Guy Fawkes Knight

Rating: Null/10 (16 April 2007)

The graphic novel on which this Wachowski Brother's film is based was an allegory of Thatcher's Britain of the Eighties, so it's surprising how well (or even better) it works as a similar allegory of Blair's duplicitous government in the wake of 9/11. Truth is spun by men in suits into something unrecognisable, civilians are spied upon, and are subjugated by the skilled exploitation of their fears Â– which have largely been invoked by the very people who exploit them. The fact that a film which has, truthfully, to be lumped into the superhero genre, is so prescient is incredible.
The film is in the grand guignol style; our (anti)-hero, a masked phantom of the opera type who lives in what looks like a castle, is reminiscent, at times, of the swashbuckling types from Hollywood flicks of the thirties and forties: a last musketeer, still using blades when the rest of the world has moved on to semi-automatics. But that's the way it has to be, because V is a throwback to an earlier time; a time when heroes were honourable men who defended our land rather than our goalmouth, and social disorder was a result of grievance rather than greed. Weaving is very good behind his mask, while Portman makes a fetching heroine. John Hurt, Winston Smith in a film of which this is a recognisable descendant, is a nice touch as the fascist dictator whom V seeks to depose. Rea, however, has a thankless role, as the plodding policeman always one step behind.
Despite the way it was marketed, this isn't a film for the hardcore action fan. The story's a little convoluted (although that's not necessarily a criticism) and there's as much going on behind the scenes as there is on the screen.