The Weird Turn Pro

V For Vendetta
Directed by James McTeigue
Screenplay by Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski
Based on a graphic novel by Alan Moore

Remember, remember how much Alan Moore hates movie versions of his work? V for Vendetta was no exception; if you look at the rolling credits at the end of the flick, you’ll see his name mentioned NOWHERE. Enough already guy, stop whining and realize with the exception of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen your stuff hasn’t been that butchered. I liked V so let’s go break it down…

It’s a story of a lone rebel fighting against a totalitarian English society led by the great John Hurt. Along the way, he inadvertently recruits a woman he saves to help him in his crusade. And he wears a Guy Fawkes mask just to add some flavor and remind the English of their previous fights for freedom. I guess we’ll ignore the fact that Fawkes was fighting to return Roman Catholicism to England while V is at least partially fighting for homosexuals. Given the fact that the Wachowski Brothers wrote the screenplay, that little detail miss is no surprise. Ok, that’s something of a plot hole, granted, but the rest of the movie is solid. I’m torn here because I liked the fundamentals but the details do matter. I’ll give them a ‘2’ for plot but I’m really giving that to the original Moore work and not their adaptation. To the screenwriters: obviously you saw something in the original work, so why not stick to it? The real story was about fascism vs. anarchy, but instead we get traditional values (blah) vs. liberalism (eh). Shame on you guys for adding your personal agenda where it wasn’t needed.

Acting saves this movie from mediocrity in a big way. James Purefoy was originally in the movie as V, but dropped out during filming only to be replaced by Hugo Weaving. Wow, what a pick up as Hugo has one of the best speaking voices in the business. Considering V never takes off his mask, the voice and acting make the character. Natalie Portman plays Evey Hammond, a young woman saved from the secret police (she was out past curfew) by V and led on a journey into enlightenment about her government. This movie really proves how bad George Lucas’ Star Wars scripts were as Portman gives a solid performance here. John Hurt is…well, John Hurt. Thorough professional. With Steven Rea as Inspector Finch and Tim Pigott-Smith as Peter Creedy—head of secret police, it seemed everyone in this movie was well-casted. A solid ‘4’ for acting. I should also point out Roger Allam for his role as Lewis Prothero, a propaganda spewing news analyst.

Fight scenes are blended well with the script and unlike the usual Wachoski “over-the-top” messes. Not so much on effects, which in this case is a good thing. A ‘4’ for fighting and a ‘3.5’ for effects/cinematography. Overall score should be higher but the clear change in politics brings it down to a ‘3.4’. Hey, I vote liberal every time but using a classic piece of comic book history to fuel a personal agenda bothers me. I understand they claimed to be modernizing the villains to fit the current political climate, which would be fine except they leaned very heavy on gay rights. Of all the current political topics why choose the one that Guy Fawkes would have opposed? The idea of fascism vs. freedom was already well on display through the use of curfews, fear mongering propaganda, secret police and the Orwellian slogans throughout the film without devoting such a large portion of the film to one oppressed minority in particular.

Review by Captain Zero