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April 04, 2006
Vendetta's vision blows heads off
“People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people,” boldly proclaims the protagonist of 2006’s first special-effects blockbuster, V for Vendetta. I use the term protagonist because to call the V the hero of the film would be quite a stretch. A dark, masked and merciless crusader, V gives new meaning to the term “anti-hero.”
His tactics for fighting an oppressive and self-righteous government go so far that Lev Grossman’s review for Time magazine accused the film of promoting terrorism. And as much as I loved the film, Mr. Grossman has a point.
V for Vendetta was written and produced by Wachowski brothers, who wrote and directed all three Matrix films.
It has been adapted from a comic series, of the same name, by Alan Moore who also created The League of Extraordinary Gentleman and From Hell. It tells of an oppressive British government of the future complete with its own Big Brother and dictator, Adam Sutler played by John Hurt.
The plot surrounds V’s plans to blow up Parliament to start a revolution and give the power back to the people. Woven into the story are parallels to Nazi’s, the Bush administration and even Bill O’ Reilly.
The cast is headed by Hugo Weaving (Agent Smith from The Matrix) as V, who is a commanding presence, despite never showing his face. Natalie Portman co-stars as Evey, an alluring young woman who starts a complex relationship with V.
Portman proves she has what it takes to make it as an action heroine, even joining the ranks of Sigorney Weaver and Demi Moore by shaving her head for the part.
The entire cast effectively brings to light the fear and desperation of people living in a fascist society.
It’s rare to find a film that deals with such heavy issues and gives its audience something to think about, especially when it’s an action movie.
And as an action movie the film does not disappoint. It has fights, explosions, burning buildings and suspense galore. The visuals of the film are rather effective, but not unique enough to bring the sense of awe the first Matrix film did. As a whole V for Vendetta succeeds as a blend of thoug ht provoking issues and the FX action genre.
Posted by dwright at April 4, 2006 12:30 PM
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