An Amazing journey

Rating: 8/10 (5 April 2006)

Simply put, V for Vendetta is an amazing and challenging film. One wonders what Tony Blair would think of it - whether it is a glimpse of the future, made possible by Bush's war. The movie is set in the year 2020, where England is completely controlled in a dictatorship based on fear and submission by it's leader Adam Sutler(John Hurt in a Hitler-type role). The general population is kept under control by Sutler's Fingermen, pretty much criminals with a badge. Through the movie's intro, we discover that the rest of the world has succumbed to disease and chaos, and England has disassociated itself from Europe as the only "free country" left in the world. America is singled out as a "diseased leper colony" that has dissolved into civil war due to an international war they started years earlier (no guesses for which war that was). Into this world, we are introduced to Evey Hammond (played wonderfully by Natalie Portman - forget her performances in the dreadful Star Wars prequels, as here she excels). One night after a government imposed curfew, she is caught and almost raped by the Fingerman. To her rescue comes V, a masked vigilante who rescues her and transports her to safety. Evey is taken to V's secret compound, where we discover V's whereabouts and the reason for his Guy Fawkes mask, as well as his crusade for revolution. To go on would be to ruin the story for the curious, however, I must say that this movie was a breath of fresh air in a world of political (right wing) correctness. The performances in the movie are outstanding, particularly Hugo Weaving, who plays the neo-terrorist V. For a character who appears the entire movie in a mask, Weaving's voice and mannerisms provide all the personality and character you would expect from a fully faced actor. In fact in some of the scenes you forgot there is a mask at all.
Simply put. V for Vendetta is a fantastic film, which will make you question the world that is currently forming around us.
8.5/10 Hazman