Style over substance fights for equal measure

Rating: 7/10 (22 March 2006)

V FOR VENDETTA (2006) *** Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving, Stephen Rea, John Hurt, Stephen Fry, Tim Pigott-Smith, Rupert Graves, Roger Allam, Sinead Cusack. Style over substance fights for equal measure in this audacious adaptation of the graphic novel by Alan Moore and David Lloyd (Moore requested his name withdrawn from the production at his insistence for not seeing eye to eye with the end results) about a totalitarian state London and a mysterious Guy Fawkes masked avenger (Weaving) enlisting a rebel-to-be (Portman) in his quest to challenge the authority that is destroying the public good. Bombastic adaptation by The Wachowski Brothers and their partner in crime James McTeague behind the camera in his debut as director, the film runs for the most part on all cylinders but there's more expositionary dialogue than action and could've used more bang for its buck in this hodgepodge of everything from BATMAN to ZORRO to THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA meets 1984; a little something for everyone.