V for Vendetta
I guess I should start this off by saying I’ve never read the DC/Vertigo comic in which the movie is based. I’ve always wanted to, as I think Alan Moore is one of the finest comic book authors to ever grace the planet, but never got around to it. As it stands, it is probably best that I DIDN’T read the source-material for this movie, as apparently the two are vastly different and fans (and Moore) are outraged over the changes.
Be that as it may, I thoroughly enjoyed this film. The trailers are disgustingly misleading, with hard-rock music blaring in the background as V (the title character and hero of questionable ethics) throws knives in bullet-time clichés while stuff blows up everywhere. The trailers make this film out to be more hackneyed comic book tripe no better than Fantastic Four, Daredevil or equally recycled garbage.
This film is, in fact, nothing like the trailers would have you believe and rises far above the expectations of “just another comic book movie”. V for Vendetta is a commentary on politics, how much blind trust people should have in their government, what makes a person a “terrorist”, how a point of view can make all the difference and, I am certain this will instantly turn off a vast majority of movie-goers, a critique of the Bush Administration and a parody of current events.
I admit, that last part is enough to drive a lot of people away and I can’t say I really blame them. There’s so much high-profile “Bush-bashing” out there it’s difficult to tell what’s meaningful and what’s just more lazy satire for the sake of being topical. But also factor in the bit about “how a point of view can make all the difference”, and while one can view the commentary in this film as “Bush-bashing”, others can find something a tad deeper in it all.
Just to get it out of the way, the plot is like so; the people of England have put far too much blind faith in their government, both out of fear and laziness, and as a result their democracy gradually transformed into a brutal dictatorship. People can live, work and love as freely as they want, so long as they abide by “the rules” and conform to the government’s very exacting standards. That means no homosexuals, no questioning the way things are run, no religion that isn’t Christian (possessing a Koran means immediate execution) and absolutely no resisting “The Fingermen”, the Government’s power-tripping law-enforcers.
V is a man whose identity was lost when the government chose to use political prisoners (mostly people who broke those first two “rules” I listed above) as guinea pigs for various experiments. V was badly scarred in a fire at the death camp, but managed to survive. Donning a mask of Guy Fawkes, the notorious British “traitor”, he embarks on a war not only for revenge, but to open the eyes of the people living in the English dictatorship and inspiring them with the strength to resist.
It all may sound a bit predictable, but V for Vendetta is far more intelligent than movies with similar settings, like Ultraviolet and Aeon Flux. The blame for the country’s predicament isn’t squarely set on the Dictator, or the government, or Bush, or Christians, but rather the bulk of the blame is laid upon the citizens of England, who looked the other way and gradually gave their government the power to make their decisions for them just because it was easier than doing it themselves.
And to increase the film’s believability, it isn’t set in some futuristic techno-world, nor is it set in some grim and gritty war-torn environment. Actually, England is rather contemporary, clean and just…normal-looking. The setting isn’t over-the-top, it’s credible.
V, himself, is possibly the best part of the film. He is extremely articulate, very well-educated and can deliver more touching emotion in that static Guy Fawkes-mask than most of Hollywood’s “A-list” flavors of the month that get so much credit. His dialogue is what makes him so charming, and he delivers some of the most philosophically-intriguing and memorable lines you’ll ever see in a film made in this era of explosions, explosions and more explosions.
As a matter of fact, even the explosions in this movie are driven by symbolic meaning and never happen without purpose.
The true crime is that this is a movie most people are going overlook, be it that it’s “just another comic book movie”, “stupid Bush-bashing” or maybe that they just hadn’t heard of it thanks to some terrible marketing. Regardless of how many people this movie managed to reach, by the time it reaches its conclusion, it is sure to make you consider thinking for yourself and question why you’d let anyone else do it for you.
So on “The Relative Grading Scale of Super Mario Villains”, a BAD movie would rank as a “Lakitu”, but this was a GOOD movie, so it gets rewarded with a “Buzzy Beatle”.
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