V for Vendetta

Brendocon · Post by **Brendocon** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 1:12 pm

Right. I've not read the graphic novel, so I can't compare. I fully intend to pick it up after having seen the film, though.

I know Alan Moore's distanced himself from it, and having heard Natalie Portman's attempts at an English accent and seeing Stephen Fry sat in the middle of a typical American "All English humour is like Benny Hill!" sketch, I can see why.

Howwwwwever... I really enjoyed it. Stumbles into triteness and cliche on a few occasions, but it gets its message across exceptionally well.

When I told a friend I was off to see it, she was horrified. "It's meant to be rubbish!" she said. Later, after I had seen it, she enquired as to whether it was a waste of time and money. She was surprised when I said no. Why? Because a load of magazines had told her it was convoluted rubbish that was impossible to follow.

Convoluted? Not really. Hard to follow? Well, I suppose if you're just waiting for explosions and checking your phone whilst the actual exposition's going on... yeah. Apparantly Maxim don't like it. Well, excuse me whilst I hang my head in shame.

Now, I’m not saying it’s the first film or book or story to do it – far from it – but one of the key points is that it paints the media as manipulating people by telling them what to think and do. By dismissing the film solely because a few magazines tell you to… well, it just proves the film right.

The Daily Mail will stop you from trying to see it because of the subject matter. They’ll tell you it glamourises terrorism and promotes treason. In truth it rallies against a right wing government who rule through scaremongering. I wonder what the Mail could possibly have against that?

FHM will tell you not to see it because it doesn’t have as many car chases as The Transporter 2.

But yeah. I liked it. Guy Fawkes meets Zorro by way of Nineteen Eighty Four. Governments using terror to control the population, an individual using violence to inspire them. The media trying to control matters by spinning things against him, and the populace standing up as one under as symbol and calling them on their bollocks.

Thematically great. The importance of belief - in what you're told is true against what you know is right.

I'm off to find a copy of the book. Not because I'm a trendwhore, but because I now genuinely need to. If only to find out why Alan Moore really disowned it.

And that's a good thing, right? It doesn't have to be a great movie, but so long as it gets the ideas across and into the public consciousness? So long as people can ignore the media long enough to realise why they're really being told not to see the film, that's enough, right?

Just getting the ideas out there. Because ideas are bulletproof.

Metal Vendetta · Post by **Metal Vendetta** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 3:12 pm

Yeah me and Mrs. V. went to see it last night - you can see what I thought of it on Eat Cinema (Sky channel 199) as they interviewed me on the way out. But as a huge, huge fan of the graphic novel I absolutely loved it. The plot was shuffled around a bit, and some scenes were altered but damn, this is a fine movie and one I will be getting on DVD. Actually hoping for a "director's cut" DVD with a bit more in it.

Brendocon · Post by **Brendocon** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 4:52 pm

Sorry, the more I think about this film, the more enthused I get about it. Especially reading reviews and reacting to them.

I heard a comment earlier criticising the character of V for being an effective nonentity, person wise. Sorry... wasn't that the entire point? That who he was didn't matter, but what he did, well... did. He could have been anybody, hence the mask.

I just spoke to my dad actually, who gets the Daily Mail... I wanted him to dig out the review for me. It seems that their reviewer ******* loved it. Which is like... shock and awe.

Obfleur · Post by **Obfleur** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 5:39 pm

It got

(five's the maximum) from one of my favourite reviewers (a swedish gal)

Impactor returns 2.0 · Post by **Impactor returns 2.0** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 7:26 pm

Jonathan ross loved the novel but totaly slated iton film, said the acting was awfull, the plot was poo and the special effects were awfull.

Getaway · Post by **Getaway** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 2:46 am

Some friends and I saw it tonight and the reaction was mixed 2 hated it, 2 liked it and I half liked/half hated it. Even those who liked it found that there were long stretchs that seemed to drag on and had peeps checking watches. This might have been because the acting was a bit poor by virtually everyone or because it was hard to suspend disbelief enough that England would be like that. One of the more pretentious paper reviewers did make a good point that if this film had been released in the thatcherite years with all the miners strikes the stock footage was from it would have made more of an effect, but it doesn't really gell in our modern cuddly, want to be your friend political world we have now.

KingMob · Post by **KingMob** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 3:23 am

Brendocon wrote:I'm off to find a copy of the book. Not because I'm a trendwhore, but because I now genuinely need to. If only to find out why Alan Moore really disowned it.

Bendis cut and pasted this MTV (!) interview with Moore earlier that might be worth a look:

http://www.606studios.com/bendisboard/s ... hp?t=60456

Don't have a direct link for it, sorry.

V for Vendetta should be £3 off in Borders at the mo'. Glad to hear you guys enjoyed the film, that gives me confidence. Was going to see it anyway, mind, but still, good to hear.

Professor Smooth · Post by **Professor Smooth** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 4:41 am

I loved the graphic novel. I loved the movie equally. There were, of course, changes made to the story, but it worked well for the film version.

I have read a ton of comments about this film. If you go to Bottalk (DON'T DO THIS!), you'll hear a bunch of posters whining that the movie is nothing but one long drawn out criticism of the Bush administration. These comments bother me. The message of the movie is almost identical to that of the comic. The comic, of course, was published in 1982. The fact that the Bush administration is acting suspiciously like the government that Alan Moore feared 23 years ago is upsetting. Were this movie an original concept, I could see where the complaints were coming from. It's not, so I don't.

Ahem...

WAH!!! MY COUNTRY IS RUN BY COMIC BOOK VILLAINS!!!

BB Shockwave · Post by **BB Shockwave** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 8:24 am

I read some issues of the graphic novel, and dound it pretty mediocre - some vigilante citing Shakespeare against a fascist goverment and media. To me it seemed like people took the Batman, Punisher and Orvell's 1984 and rolled it into one package - hardly original. But I'm curious if the movie made it better. I also wonder why the author of the comic was so against the movie...

KingMob · Post by **KingMob** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 12:45 pm

BB Shockwave wrote:I read some issues of the graphic novel, and dound it pretty mediocre - some vigilante citing Shakespeare against a fascist goverment and media. To me it seemed like people took the Batman, Punisher and Orvell's 1984 and rolled it into one package - hardly original. But I'm curious if the movie made it better. I also wonder why the author of the comic was so against the movie...

There's more interviews with Moore on the subject kicking about at the moment if the above link isn't working.

i think it comes down to a combination of not wanting his name on anything he doesn't own, a long-running dispute with DC-Warner, a personal falling-out with the producers of this movie, dissatisfaction with the adaptation on a technical level and dislike of the messages of his comic being changed to suit the times/US audience.

I don't think I've heard V for Vendetta being called mediocre before.

Was it just what you felt is unoriginality that you didn't like?

The origin of the comic is gone over by Moore here:
http://www.comicon.com/thebeat/2006/03/ ... moore.html
if of interest.

Brendocon · Post by **Brendocon** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 9:06 pm

KingMob wrote:i think it comes down to a combination of not wanting his name on anything he doesn't own

Maybe he's still feeling bitter about League of Extraordinary Gentlemen being such a shocker.

Hi Don!

Impactor returns 2.0 · Post by **Impactor returns 2.0** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 11:03 pm

All I keep hearing is this film is really shockingly bad, so im not sure what to do, ill wait till video i guess

BB Shockwave · Post by **BB Shockwave** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 6:16 am

Or just download it... Seriously, cinemas are so expensive here that I only go watch movies I really anticipated coming. Last year, I watched SW 3, Batman Begins... and umm, I think that's all.

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 6:15 pm

Saw it and thought it was one of the most well done movies I have ever seen.

The politically charged messages it sends, and there are many, are powerful and cleverly delivered. And its done via a comic book hero movie format, of all things!

This is not your average Batman or Superman flick. This is something that strikes a very deep chord in those who are dismayed by the underhanded political dealings that we face in the US today. This movie is hardly fantasy, but more accurately, a depiction of what lies ahead for our world, particularly for citizens of the U.S.

Those who are unaware of current political circumstances today in the US will leave this movie thinking this is something more along the lines of Bladerunner, a look at something surreal, something impossible. The more astute and aware among us though will see this movie for what it really is. A warning. A warning of what has already happened under our very noses, and what lies ahead because of our aloofness, our general willingness to accept and trust what we hear and see on the tele and what our current administration seeks to make us believe.

One scene involving dominoes really hits home. Its a statement that things have already been set into motion that can't be stopped. The hero of the flick, labeled as a "terrorist", is the product of something reflective of what we have today in Guantanemo Bay, in Abu Gharib, and the numerous documented torture sites around the globe.

I went in thinking this would be an action packed Batman-type of flick. I left with the same kind of feeling I had with Life is Beautiful or Fahernheit 911. I left saddened by what I and certainly my children will likely have to face.

Metal Vendetta · Post by **Metal Vendetta** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 11:47 am

Looks like the debate is pretty much everywhere - some good stuff to be found:

http://www.newsarama.com/forums/showthr ... adid=28792
http://www.flickfilosopher.com/blog/200 ... detta.html
http://www.pajiba.com/v-for-vendetta.htm

perhaps nothing has made me feel this exhilaratingly anti-authoritarian since Hard-On Harry asked us in 1990’s Pump up the Volume to “rise up in the cafeteria and stab them with our plastic forks.”

Yaya wrote:I went in thinking this would be an action packed Batman-type of flick. I left with the same kind of feeling I had with Life is Beautiful or Fahernheit 911. I left saddened by what I and certainly my children will likely have to face.

I get that all a lot.

Impactor returns 2.0 · Post by **Impactor returns 2.0** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 12:10 pm

I keep hearing that V has always had a strong message, its just that the film is bad, not the message of V - bad acting coupled with bad direction and special effects.

A better director could have conveyed an important message alot better?

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