View from a disgruntled comic reader

Rating: 3/10 (24 March 2006)

I tried to look at this movie from a non-biased point of view, but I think that's pretty much impossible. Being a huge fan of the graphic novel (comic book) I went into this movie with low expectations--but dammit if they didn't disappoint me even more. This movie is a classic example of a superb story being befuddled in the hands of less-talented individuals. Nearly everything that made the comic great was dumbed-down or crapped all over. Even the lighting and angles chosen seemed overly amateur and did nothing to convey the dark feeling of a totalitarian state. And, without ruining the ending, I will say that the Wachowski jerks totally missed the entire point of the graphic novel.
The annoying thing is that it could have made such a good movie, in the hands of more approving fans. Or, at the very least, a great action movie. Instead we get boring, watered-down plot and confusing character development. I'm starting to believe the rumours about the Wachowski bros. stealing the Matrix script--how could the writers of that movie make such a hulking pile of "bullocks" like this?!
Alan Moore, the author of the far superior comic, asked for his name to be removed from the credits (the end credits say: based on the graphic novel ILLUSTRATED by David Lloyd). He also called the screenplay childish, which I believe is absolutely right. The graphic novel, V for Vendetta will be remembered for years as a classic piece of literature, this stain on it's name will hopefully be forgotten by the next election year.