V for Vendetta (James McTeigue)
OK, first of all what the movie
V for Vendetta isn't: it
isn't Alan Moore's story. I can see why he took his name off the credits. The underlying basics are the same and some sequences remain, though in different order. But whole large sections are not used at all, and major characters are wildly changed or excised completely to be replaced with things Alan never wrote, owing more to Orwell than Moore. BUT if you can forget all that (which may well be too big a "but" for some) or you haven't ever read the novel anyway,
V for Vendetta is a darn good flick. I can't say I really understand why the Wachowskis strayed so very far from the original material, but to give them credit the new story they fashion works anyway, almost like an alternate history to the alternate history: not better or worse, just different. It's definitely not the disaster that
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was, which completely changed the story and then substituted pure *****.
V for Vendetta is about a revolutionary vigilante who calls himself V and wears the mask of Guy Fawkes, who's 17th Century Gunpowder Plot was foiled before he could blow up British Parliament. The setting is a London of the 1990s where a series of alternate history catastrophes in the '80s led to the instillation of a Totalitarian State. Through a series of grand theatrical missions and assassinations, V is attempting another gunpowder plot of his own, though he also has personal revenge on his mind against some of the party heads who were involved in a conspiracy that effected him beyond the societal terrors of the regime. Evey (Natalie Portman) is a girl who V saves one night in an alley who becomes a sometimes accomplice in his treason and witness to his story, and Stephen Rea is the lead investigator on the case and seemingly the only person in the higher levels of the government with a conscience.
The believability of Natalie Portman's accent does go in and out, but overall she erases much of the stain from her horrid work in Lucas' prequels. Stephen Rea, though really a completely different character than the book, is perfect for his role as written here. And they do stay true to one crucial aspect of V himself: Hugo Weaving never shows his face, always obscured behind masks or shadows. And he's really very good, considering he has to work cheifly with his voice. Director James McTeigue does a fine job assembling a conspiracy thriller action opera that isn't full of wall to wall needless stunts and kinetic energy but finds plenty of time for character and ideas. And especially for a first film, it was an ambitious task that he handles with seeming ease.
Comic book fans if you're prepared for how drastically different it is and go with it, you're in for a good time at the movies. And aybody else wanting to see a good movie,
V for Vendetta is it.
GRADE: B+
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