V For Vendetta Movie Review

Remember, remember the fifth of November. These words will accompany you from this film like a trusted friend. Too often we depart from the darkness of a movie theater with only the pale recollections of where the last one hundred and twenty minutes of our lives have just been wasted. But Vendetta made me think. I found myself wanting to discuss the issues brought up within the confines of its plot. The story was written by the ever incredible comic scribe Alan Moore. Alan is best known for his comics The Watchmen and of course The League of Extraordinary Gentleman. Vendetta is taken from the trade paper back of the same name.

I know not everyone is a comic fan so before we begin let me tell you a little about the story line. Set against the futuristic landscape of totalitarian Britain, V For Vendetta tells the story of a young working-class woman named Evey who is rescued from a life-and-death situation by a masked man known only as “V.”

Profoundly complex, V is at once literary, flamboyant, tender and intellectual, a man dedicated to freeing his fellow citizens from those who have terrorized them into compliance. He is also bitter, revenge-seeking, lonely and violent, driven by a personal vendetta.

In his quest to free the people of England from the corruption and cruelty that have poisoned their government, V condemns the tyrannical nature of their appointed leaders and invites his fellow citizens to join him in the shadows of Parliament on November the 5th – Guy Fawkes Day.

On that day in 1605, Guy Fawkes was discovered in a tunnel beneath Parliament with 36 barrels of gunpowder. He and his co-conspirators had engineered the treasonous “Gunpowder Plot” in response to the tyranny of their government under James I. Fawkes and his fellow saboteurs were hanged, drawn and quartered, and their plan to take down their government never came to pass.

In the spirit of that rebellion, in remembrance of that day, V vows to carry out the plot that Fawkes was executed for attempting on November 5th in 1605: he will blow up Parliament.

As Evey uncovers the truth about V’s mysterious past, she also discovers the truth about herself – and emerges as his unlikely ally in the culmination of his plan to ignite a revolution, bringing freedom and justice back to a society fraught with cruelty and corruption.

The roll of V is played perfectly by Hugo Weaving. You will remember Hugo as Mr. Smith from the Matrix Trilogy. Since V is always behind a mask we must feel what he feels through the inflection and passion of his voice. Hugo has done an incredible job with this task. His voice is V.

Natalie Portman plays Evey and staying true to form, Miss. Portman spread herself across the screen beautifully. Her acting is deep and textured. I was completely and totally emotionally involved with Evey. I wanted her to fight, I wanted her to grow and survive.

This film revolves around a vendetta but is about freedom and love. It rings true from start to finish. Usually at the end of a good review I like to say “This movie is worth your $8.50” well I’m going to change it up a little this time because I think his movie is worth more then the price of the ticket. See this film while it’s still on the big screen. Don’t wait for the DVD.