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V for Vendetta Movie Review

V for Vendetta is a 2005 dystopian political superhero film directed by James McTeigue and starring Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving. It’s one of the best movies of this genre.

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“People should not be afraid of their governments.

Governments should be afraid of their people“

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In a futuristic, totalitarian Britain, a freedom fighter known simply as V uses terrorist tactics to fight the oppressive society. Evey aids him in his mission to bring down the fascist government. Based on the titular graphic novel by the legendary Alan Moore, this is a different type of genre flick that has its action set pieces, but is more concerned with sophisticated storytelling and dialogue.

The movie explores important themes ranging from anarchy and fight for freedom to the dangers of totalitarianism and bigotry. The film also signifies the power of symbols when it comes to political movements and it showcases accurately how those movements are born and followed. There is also the examination of revenge and this story is different in that it actually somewhat promotes revenge in the right circumstances, which I certainly appreciated no matter how clearly controversial this view is.

Hugo Weaving is excellent as V. We mostly get to hear his voice, but his speeches are powerful and I loved how colorful they were – the numerous literal references were so interesting. This is a superhero movie no matter what others may say as he definitely acts like a superhero of sorts, mirroring Batman in his vigilantism and Joker in his theatricality. I loved this character and I found him to be consistently intriguing and fun.

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There is a healthy dose of Superman-Lois Lane dynamics that was included in the relationship between V and Evey. She was the heart of the picture and Natalie Portman was fantastic in what is one of her best and most underrated roles. Stephen Rea was very good in a smaller role, Stephen Fry was also memorable and John Hurt was delightfully villainous as the dictator. His speeches through televised screens reminded me pleasantly of ‘1984’.

V for Vendetta is quite a stylish production. The cinematography is as darkly lit as you’d come to expect from the genre films from this era, but it’s still well shot, very well directed and strongly edited. The pacing is slow at times, but this led to stronger characterization and plot development. The dialogue is especially sophisticated at tackling these important political themes, though obviously the movie is a wildly idealistic take on anarchism and fight for freedom. The ending is truly inspiring and just beautiful, but a pipe dream for most of us in real life sadly.

The film functions as this mystery detective with only sporadic action sequences that were over-the-top, but still wildly entertaining. The various investigations of the case did feel overwhelming, especially as these included way too many underutilized characters, but they touched upon not just the government, but also the church and other powerful organizations and took down with them corrupted and problematic figures.

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The highlights for me were easily the scenes focusing on our two protagonists as they were the sweetest and most elegant of the bunch. The classical music on display in this film was wonderful to witness and fitting to the themes and the main character. There is also a fake prison section where we get to learn the history of a convicted lesbian and that was the most human and touching part of the entire film.