Spring Break
V for Vendetta
Steve Artale
Issue date: 3/21/06 Section: Focus
Rarely these days does a trip to the movie theater become an experience.
Most often we are entertained to a certain extent for a few hours and then return to our lives after a usually forgettable trip to the theater. This is especially the case in the box office downtime that comes after the Oscars. However, amidst the mediocre releases and lackluster films out right now there is one diamond in the rough. There is one amazing film playing that, when the lights dim in the theater and you have viewed this film, two hours later you realize you have just had an amazing experience, one that will stick with you long after the ride home and the next day as you take it all in. "V for Vendetta" is this experience. "V for Vendetta" grabs you in first frame and does not let you go until the credits start rolling. From start to finish, "V for Vendetta" is a captivating roller coaster ride that will live you stunned, amazed and wanting to see it again.
"V for Vendetta" is the film adaptation of the Alan Moore and David Lloyd early 1980s comic book of the same name. "Matrix" writers and directors the Wachowski brothers have written the script and assistant director of all three Matrix films, James McTeigue, makes his solo directorial debut. McTeigue's first attempt at being a director, rather than an assistant director is, for the lack of a better word, brilliant. The combination of the Wachowski brothers' script and McTeigue's understanding of it produce an enthralling film.
Set in a not too distant, but alternate future, the world is in shambles. The United States is now the world's largest leper colony and England has become an island unto itself. In order to survive the radically changing world, England has adopted totalitarian beliefs, complete with nationwide curfew, government controlled media and restrictions on music, movies and art. Young Eve Hammond (Natalie Portman) violates the curfew one night by accident and on her way home is accosted by "Fingermen," agents of this government who are very similar to the Nazi Gestapo. Emerging from the night to save Eve is V, a freedom fighter wearing all black attire except for his white Guy Fawkes mask.
Most often we are entertained to a certain extent for a few hours and then return to our lives after a usually forgettable trip to the theater. This is especially the case in the box office downtime that comes after the Oscars. However, amidst the mediocre releases and lackluster films out right now there is one diamond in the rough. There is one amazing film playing that, when the lights dim in the theater and you have viewed this film, two hours later you realize you have just had an amazing experience, one that will stick with you long after the ride home and the next day as you take it all in. "V for Vendetta" is this experience. "V for Vendetta" grabs you in first frame and does not let you go until the credits start rolling. From start to finish, "V for Vendetta" is a captivating roller coaster ride that will live you stunned, amazed and wanting to see it again.
"V for Vendetta" is the film adaptation of the Alan Moore and David Lloyd early 1980s comic book of the same name. "Matrix" writers and directors the Wachowski brothers have written the script and assistant director of all three Matrix films, James McTeigue, makes his solo directorial debut. McTeigue's first attempt at being a director, rather than an assistant director is, for the lack of a better word, brilliant. The combination of the Wachowski brothers' script and McTeigue's understanding of it produce an enthralling film.
Set in a not too distant, but alternate future, the world is in shambles. The United States is now the world's largest leper colony and England has become an island unto itself. In order to survive the radically changing world, England has adopted totalitarian beliefs, complete with nationwide curfew, government controlled media and restrictions on music, movies and art. Young Eve Hammond (Natalie Portman) violates the curfew one night by accident and on her way home is accosted by "Fingermen," agents of this government who are very similar to the Nazi Gestapo. Emerging from the night to save Eve is V, a freedom fighter wearing all black attire except for his white Guy Fawkes mask.