Remember Remember the 5th of November

I saw the first showing of V for Vendetta at the Uptown last night. I've been very excited for this movie for many reasons and it delivered on most of them.

First the graphic novel kicked ass and the movie does it justice, there are times when it feels just like the comic. Second the story is an amalgam of just about every revolutionary strategy and theory in human history and the movie doesn't hold back from diving into that deep territory. This is really an intelligent indie flick disguised as a blockbuster - I'm not sure how it'll play in Peoria but in DC it played really well.

That's not to say they pulled punches on the violence or action. This is a nice tense action/thriller crammed with conspiracies, atrocities, terrorism, and tons of gray area for the viewer to get lost in, revel in, and ultimately question. There isn't really a right or wrong answer to the hard questions posed by this flick, much like Spielberg's Munich. On the surface this movie plays as an action movie, but the script is so full of intelligent scenes and conversation that I was just eating it up.

At times the ideas in this script are an overload and sometimes the script feels flooded. But while V is tossing out ideas at a dizzying rate, it is kind of fun to try to keep up with his insanity. I think this movie will shine more and more on multiple viewings as different levels of conversation register at different times. Particularly the "V" alliteration monologue in the beginning.

Of course V is going to push buttons with all kinds of people. The movie isn't flawless, there are a few poorly executed scenes (very few). The ending is a tad unrealistic and anti-climactic in an odd way (although the symbolism of the end scene works completely). And some people will probably be stupid about the gay stuff (although I think V is the first movie since Brokeback Mountian to pull it off so well).

Politics aside, the real prize of this movie is the character of V played by a faceless Hugo Weaving (Agent Smith). Hugo Weaving plays this insane character brilliantly. V is a psychopath who happens to be fighting for good but uses very questionable methods. V is eccentric in just about every aspect of his character which plays perfectly against the few moments when his human weakness actually peeks out from behind the mask.

A lot of people may compare this movie to The Matrix because it was written and produced by the Wachowski Brothers. There is a big difference between the films though. While The Matrix contained veiled philosophy masked with super-awesome action effects and bad acting - V for Vendetta has a much more straight-forward exchange of ideas amplified by great acting in every role. Both flicks rock just in different ways.

Originally posted on March 17, 2006 on Myspace.

I freaking love this movie to this day.