 |
| Director
: |
James McTeigue
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| Starring
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Hugo Weaving, Natalie Portman,
Rupert Graves |
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| The plot of
V For Vendetta |
A shadowy freedom fighter known only as "V"
(Weaving) uses terrorist tactics to fight totalitarian
England. Upon rescuing Evey Hammond (Portman)
from the secret police, he finds a frightened
woman he can mold into his ally. |
V For Vendetta
Movie Review |
Review by Leslie
Felperin:
Although often visually
striking and undercoated by a compelling sci-fi concept,
graphic-novel adaptation "V for Vendetta"
feels flat as a storyboard. Chiming faintly with current
counterculture vibe in higher-browed films, dystopian
"Vendetta" posits a masked "terrorist"
hero (Hugo Weaving) trying to overthrow a fascist state
in future Blighty. Helmed by James McTeigue, pic suffers
from many of same problems as last two installments
of producers Andy and Larry Wachowski's "Matrix"
franchise: indigestible dialogue, pacing difficulties
and too much pseudo-philosophical info. Pic should open
with a bang in late March but may fizzle quickly.
Alan Moore, the author of the much admired graphic novel
"V for Vendetta," disassociated himself from
this production and had his name removed from the credits.
This should make his fan base extra wary, especially
since two critically panned pics ("From Hell,"
"The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen") have
already been hatched from options sold on Moore's work.Plot
differs substantially from the written version, which
was issued complete as a graphic novel in 1989. Simplified
movie version, penned by the Wachowski brothers, gamely
tries to retain key plot points that will serve as mass
market entertainment, while half-heartedly updating
Moore's allegorical digs at Thatcher's Britain in the
'80s to reflect current leftist fears about what a future
totalitarian state might repress -- not just homosexuality
but Islam, too..more..
Review By Jason Anderson:
Starring Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving. Written
by Andy and Larry Wachowski. Directed by James McTeigue.
(14A) 131 min. Opens March 17.Who makes a feature film
in which the lead character's face is constantly concealed
behind a mask? Who spends tens of millions of dollars
of Hollywood dough on a movie that gives credence to
conspiracy theories that explain away plagues and catastrophes
as government plots to control the populace? And who
the hell adapts a comic book and keeps all the boring
exposition?Such decisions defy conventional thinking.
Yet the ways of Andy and Larry Wachowski have grown
ever more mysterious since The Matrix transformed them
into two of Hollywood's most powerful, shadowy and --
in Larry's case -- ambiguously gendered forces. Having
run that franchise into the ground, the Wachowskis --
with long-time collaborator James McTeigue assuming
directorial duties -- turned to V for Vendetta, Alan
Moore's highly Orwellian fantasy about a fascist future
Britain that is undermined by a masked man who is either
a liberator or a terrorist, depending on your political
persuasion. The project has been the subject of much
speculation since the production's phony bombings in
London's Underground were followed by genuine attacks
last July..More..
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