a masterpiece, and truly one of the best films i have seen in a long, long time

Rating: 10/10 (21 March 2006)

Wow! I just saw V for Vendetta today, and it is a truly wonderful movie. I am not a studio flack, and actually no movie has ever inspired me to write a review on this site. That is until I saw V! I will say that there were at least three scenes that gave me goosebumps, because they were so visually striking. I watch a lot of movies, whether in the theater or movies I rent. There were scenes that I had never seen in any movie before. I will not ruin it for you, but the domino scene is a highlight, and I guarantee that you will be humming the 1812 Overture as you leave the theater. It is very timely, and you can easily see some parallels between the totalitarian Britain of the future and our own post 9/11 society. The acting is superb from Natalie Portman's excellent portrayal of Evey, to Hugo Weaving's having a blast with the mysterious V. The supporting cast is great, as well. I found it interesting to see John Hurt play the Big Brother like chancellor, as he played the Winston Smith role in the movie 1984 from the same year. It was interesting that I saw four movies this weekend that although from different years all had similar themes of not trusting government or people with authority. I watched The Handmaid's Tale, Terrance Malick's The Thin Red Line, The Constant Gardner, and of course V for Vendetta. All four were excellent in different ways, but I have to say that V was the best. As other reviewers have noted, you do not have to be familiar with the graphic novels in order to enjoy V for Vendetta, as I had never read any of them and enjoyed the movie immensely. I have read other reviews that said that the audience will have trouble rooting for a terrorist hero. However, the filmmakers address this by portraying V as a freedom fighter or revolutionary. No matter what your political leanings, you will enjoy this movie, and it is definitely worth checking out just for the visuals alone.