "controlled demolition" was also darkly ironic. I looked closely but could see no loofah in the shower scene.
Hugo Weaving and Natalie Portman were really good, and the detective Stephen Rea was just as compelling. I just wish the film was an hour longer. There are a ton of very quotable lines in the dialog.