Directed by:
James McTeigueCinematography:
Adrian BiddleComposer:
Dario MarianelliCast:
Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving, Stephen Fry, Sinéad Cusack, Rupert Graves, Stephen Rea, John Hurt, Tim Pigott-Smith, Roger Allam, Ben Miles, Eamon Geoghegan (more)VOD (4)
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Who is the man who hides his scarred face behind a mask? Hero or madman? Liberator or oppressor? Who is V – and who will join him in his daring plot to destroy the totalitarian regime that dominates his nation? From the creators of The Matrix trilogy comes V for Vendetta, an arresting and uncompromising vision of the future based on the powerfully subversive graphic novel. (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment)
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Reviews (11)
This film has an excellent atmosphere, which basically doesn't let up at all throughout, but also a rather leaky and unclear script. I felt that the director was trying to impress the viewer with an awful lot of big ideas and lessons only to end up serving a slightly above-average effective stew without a meaningful point. It's a shame, because apart from an interesting idea, the film also has high quality actors, yet their skills are somewhat wasted when most of the dialogue is based on a very poorly delivered totalitarian theme. Still, I rate it positively because I've seen much worse three-star films.
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The film is at its weakest in the action-packed beginning and ending, everything in between is a surprisingly thought-provoking narrative, full of reflections on the individual's struggle against dictatorship, their right to be different and non-conforming (an interesting take on the fate of a lesbian woman, probably the most emotional part of the film) and their willingness to submit to the fight against evil and totalitarianism, even at the cost of losing their own lives. Yes, thought-provoking, but ultimately somewhat contradictory, because I really don't think blowing up historic buildings in the manner of terrorists is the right and effective way to fight the establishment. The action scenes weren't anything great, and their lack was more of a plus in my eyes. The film's main problem is its unconvincing depiction of totalitarianism. The allusion to the omnipotence of the media and its ability to manipulate the crowd is obvious, but I missed the Orwellian despair, the heaviness of life in a totalitarian system. That's also why the overall emotional impact of the film on me was somewhat negligible. On this subject, next time I'd rather reach for Radford's 1984, Truffaut's Fahrenheit 451, or Kachyna's The Ear.
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I was quite surprised by how grounded the film is, especially considering it’s a comic book adaptation. When the action happens, it’s pleasantly modest—no grandiose explosions or anything like that. The story maintains a slower pace, with no rush; even with minimal attention, it’s easy to grasp what’s going on. The Wachowskis’ screenplay is almost perfect, with sharp, entertaining dialogues. Natalie Portman definitely doesn’t play a secondary role; in emotionally intense moments, she fully demonstrated why she is one of the most sought-after actresses in Hollywood. The story’s realistic portrayal of a totalitarian regime was reminiscent in many ways of Orwell’s "1984." On top of that, there are some quality suspenseful moments. The action sequence in the subway at the end left me with my mouth agape (the Matrix style was noticeable), and the ending was, in a word, satisfying. For me, it’s 8.5/10 (I didn’t expect that).
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A utopian story about a romantic avenger. An appeal for revolt against the order. A provocative caricature of today's world. V for Vendetta wants to be all of these things. It is the first of these thanks to the great Weaving and the decent Portman. It wants to be the second thing too much. It could be better at the third thing if the realities were more elaborate. Overall, V for Vendetta is a great movie with many cons. The main downside is the Wachowski brothers syndrome - a simple and impressive parable to please as much as possible, go in all possible directions and lose sight of the path that leads to the goal. Such is the middle passage of the film, where the great onset of the introduction literally bursts in all directions and the film only manages to glue things together in the nice finale. I don't mind the activist touch, the shallow provocations. It's a sort of cute anarchy, supported by the protagonist, which combines black and white adventure movies with postmodern comic book superheroes. V for Vendetta does not lack great inner strength and persuasiveness. But it needs more sophistication and better screenwriters, unfortunately. Even so, this is confirmation of the rule that comic book remakes have sent commercial cinema in an interesting direction.
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One of the most seminal comics written by Alan Moore and illustrated by David Lloyd was adapted in a way that certainly doesn't disappoint. The ideas Alan Moore had, though not fully explored, are captured here, and the film clearly delivers the message that government can take various forms. It’s a political film that is action-packed yet retains an important underlying idea. The collaboration between the Wachowskis (then brothers) and James McTeigue worked wonderfully. After Watchmen, it's the second-best adaptation of Moore's work.
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