More or Less Underwhelming

Rating: 5/10 (1 June 2016)

"V for Vendetta" seems like it wants to be provocative, and although it does somewhat succeed, it more or less falls short. It's certainly a timely, relevant film; bringing up issues like media manipulation, censorship, national surveillance, religious hypocrisy, fear mongering, torture, prejudice, etc. But despite that, it was mostly underwhelming to say the least. The script (written by the Wachowskis) felt like it was a slightly revised first draft; the plot was convoluted and the dialogue was half-assed. Though V for Vendetta does boasts some striking visuals and imagery, the cinematography and lighting was ugly and jarringly bright, respectively. During the first act Natalie Portman's performance as Evey Hammond was mostly hard to watch, but late in the second act she is given some dramatic flare. Stephen Fry was one of the best things about this film.