What most sticks out about V for Vendetta is Hugo Weaving, the infamous Agent Smith from The Matrix Trilogy. Hidden behind a mask, he manages with his perfect voice control and body movement to portray his part with all the nuance and character for which it calls. V is a man scarred both physically and emotionally, and he hides it behind a mask and a cavalier and very literate bravado. Hugo Weaving does the role justice and cements his place on the list of today’s most talented actors. John Hurt, as we would expect, is excellent as the fanatical Adam Sutler, and Natalie Portman also accounts well for herself. Stephen Rea handles his low key role with his usual aplomb, as indeed do most of the actors in the movie, whether their role is large or small.
Most of the technical aspects of the movie, the sound and cinematography for instance, were on par with the acting. Where the movie has its biggest let down is with the director and perhaps the editor (it is at times difficult to say who is at fault if a movie has poor pacing). Though the shots are composed adequately, McTeigue seems to suffer from a lack of rhythm, or perhaps it is patience.
Screenwriters are told to enter a scene at the latest possible moment and leave it as soon as possible, which is all well and good, but this advice does not mean that the director needs to rush through things. He must approach a movie like a banquet, knowing when to linger, when to savor, when to build up anticipation, and most of all when to take one’s time.
McTeigue does a sufficient job of rendering just what is in the script but adds nothing to the enterprise himself, and he rushes through scenes like he can’t wait to be done with them. Where are the little shots and cutaways? Where is the thoughtful choreography? Where is the unique perspective? Where are the imaginative details that make each scene, or each location, or each interaction unique? Where is the (fill in the blank)? In short, where is anything suggesting that the director is also bringing something to the table, rather than simply setting up a tripod and showing us the actors running through their lines and stage directions?
Article comments
1 - chromatius
Worth noting it was written in the early eighties, under Thatcher.
And you can read Alan Moore's reasons for not participating here
Basically he felt DC ripped him off for the rights to to "Watchmen" and "V for Vendetta".
Vi Veri Veniversum Vivus Vici.
By the power of Truth I, while living, have conquered the Universe.
2 - TV Shows on DVD
V for vendetta is good action movie!natalie portman looks like GI jane here...the cast, scripts, and the story line is awesome! now i will wait for the DVD release of this movie..
3 - nogodzone
Good review. Can't wait to see it. You may not know this but the religious conservatives are calling the film a neo-Marxist plot and anti-god. I've blogged on their complaints at www.nogodzone.blogspot.com.
4 - Neil
Here is an opinion. As the previous commenter mentioned, there are those who would say that this film conveys an anti-god message. I beg to differ. What this film displays is how tyrannical governments can use religion in an unethical manner to pull the collective wool over the eyes of their society. It is frustrating to see how the religious right will often accuse Hollywood of being anti-god when the films in question are just exposing the dangers of allowing religion to permeate the fabric of our governing bodies.
Sadly I see striking parallels between this movie and our own society. I believe that it really has something to say about how we should approach our futures as a free society.
Just my 2 cents, either way you cannot dispute the fact that this film is one hell of a ride!
5 - Bob McKinlay
sorry to nitpick but the heart of the movie (& the graphic novel) is the Delia Surridge/Larkhill Detention Centre/Valerie Page thread and in the movie, the only way Inspector Finch (Stephen Rea) finds out about Larkhill is through the tax records of the key personnel (Surridge, Prothero & Lilliman) who all worked there...
good film, if you ignore the plot holes, hope it encourages people to read the book.
Ach, who am I kidding? a hollywood film that's politically dissident? rare, very rare. A mainstream hollywood film that encourages philisophical thought? Scary, Stephen King eat yer heart out...
6 - Tim
Just rented the movie & watched it on InDemand - nice... Gripping story. There was only one bit I wasn't happy with. The opening scene of the 1600's - could have just as well been a reference in the present and it added little to the film. By the end, I was still scratching my head wondering why the editors decided to leave it in at all.
Beyond that, intense and exciting and I would recommend this film to my friends.
7 - Denny O'Rork
V for Vendetta is definitely one of the best movies I have ever seen. I cannot remember when I last saw a movie that kept my interest all throughout the course of it. Hugo Weaving was the perfect V. I'm an actor myself and I do not think I could even do that role justice. This wasn't your typical mind- blowing action movie. This said so much about our own government. I will spare the details but I think you know what I mean. This movie will definitely go down in the history of movies.