V for Vendetta

Entertainment Value

Rating: A

This was a great semi-political thriller. Why is it that deep political thrillers are R? I don't think ratings mean a whole lot anymore, other than to try to market the movie to a particular audience. If you're an adult you want to see more violence and sex and hear more profanity than a 13 year old would want to see. Makes sense, right? WRONG! That is a rather odd perspective if you ask me.

I had read the graphic novel of the same name (which the movie was fairly closely based on) and was very much impressed and excited to see the movie. This movie was a better adaptation than Watchmen was. Not because it was a closer adaptation, but because the director made it a bit more his own, he made the movie more powerful and moving than Watchmen (which could have to do with the general themes of each of the original stories - V was less "graphic" and more inspirational, while Watchmen was more nihilistic).

Moral Value – Failure to Communicate?

Rating: 4

There was a strong message that an idea is more important than a hero. Once a person gets outside him or herself and realizes that living life is more than just making sure we get through everyday or are ahead of everyone else, that person is truly free.


[Spoiler Alert]

To see all the citizens wake up to what the government was doing and see them march to the Parliament building with their cloaks and Guy Fawkes masks was rather inspiring. This movie kind of picks up where Watchmen left off. At the end of Watchmen you have the world united through fear of what Dr. Manhatten might do if they get out of line again. V for Vendetta starts with the people united after being scared to death of a virus that killed hundreds of thousands of people and the government capitalized on that fear and used it to control the people. Watchmen ends with a successful plan of uniting the people through fear, but doesn't try to explain what happens next (though implications can be made with the discovery of Rorschach's journal).

V's effort to wake up the people to the power-mongering fiends who were running the country was rather violent, but I'm not sure anything short of what he did could really have had any impact to inspire the needed change in the people. V eventually realizes that his vendetta at first might have been more revenge based, but we see his character fully developed towards the end as he leaves his ultimate plan up to one of his followers, to truly make the point that the idea is not solely supported by himself, that there are others who will take up where he leaves off.