A Great combination of action and story!

Rating: 10/10 (27 May 2006)

I watched this film with an open-mind, having no idea what to expect. After the two hours passed by, I experienced true entertainment, and a sense of truth and awe.
The film depicts the graphic comic book about the vigilante who goes by the name of V. It takes place in the near future, with England and other nations under a Nazi like, dictatorship that rules over everything. It is led by the Chancellor. This ideal form of government is supposed to suppress all forms of terrorism and make everything peaceful.
But V sees things in a different light and has a plan of his own. People may criticize and compare the character V as Darth Vader for he wears all black, has similar political views of Michael Moore, and wears a top hat with a Guy Fox mask. I strong disagree with this comparison or even criticism, for V is character of his own (perhaps not too many reviewers have read or known about the comic book) and he is portrayed very wonderfully by Hugo Weaving.
Even more criticism is aimed at the political views in the film. For instance the Chancellor, played by John Hurt, portrays a pure image of Adolf Hitler (even though he was no more than a shouting figurehead). To a degree I agree with this criticism, but there is no intention of propaganda in this film. there maybe controversy, but it is not out to bash the Leftists.
Now after saying that, the story goes on with V meeting a woman named Evy (Natalie Portman) who seeks the truth one night as she's mugged. He rescues her, and the two develop a relationship that revolves around the corruption of the government and what life was once like before it fell into the Fascist like dictatorship. To formulate his scheme, he needs her help, in which leads to a tale of darkness, destruction, misery, and well needed peace and freedom to save the world.
This movie was extremely well done from the dark and grim cinematography that explores the tone of the story (R.I.P. Adrian Biddle), to the fabulous set-decoration and script, and the awesome fight sequences developed by the help of the Wachowski brothers. The film tells and questions country's government's of their true intentions which makes this film all the more controversial. However, the two hour film dragged a little, making me feel a bit uncomfortable in my seat in the theater. There's also much mature content including some disturbing images in the film that needs shielding from youthful eyes. It deserved a solid R rating.
It's a great film that has excellent action as well as storyline/controversy. Overall ***1/2 out of ****