Absolutely Outstanding!

Rating: 9/10 (21 March 2006)

James McTeigue's V for Vendetta is the film adaptation of Alan Moore's darkly riveting graphic novel. While falling in season with the plethora of book to film adaptations, V also brings some heavy and controversial topics with it, making it a breeding ground for critics at every angle.
The storyline for V is thick and a lot more intelligent than most action movies to date, especially those in the comic to film genre. While this seems to be working for and against the film in some cases, V for Vendetta is an extremely fun thrill ride with a very sophisticated level of intelligence and politics to keep things on edge.
In V for Vendetta we follow the charismatic and cultural masked avenger who goes only by the name "V." Dressed in complete black, and donning a Guy Fawkes mask, we are told little of V's past, except that at the rise of the totalitarian government in Great Britain, he was part of a monstrous government controlled virus experiment. As the governments power grows more and more out of hand, our shadowy hero rises to take a stand for himself and the people of Britain, he sets out to make sure those responsible are held accountable for their actions.
Our first outing with V shows him coming to the rescue of a young lady named Evey, as she is in danger of being raped by Britain's secret police. From that point on, their fates become intertwined, now that the government officials suspect Evey of being in league with the now considered terrorist V. As V launches his rally for the people of Britain, Evey is caught in between hiding from the government and whether or not answer V's call.
With V's trials bringing out the more powerful inner Evey, and the people of Great Britain becoming more and more weary of their leaders, we follow a pair of detectives as they try and bring V down. However, as they uncover more and more about the truth, they find that maybe it isn't V that they should be going after.
The mood of V for Vendetta comes across beautifully. Evey street corner is dark, cold. A perfect reflection of how we are lead to believe V feels inside. The score is astoundingly accurate for the picture that V paints, leaving you simply enthralled with its intensity. As for a protagonist who wears a mask for the films entirety, Hugo Weaving couldn't haven been more convincing. With every tilt and nod of his head, we know what he's thinking, feeling, the vengeance and the love.
What I liked most about V for Vendetta is that from start to finish it never backs down once. Whether it is the ever-stylish Wachowski influenced cinematography, or the bold call to action set forth by V, this film remains solid in all convictions. With all the ways that the script for V could have turned out to be, the trivial delicacies were handled well by McTeigue, such as never revealing our heroes face to the audience.
V for Vendetta is a film that is very much heightened with being seen on the big screen, and a film that I feel very much deserves to be seen as such. V is a tactful culmination of art, style, wit, freedom, politics, love, liberation, and exceptional film-making. While it is obvious how the political plot can be a turn off for some, there is so much more to be taken from V than whatever American political parallels critics are trying to imprison the film with. I cannot say enough how much I enjoyed this film.