V For Vendetta [2005]

Description

Product Description Set against the futuristic landscape of totalitarian Britain, this tense thriller tells the story of a mild-mannered young woman named Evey (Natalie Portman) who is rescued from a life-and-death situation by a masked man (Hugo Weaving) known only as 'V'. Incomparably charismatic and ferociously skilled in the art of combat and deception, V ignites a revolution when he urges his fellow citizens to rise up against tyranny and oppression. As Evey uncovers the truth about V's mysterious background, she also discovers the truth about herself - and emerges as his unlikely ally in the culmination of his plan to bring freedom and justice back to a society fraught with cruelty and corruption. Synopsis From the Wachowski brothers and Joel Silver, the masterminds behind The Matrix trilogy, comes another intriguing, action-packed fantasy-thriller. The premise: Great Britain has become a fascist state. Now, a shadowy freedom fighter known only as "V" (Hugo Weaving- The Matrix trilogy) begins a violent guerrilla campaign to destroy those who have embraced totalitarianism. In his quest to liberate England from its oppressive ideological chains, "V" recruits a young woman (Natalie Portman - Star Wars: Episodes I-III) he's rescued from the secret police to join him on an epic adventure to execute a seemingly impossible task. Review: Everything a dystopian movie should be and more. - When they made a film out of his book, writer Alan Moore seamed to think they had dumbed it down. Well if that's true then this must be the most intellectually challenging dumbed down story I've ever encountered! Made in the early 2000s and set about 20 years from that time, Britain has become an Orwellian nightmare ruled by Norsefire, the British equivalent of the Nazis. Until a mystery man known only as V puts in motion his plan to bring them down. This plan is the best part of the film. It goes far beyond the typical movie uprising strategy of "Hey everyone, grab some guns and kill these guys!" You might have to watch this film several times to grasp the full genius of V's plan to make the revolution possible. It's the best plan I've ever seen in a movie and It never cesses to amaze me to see it all come together. The film is quite different from the book but I think they're positive differences, They replaced certain aspects of the book with various issues that people were concerned with at the beginning of the Iraq war. So by now it's also a time capsule of the fears and events on people's minds at the time. Most dystopian films I've heard of seem only to be interested in the genre as a backdrop for the story. A reason to create a truly hateful regime so you will cheer when the heroic resistance brings it down. This film is the the good kind of dystopia. The kind that acts as a cautionary tale of what our society might become if we let it. There are only 2 problems I have with this film. Often films have info dumps or put certain details centre stage, giving away they'll be important later, This film gradually trickles in details about this world's history instead. Which is better then a forced info dump but they take it a little too far. The word Norsefire is mentioned only twice and if you cough you'd miss it. It's hard to get a full picture of this world without the novel but since the novel and film are different this could lead to confusion. The second is their portrayal of Guy Fawkes. Fawkes was a real life person who, with his confederates, tried to kill the English government and replace it with a new order that would have been much worse. But since then he's been wrongfully portrayed as a kind of heroic failed revolutionary. It's this portrayal the film uses as Fawkes is the inspiration for V, who calls him a great citizen who fought for "fairness, justice and freedom." Ironically Fawkes was more like the film's villain then V. But aside from that, this is a truly great film. It has a deep mystery that steadily unfolds to a satisfying resolution, character arcs and while the action is relatively limited, you'll remember it. But above everything else, it's a meditation on fear, power, manipulation and resilience. A true dystopian movie BUT one that has a positive and uplifting message. That while humans can fall prey to fear, they can also rise above it. But what really amazing about this film it ended up being a mirror of reality. It was made in the 2000s and is set in the 2020s. Compare it to how the real 2020s turned out and you may see some parallels. Review: Powerful Message - The original film release was delayed from its planned November 5th release date due to terrorist incidents around that time. Having now seen it, I can say that this film packs a powerful punch and I left the cinema wanting to spray paint V symbols on everything and to "stick it to the man" in general. It`s a no holds barred attack on authoritarian regimes and the way they use fear, say of terrorism, to strip away our rights and freedoms till none remain. I have heard a fair few comparisons between the original graphic novel and this interpretation and, much as i liked the graphic novel, many of the concepts it suggested, like numerous TV cameras watching our movements through the streets, seem now dated and lacking shock factor. The movie counters this by making a lot of the themes in the book much more visceral and hard hitting. I`d go as far as to say that the movie both updates and improves the graphic novel version. The acting is top class, with the actors being well chosen for their roles and seeming to put real and perhaps personal emotion into their character portrayals. Stephen Fry, for example, while a secondary part, gives us a strong character with real appeal, despite the relatively small time he spends in front of the Camera. Everyone makes good use of their skills, especially John Hurt as the evil Prime Minister, a living embodiment of hatred that becomes an icon of the intolerant new order. Natalie Portman and Hugo weaving both do their roles credit, which is especially impressive when you consider that, due to his mask, Weaving has no access to facial expressions, having to rely on vocal and gesture signals to get his feelings across. Very clever movie techniques are used, sometimes to convey events from the graphic novel that must be summarised rather than fully shown. At no time, however, did i feel that any of this condencing (which is necessary) did harm to the plot. In many ways i felt the pace of the whole piece was very well maintained. As is typical of the Wachowski`s, the bullet time action pieces were well placed and similarly effective and impressive. One of the major elements of the film involves the viewer trying to decide on which side of the good/evil axis each character belongs to. On several occasions even the central characters seem to have strong good and evil drives and methods. Little is what it seems here and often there are multiple layers of plot going on at once without confusion or distraction. A clever viewer is certainly rewarded, but those watching casually should find it still satisfying and none too elusive. I found that V for Vendetta was one of the few films I had watched lately that both really moved me and that left me with no criticisms. It is truly a fine effort and is well worth adding to anyone`s dvd library...well, maybe not those of politicians anyway...but for us proles, get watching while you still can!