Vive la Révolution!

Rating: 10/10 (9 April 2006)

V for Vendetta
There seems to be a common trend in the movie industry lately of comic book movies turning out to be among the most stylishly made and most entertaining movies around. Looking at last year alone, we have Sin City, Batman Begins, A History of Violence, which were all excellently done and supremely entertaining. Following this pattern of hits, we have V for Vendetta, based on the graphic novel by Alan Moore. Vendetta details the story of a totalitarian society in England in the not so distant future, where a mysterious masked man known only as V uses terrorism maneuvers in order to make a poetic point about the state of their society, in the hopes of winning more people to his cause. After saving the life of a young girl (Natalie Portman), V may have found an ally on his quest for revolution and change.
This movie is a fascinating piece of work for so many reasons - there is the political aspect for one, and it is very interesting to notice the daring implied similarities and references to today's U.S. government. The story is endlessly compelling, much moreso than pretty much any movie of its genre lately, and each plot twist leaves us anxiously waiting, at the risk of coining the cliché, but literally at the edge of our seats, waiting to see what happens next. Also, visually, V for Vendetta is pretty much without peer these days - most modern movies are fortunate if they have a single image that stays seared into your memory for a while after viewing - V for Vendetta has a dozen of such images easily, if not more. (for all who have seen it, without giving anyway anything to those who haven't: think of the domino shot now) The cinematography here is particularly noteworthy, and shows incredible imagination and vision that most movies simply lack, sadly enough.
And of course, given that the movie was written by The Wachowski Brothers, there are, of course, several Matrix style fight sequences and a bunch of contrived and philosophical to the point of confusion monologues, mostly spoken by revolutionary V. Fortunately, (or unfortunately I suppose, depending on one's preference) the script for V for Vendetta is nowhere near as incomprehensible as that of the Matrix, which makes the movie a lot easier to follow and enjoy, as it lacks that constant sense that the audience is meant to forever stay two steps behind the plot and be left in the dark forever. V's central belief of an icon being so much more noteworthy than a flesh and blood individual who can be easily dispatched or removed is a particularly interesting concept, one also touched upon in last year's Batman Begins, another highly successful and incredibly well made comic book movie.
On top of everything else, performances are also very impressive throughout, especially from Natalie Portman as the haunted heroine of the story, Evey, proving once again how dedicated as well as incredibly talented an actress she is. Endless praise also deserves to be bestowed upon Hugo Weaving for bringing flesh and blood to the icon of the character V. Despite the difficulty of having facial expressions covered up by his eternally smiling mask, Weaving walks away with yet another iconic character beneath him, following up his last turn with the Wachowskis as Agent Smith in the Matrix. It is astonishing how much character he manages to get across with only his wonderful voice and body language. The movie also boasts a very strong supporting cast, with great performances also from Stephen Rea, Stephen Fry, and John Hurt as the leader of future england - a sort of Stalin crossbred with Hitler type of figure, who is seen for the most part as a giant head seen on a huge viewing screen. In his limited yet essential screen time, he makes a wonderful antagonistic figure.
Overall, V for Vendetta is one of the strongest and most entertaining movies in a very long time, following the trend of excellent comic book movies lately. Rest assured the movie's message will stay with you for quite a while after, and don't be surprised to find certain epic images or sequences seared into your head for a while after. V for Vendetta is one of those movies which mixes philosophy and profound critique of modern life with incredibly entertaining, fast paced storyline and exhilarating action sequences - definitely worth seeing, if you have yet to do so!
-10/10