V for Vendetta

Viewer Rating:Eoghan Bolger has rated V for Vendetta rating: 2 Star

V for Vendetta is an American film based on the British comic of the same name by Alan Moore. The film was produced by the Wachoski brothers (The Matrix trilogy) and directed James Mcteigue, the title character us portrayed by Hugo Weaving (The matrix, transformers), while the antagonist is played by John Hurt. The film is set in a world where Britain is at the mercy of Adam Sutler (Adam J Susan in the novel) Susan in the comic in the film, it is implied that Sutler has control of other parts of the world also, certainly America. Sutler is a facist dictator that is easily comparable to the world war two German Prime Minister Adolf Hitler. A woman named Evey Hammond teams up with masked man V to take down Sutler's regime, while Irish born Detective David Finch follows an investigation into V and learns and finds himself questioning the government he serves. The film is not without it's disappointments, the main problem here is length, the film is not nearly long enough to cover the comics massive story fully, thus many interesting plot points have been omitted/neglected however some of the changes made are quite welcome and rather refreshing. Thankfully some of the character development is still intact, most noticeably that of detective Finch. Themes such as criticisms of the Thatcherite government are still present as are the condemnations of fascism/Nazism but exclusive to the film is the decision by the Wachoski brothers and Mcteigue to make the film more appealing to an American audience by placing in some social commentary of their own which gives us an insight into the politics of the directors/producers and helps the film gather more of an audience. This Americanization of the film shows us that Larry and Andy Wachoski were clearly trying to express their disdain of republicanism within the United States. This is an addition however that may not sit too well with fans of the comic book. Weaving gives a great performance as the beloved anti-hero V, well choreographed action scenes and a strong script help capture the comic (particularly the character of V himself) quite well. The film, much like the comic shows V as an anarchist but also portrays him as somewhat of a freedom fighter as well( Again this may not please those who read the graphic novel). V for Vendetta is a solid comic book adaptation even if it is not as strong or as detailed as the source material. Verdict: ****

Review published on the 15 September 2007 21:02