DVD Review: V for Vendetta

Set against the futuristic landscape of totalitarian Britain, V For Vendetta tells the story of a mild-mannered young woman named Evey (Natalie Portman) who is rescued from a life-and-death situation by a masked man (Hugo Weaving) known only as “V.” Incomparably charismatic and ferociously skilled in the art of combat and deception, V ignites a revolution when he urges his fellow citizens to rise up against tyranny and oppression. As Evey uncovers the truth about V’s mysterious background, she also discovers the truth about herself – and emerges as his unlikely ally in the culmination of his plan to bring freedom and justice back to a society fraught with cruelty and corruption.

Review:
“Remember, remember the fifth of November,”- The Wachowski brothers adaptation of Alan Moore’s graphic novel V for Vendetta is easily their best work since the first Matrix film and, many will argue, eclipses their work in the Matrix trilogy. V for Vendetta is a politically driven thriller that uses anarchist terrorism as it’s weapon of choice. The film is set in the fascist state that has become England in the year 2020- Great Britain has, for the first time in hundreds of years, emerged as the world’s only remaining superpower after the United States exausted itself and fell into perpetual civil war. There are blatant political jabs at the United States and it’s foreign policy and current political landscape woven throughout the film and presents an Orwellian-inspired society that will eventually emerge as a government perfects the act of manipulating and brainwashing its populous until individual identify and free thinking become lost in the fog of the past. Natalie Portman provides a shining performance and holds the film together and emerges as the keystone to it’s message. V for Vendetta is a stylized, thought provoking thriller that ultimately reminds it’s viewers that times often arise and will, more likely than not, a time will come when violent opposition will be necessary to inspire political and social change and place the power back into the hands of the people.

Review by Emma Loggins

Grade: A+
Staff Favorite
Official site: http://www.freedom-forever.com/
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