Loved it

Rating: 8/10 (21 March 2006)

I am not familiar with the source material, but I must say that I loved this film. It is amazingly thought-provoking, with some very depressing parallels to current situations.
I discovered from the credits that Hugo Weaving did V. He is, of course, a terrific actor; but I was wondering if we were going to have a "Darth Vader" situation where one actor does the voice and another the physical movement.
I can't give the film a 10/10 because there were some serious questions: for example, was the final fit of special effects actually necessary, or just a bit of decorative iconoclasm? And I also question the likelihood of V putting the heroine through the rigors depicted in the middle of the film.
However, despite the fact that the film has some rather spectacular killings, I never found the film to be gory or gruesome, and I thought the smiling Guy Fawkes mask was a perfect touch--no matter how dreadful the subject, or tearful the scene, V would be smilin' thru. However, I am eternally grateful (and consider this a spoiler) that we had no Phantom Of The Opera unmasking scene. I must confess that a good portion of the tension for me was whether the heroine was about to snatch the mask. But the viewer is allowed to use his or her imagination, which I think serves much better than any make-up might have.
A film that is well-made, entertaining AND thought-provoking is a rare occurrence. Savor it.