Vendetta, vigilance and very good
England is no longer associating with the world we know. There’s mayhem in America, starvation across the globe and England doesn’t give a damn. The world they know is the world is the world they live in, and it’s restricted by borders they don’t cross. Controlled by Prime Minister Adam Sutler, his tight grip of England goes from television, to military, to the local police force. He controls everything, which includes the residents of London. Of course as the old saying goes, absolute power corrupts absolutely. In his case, he is about to start losing everything thanks to a vigilante named V. V, dawning a Guy Fawkes mask, looks to liberate the residents of London, as well as England itself from the tight, restrictive grip of Prime Minister Sutler. To do so, he unexpectedly acquires the help of an intern named Evey, who soon finds the world she lives in is nothing more than a dictatorship’s dream.
I know that the original creator of this comic book (which is how it all started), David Lloyd, certainly didn’t like how this film was adapted from his graphic novel. If you haven’t read the comic, what you’ll find here is a very clever story that combines action and drama. The choice of freedom over actually being free is the biggest underlying theme to the story itself. Having never explored the graphic novel, I’m not sure how this theme differed from Lloyd’s. In any case, I respect Lloyd and his talent and can’t wait for Watchmen (which I did read as a youth). I cannot deny though that the Wachowski Brother’s, while maybe bastardizing his work a bit, have simply put together a very deep, entertaining tale. The government is created by the people, for the people. The government should never control the people. That contradicts freedom and that’s what the Wachowski’s really dive into in this film. Not only freedom on a national level, but also freedom on a very personal level. The character V is the statement and the example of what truly being free means. That’s such a great theme in the story, something that makes it strong. On top of this, the action helps quite a bit. Using their experience from their so-so Matrix film, they clearly show they know how to present action (minus Speed Racer). The type of action is brutal and eloquent at the same time, which is what they’ve always been known for.
Action and story aside, I love the casting. Hugo Weaving, while clearly a deep voice, sometimes over-the-top actor, is a perfect fit for the role of V. He understands the mean revenge of V and also how V is truly self-aware of his freedom. Plus, he’s just a cool action hero (Mr. Smith was a neat character in the matrix, so he knows action as well). As for Natalie Portman, who clearly needed to shake off the Star Wars from her system, she gives a great English accent and a great performance as Evey, the one citizen of London who needed their eyes opened. She was perfect in the role as she is beautiful. Two more outstanding performances come from Stephen Rea, who played Inspector Finch, and John Hurt, who was the sinister Prime Minister. Rea’s character was in the middle on all areas of the story, likable and certainly the one who was going to uncover everything. Hurt played a great a-hole prime minister who demanded everything and would give nothing back in return. His first appearance on screen, on a large television was very 1984 (which a film he starred in as well).
Overall, I really like this film. It didn’t slow down one bit, all the characters in the film were appropriate for the story and the action was very-well done.
Remember, remember this on Blu-ray
If you intend on watching such a great film, you must watch it on Blu-ray. The format enhances the beauty of the film, gives you the best sound possible (better than most theaters thanks to speaker setups today) and is a joy. You cannot beat this version of V for Vendetta, not even if the Prime Minister says so.
As for features, here’s what you get:
In-Movie Features…
-Director’s Notebook: Re-imagining a Cult Classic for the 21st Century: Director James McTeigue Traces in Detail the V Saga from graphic novel to the movie.
Special features…
-Designing the Near Future
-Remember, Remember: Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot
-England Prevails: V for Vendetta and the New Wave in Comics
-Freedom! Forever!: Making V for Vendetta
-Saturday Night Live Digital Short
-Cat Power Montage
-Theatrical Trailer
Excellent set of features for a beautiful film. It’s worth the money if you own a Blu-ray player to dig into this.
Freedom for all, especially the freedom to see this Blu-ray
Action, drama, everything you want in a good story, is in V for Vendetta on Blu-ray. This is truly a great film that deserved this great format upgrade. Add that to some special features which are actually worthwhile and you got yourself a good reason to purchase this.
This Blu-ray prevails, always!
