A good action movie, but for fans of the comic, a harmless "Vendetta"

Rating: 6/10 (8 August 2006)

As the second (and less comic-like) treatment the Wachowskis wrote for Alan Moore & David Lloyd's socio-political commentary masterpiece "V For Vendetta", the movie adaptation plays fast and loose with almost all of the stories major elements -- to the extent that Moore successfully lobbied to have his name removed from the credits. They leave behind a film that has so little in common with its source material that only a few characters and V's ever-present mask and knives are left -- mostly -- intact.
I will state for the record that I don't believe a more perfect V could have been cast. For a die-hard fan of the book(such as myself), Hugo Weaving's performance is one of the few truly bright spots. Natalie Portman's Evey Hammond is - and as a fan of Natalie's it pains me to say this - not one of her better roles, but she does her best with the material she's given. Given this script, unfortunately, even Weaving stumbles on occasion, with his five-minutes-into-the-film rant containing a rundown of several dozen words starting with the letter "V" leaving me sitting slack-jawed in horror.
Simply put, changing the conditions and story of the book to turn it into a movie was necessary, and yet; too much of the original story was left out and new material brought in. While this will always be a complaint lobbied against any film adapted from comic material, the point is more valid in this case than most others. "V" isn't the X-Men, with 40-odd years and nearly as many creative minds involved; it was done by two men who set out to tell a gripping, haunting story. Moore & Lloyd succeeded beyond their wildest expectations. The Wachowskis and McTeigue just make another "action movie with a message". This is the main flaw of the film, and what keeps it from ranking any higher in my opinion.
While virtually all of the cast give good-to-great performances, there is very rarely any feeling developed for them. And the film's butchering of the books ending simply makes no sense whatsoever.
If you haven't read "V For Vendetta", then it can't hurt to watch this first. But if you HAVE read it, consider yourself fairly warned: this is not a movie 'based on', it is definitely 'adapted from'.