Glorious and Exciting, Disturbing and Deep

Rating: 10/10 (25 April 2006)

At first I was hesitant to rate "V For Vendetta" at all, given that many reviews of it said, completely sans details, "Five Stars!", or the ubiquitous "Two Thumbs Up!". But eventually I decided to rate the movie after all, because "V For Vendetta" is visually spectacular, excellently casted and acted (if you can avoid seeing who plays V until the end of the movie, please do so--it helps you to avoid obvious stereotypes between V and other characters the actor has portrayed), and "actiony" enough to satisfy those who come only for that facet of the film. However, what really makes "V" such a glorious cinematic experience is the fact that it goes beyond the screen and drags every current political debate into the picture.
In a society which is only going to get more liberal, we are shown a picture of the future, where the fascist leader (whose physical characteristics and leadership qualities show him in more than one way to be a caricature of Adolf Hitler) violently tortures and executes British gays, lesbians, minority races, and religions other than the Anglican Church, and supports wars on other countries, including America. It is the worst kind of conservative government, one which even bans beautiful works of art (including the Koran), and the people of the country are obviously miserable and disgusted. Immediately we sympathize with Evey, whose average Britishness is only surpassed by her loneliness, and we feel further intense disgust for the government which oppresses her.
Along comes a fellow who (a) is quaintly reminiscent of a burned Edmund Dantes, winning our sympathy, (b) is strongly supportive of the minority/gay/lesbian/religious cause, but fancies and courts our heroine nonetheless, winning our love, (c) is quirky but obviously intelligent, winning our respect, and (d) can rhyme, quote Shakespeare, and throw knives like nobody's business, winning our utter delight. V embodies everything that an audience looks for in an action hero: despite the fact that he wears a mask and wig for the entirety of the movie (I might actually have left the theatre if Evey had demasked him), he is physically fit and there is no doubt to the audience that he can kick the living daylights out of henchmen.
Then comes the catch: Yes, V is an incredibly attractive character to the audience (and of course, so is Evey), and yes we understand that he fights against fascism, dictatorship, racism, genocide, and Rechtsextremismus. But V is nevertheless a terrorist, and I mean for that word "terrorist" to carry just as much strength as it would describing a member of Al-Qaeda or the ULA. V straps a bomb to his chest and takes it into a crowded television broadcast building, then kills security guards and, ultimately, a person (one of several) whom he dresses up just like himself, in Guy Fawkes costumes--an innocent civilian. V indirectly, albeit unaffectedly, kills several people later in the movie by sending out more Guy Fawkes costumes and encouraging Britons to wear them. Undoubtedly, the Parliament building is evacuated on the Fifth of November, but its final glorious destruction is almost more disturbing in its emotionlessness. He kills, steals, destroys, lies, kidnaps, and--and this is probably the most heartbreaking, stereotypical, terroristic facet of his character--seems to think that every man, woman, or child in Britain would die for their country.
Upon my first viewing of the movie, I was simply awed and pleased; upon reflection and further viewings, I realized the implications of V's actions: the entire movie's message is that "Terrorism is justified when an oppressive government is in sway." Imagine if the Christians in pre-Constantine Roman times had begun killing innocent Roman citizens in defense of their religion, rather than peacefully warring with Christian philosophy. Furthermore, imagine if the Jews in Berlin had strapped bombs to their chests and destroyed central parts of the city, then killed Hitler, after their Jewish compatriots in Warsaw were taken to Auschwitz, Birkenau, and Treblinka. Certainly the Holocaust would have ended more quickly, but the Jewish population of Europe would then have been labelled forevermore as terrorists. Terrorism, in the United States, is considered to be an absolutely forbidden tactic of fighting, and the paradox in "V for Vendetta", what absolutely boggles my mind, is that terrorism is GLORIFIED, through fantastic characters, extreme visual effects, and cinematic tricks that beautify plot action.
Whatever your political convictions, "V for Vendetta" is a film every American who cares about the modern world or the future should see. Even being set primarily in London, and entirely in England, it brings forward the main points of America's politics today, beautifully linking our arguments concerning religion (it might be noted that the Church of England, in this film, is portrayed as totally corrupt and unreligious), war, terrorism, the gay/lesbian stand, and whom we should trust to run our country.