Telling a tale of a world in which the British Isles are host to an oppressive tyranny and a population shrouded in despair, "V for Vendetta" introduced a character, known only as "V," that was, at once, savior and monster, a terrorist in the fullest sense of the word, bent on pursuing his own personal vendetta whilst liberating the masses.
The work was published in its entirety by DC Comics in 1988, in time for Margaret Thatcher's third term in the office of Prime Minister. It drew eerie parallels between a government seeking to eradicate homosexuality and Moore's fictional tyranny.
Moore's anarchist "Robin Hood" returns once more to the public's eye (courtesy of the Wachowski brothers and under the direction of James McTeigue). This time, "V for Vendetta" makes its way to the silver screen, its narrative updated for events circa 2006. And the result? The adaptation, while not found wanting of style and eye candy, lacked the substance of its predecessor. The film was publicly disowned by Moore, who said of the screenplay, "It's rubbish."
As the first scene flickers onto the screen, all seems well as viewers watch Evey (Natalie Portman), the movie's unsuspecting heroine, and V (Hugo Weaving), masked avenger, prepare for a night on the town in a series of juxtaposed scenes. Just as she does in Moore's novel, Evey leaves her flat, only to run into a bunch of ne'er-do-wells, three undercover "fingermen." V, who just happens to be taking his evening stroll in full Guy Fawkes regalia, espies the ruffians and comes to our damsel's rescue.
Cue cheesy dialogue and exeunt Moore's script. For the next five or so minutes, V vomits the Vs, vocalizing a verbalization made almost completely up of V words. Incoherence abounds. Having exhausted a dictionary's worth of material, V invites Evey to an evening under the stars, complete with classical music, fireworks and the destruction of Lady Liberty and Old Bailey, London's central criminal courthouse.
The next morning, V addresses his adoring public via London's government controlled television broadcasts, urging them to cast off the chains of their oppression and to join him in overthrowing their beloved dictator, Adam Sutler (John Hurt), who looks and acts like an impotent Hilter. V asks the concerned citizens of London to join him at Parliament … in a year's time.
Therein lies the ultimate flaw of the movie. Though the film follows the same basic plotline of the novel, it fails to captivate the audience's attention as the plot moves from one perspective to another.
The story lurches from one scene to another; one moment viewers watch the back story unveil as Detective Finch (Stephen Rea) searches for V's identity and whereabouts, the next they are jerked back to the ordeals Evey faces as a fugitive. What worked for the novel fails miserably when transferred to a different medium. The themes of tyranny and oppression, translated for the times, are blatant, laughable at best, and, according to some Londoners, downright offensive.
However, all is not lost. Hugo Weaving's performance as V is stellar, particularly for someone who spends the entire movie encased in a mask. Weaving delivers his lines eloquently and with the appropriate amount of emotion and intensity. And his knife-fighting is nothing to be laughed at. Each fight is well-choreographed with a style that is just right. And, of course, the Wachowski brothers bring in a bit of the Matrix with a final slo-mo fight. It's knife-time!
"V for Vendetta," an exposé on the oppressive power of a government as a novel, is anything but as a motion-picture.