Hits too close to home

Rating: 10/10 (13 August 2006)

The neocon reviewers don't get it. This is not a movie about the US government today. They hate this movie because it shows where this government is leading us. "V" is a true hero because the government he fights is unambiguously evil. We are not there, yet. This movie is merely a warning. It ask us to "look ourselves in the mirror" and not let our fears override our values. The dangers we face from terrorists are real, but also the fear mongering and deception of this government are real. That's the only way to explain how something as un-American and un-patriotic as the "Patriot Act" ("Articles of Allegiance" in the movie) can get that name and be accepted by the citizens of our country. We as a nation are sure to face new attacks from terrorists, but we should never renounce our liberty for the sake of security. As Benjamin Franklin said: "He who sacrifices freedom for security deserves neither". Maybe the intentions of the neocons are good, but as "V" says: "I'm not here for what you hoped for, I'm here for what you did"
++Spoiler Warning++ The movie itself is brilliant, the dialogue stupendous. In real life walking around quoting Shakespeare may be pedantic, but in a movie with a subtext about the power of words it's more than appropriate and actually enjoyable. "V" is a flawed hero, driven more by the desire for vengeance than by ideals, but idealistic never the less. He realizes his shortcomings; he has became a monster and tells Evey as much in the climactic scene: "You are right about what I've become, there is no tree at the end for me". In other words, there can be no happy ending for "V", no tree to climb with his love like Edmund Dantes. The genius of that scene is that it makes the movie morally consistent. In the end with the announced destruction of Parliment "V" just gives the people the opportunity to lose their fear of the government and reclaim their freedom, but it still takes the will and civil courage of the people to actually walk the streets to take back the liberty taken from them. This is a "movie a clef" and as a metaphor is simply perfect and should be seem for what it is ... a warning.