V for Vendetta

[Guest sungravy]

[img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/movie/gallery/1152342/photo_39.jpg[/img]

V For Vendetta is [i]easily[/i] one of my most anticipated films of the year, and in just 2 days, after several delays, it will finally be out. It?s based off of a comic book written by Alan Moore, that may not mean much to you if you aren?t a comic fan, but Moore is widely considered one of the greatest comic writers of all time. I?m not a huge comic buff, but I really enjoyed some of his other stories, notably: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Watchmen, and Top 10. I haven?t read V For Vendetta yet, but I?ve heard it?s among his best.

It was adapted by the Wachowski Brothers, of Matrix fame, which may or may not be a good thing, depending on where you stand. I am not a huge Matrix fan, but as long as they stick to the comic book, I think it?ll be fine. Some people have tried to say that the script [i]must[/i] have been horrible, because Moore immediately, publicly, renounced the movie and said he wanted nothing to do with it. However, I think he is just a little gun shy after what they did with ?LXG? and ?From Hell?.

Natalie Portman, who we all know is spectacular, is starring. Hugo Weaving, who played Agent Smith, also has a major role. But I?m most excited about John Hurt?s role. Hurt has got to be one of the most underrated actors of all time.

So, we have spectacular: Source material, screenwriters, stars, and a wonderful cinematographer (Adrian Biddle, who unfortunately passed recently). What?s the one and only question mark?

The director, James McTeigue, a first timer. I don?t know about the rest of you, but for me, that?s a huge ******* question mark. But, from what I hear, all is well.

I?m hoping to see it Friday, possibly at the IMAX. So, who else is excited about this movie?

[url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/v_for_vendetta/]http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/v_for_vendetta/[/url] -- A look at the reviews so far.

[AzureWolf]

[COLOR=green]I had a little bit of interest in the film when I saw the commercial for it, but after hearing that the idiot Wachowski brothers were directing it, that died pretty quickly. I'm all up for giving people second chances, but they had three, and they ####ed all of them up.

I can just buy two bulls, and collect Wachowski quality films from their ###es. (if you can't tell, I thought the Matrix sucked, and yeah, I blame the directors) =P[/COLOR]

[Guest sungravy]

The Wachowskis Brothers arent directing, they just adapted the screenplay.

[Renate]

I'm really looking forward to this movie and I hope I'll see it soon in the cinema. That's a big questionmark for me because I don't exactly know if it's a world-wide release and I'm already going to watch the New World on Saturday.

It looks really interesting and more serious than most comic book movies. The trailer looks quite amazing. Tell us how it has been, sungravy!

[Dagger]

I plan on going to see this, and not necessarily because of the brothers Wachowski, bless their hearts. (For the record, I liked the first Matrix film, didn't care for the second, and never got around to seeing the third.)

[url=http://www.icv2.com/index.html][u]ICv2[/u][/url] has been plugging V For Vendetta for a while, and the recent Time article about the controversy it might cause ended up piquing my interest. I have yet to see a single trailer, though. It'll come out this weekend, you say? In that case, I'll have to make someone come watch it with me.

~Dagger~

[Retribution]

[quote name='sungravy']Natalie Portman, who we all know is spectacular, is starring.[/quote]
[size=1];_;

But she cut her hair! *sigh*

Anyway, I think it's one of those movies that could be really really [i]good[/i], or really really [i]bad[/i]. I dunno -- it's just a vibe I'm getting from the trailers. It's a guy in a mask, the Big Ben exploding, along with a bunch of soldiers and people crying. All of those traits are characteristic of terrible action movies, as well as wonderous masterpieces. I'm hoping it'll be the latter.

I'm going to see this on saturday... I'll post my review on it here after that.[/size]

[eleanor]

[QUOTE=Retribution][size=1];_;

But she cut her hair! *sigh*

Anyway, I think it's one of those movies that could be really really [i]good[/i], or really really [i]bad[/i]. I dunno -- it's just a vibe I'm getting from the trailers. It's a guy in a mask, the Big Ben exploding, along with a bunch of soldiers and people crying. All of those traits are characteristic of terrible action movies, as well as wonderous masterpieces. I'm hoping it'll be the latter.

I'm going to see this on saturday... I'll post my review on it here after that.[/size][/QUOTE]

[color=darkslateblue] Yes, but she's still hot. And has a perfectly symmetrical head. ;)

I think it could be a mediocre movie, rather than just really really good or really really bad. I'm also hoping that all the action scenes they stuffed in the trailers is an attempt to get more people to watch it.

From the reviews I've read excerpts of, it seems to be one of those 'not amazing, possibly not great, maybe not [i]good[/i], but entertaining and solid' movies. I guess it depends on the viewer's taste.

Then again, I have no idea how I'm going to see it considering it's R. >_> I hope someone can take me. Le sigh.[/color]

[bellpickle]

[SIZE=1]I'm planning to watch this, hopefully on IMAX, this weekend. I've seen a couple trailers on the movie website, as well as several commercials on television, and it looks quite intriguing. Also, a few have compared this film to Batman Begins, and in my book, that's definitely a good thing.[/SIZE]

[Retribution]

[size=1]Alright, so I watched it, and I love it. I'm sure there'll be those who gun it down, but I seriously think that the Wachowski Brothers got their acts together after trashing The Matrix II and III.

I think that the movie provides a fair amount of action, but more importantly, food for thought. While I didn't appreciate how [spoiler]America was in a civil war, it was still good. The knife-time was another great spin on the bullet-time created by The Matrix I -- very innovative, I think.[/spoiler]

Anyway, I thought the plot was solid, the acting was good, and while a few effects were slightly cheezy, I'd certainly buy it on DVD.[/size]

[NekoSama101]

i think it should come out in anime. that'd be really awsome.

[TheShinje]

[color=crimson] I've seen a trailer for V Vendetta, and I'm very interested in seeign this movie when it makes it's New Zealand run. The allusions to Orwell's 1984, and the plot of Big-Brother style governments are enough alone to make me want to check this film out.[/color]

[James]

[QUOTE=Retribution][size=1]Alright, so I watched it, and I love it. I'm sure there'll be those who gun it down, but I seriously think that the Wachowski Brothers got their acts together after trashing The Matrix II and III.

[/size][/QUOTE]

[font=franklin gothic medium]It's worth pointing out that the Wachowski brothers were involved with the script development rather than the direction (although they were also the producers and were on-set the entire time). If you know about their script writing process, you'll also know that they not only use a written script but also a complex storyboard process, to ensure that every shot comes out as they've envisioned.

James McTeigue was the director. He was the first assistant director on The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions.

There are people who think that the first Matrix film was a fluke, but if they like this film at all then I think it becomes more obvious that the latter two Matrix films will come to be understood and appreciated in time. Don't forget that 2001: A Space Oddyssey went through the same issues in its day, but Kubrick was appreciated eventually.

[url="http://filmforce.ign.com/articles/696/696607p1.html"]Here's the IGN review[/url], which apparently comes from someone who wasn't too impressed with the Matrix sequels. Worth a read, at any rate.[/font]

[Leofski]

I enjoyed the film a lot, but I would recommend the original comic to anyone. Although it is pretty old (it was written in the 80s), it makes a bit more sense than the film and gives a slightly different spin to plot.

The use of the 1812 overture was great though.

[Annie]

[size=1]I just saw this movie last night, and rather enjoyed it. I must say the brothers did a fairly good job. However, since it was a movie by "the brothers", I was expecting a bit more....I'm not exactly sure what I was expecting, but I wasn't disappointed. I loved V. He was both sinister and humorous at the same time. I liked Evey, as well. I think Natalie did a very good job in this movie. I hated her in the Star Wars sagas.....but this movie rectified my disappointment. HOWEVER, I think my only complaint with her is the accent. It just sounded too fake; too forced, you know?

Anyway, V for Vendetta is worth seeing. If you haven't, you should.[/size]

[Cora Jane 2]

[font=garmond][color=navy][size=2]I must say that it was a great movie. I saw it last night after I had a good friend raving on and on about it the day before. I was impressed, but as Athena I was expecting a little more, though I'm not quite sure what. I loved V.
I must say though if you haven't seen it, you should see it. [/font][/color][/size]

[Guest Shinome]

[align=center]V for Vendetta was excellent....and Hugo Weaving portrayed the role of V with pure perfection. This is definatly a re-watchable movie, and I suggest anyone who hasn't seen it, to definatly give it a chance, because you won't be disappointed.[/align]

[Gen. Andronicus]

I felt that it was a tad over-ambitious. Don't get me wrong, I don't care for the current administration in the US and feel that there criticisms are well-deserved, however, the movies political message seemed a bit to localized (kind of like a big FU to George W Bush) for it's own good. It's basically the same message that you could read on the editorial page of your local newspaper, nothing profound. This affected my enjoyment of the film, and I believe will affect its future level of greatness.

[Retribution]

[quote name='Gen. Andronicus']I felt that it was a tad over-ambitious. Don't get me wrong, I don't care for the current administration in the US and feel that there criticisms are well-deserved, however, the movies political message seemed a bit to localized (kind of like a big FU to George W Bush) for it's own good. It's basically the same message that you could read on the editorial page of your local newspaper, nothing profound. This affected my enjoyment of the film, and I believe will affect its future level of greatness.[/quote]
[size=1]That's why they placed it in Great Britain, I thought.

I personally think that it could be enjoyed by someone who wasn't even alive during the Bush Administration -- the message is the exact same either way. It's more of a lesson on how government should be run rather than an exclusive FU to Bush.[/size]

[Guest sungravy]

[quote name='Gen. Andronicus']I felt that it was a tad over-ambitious. Don't get me wrong, I don't care for the current administration in the US and feel that there criticisms are well-deserved, however, the movies political message seemed a bit to localized (kind of like a big FU to George W Bush) for it's own good. It's basically the same message that you could read on the editorial page of your local newspaper, nothing profound. This affected my enjoyment of the film, and I believe will affect its future level of greatness.[/quote]

Your argument would be a lot more valid if the source material for this movie wasn?t originally produced in the mid-80s, long before Dubya?s reign. It could be read as an ?FU? to Bush, but if you want to read it that way, then it was more of an ?FU to all of Government in general. But really, it?s just a comment on all of fascism., I mean, the dystopian setting, the Guy Fawkes mask, it all fits together working for more of a "theme" rather than just snubbing Bush.

But anyway, movie was pretty damn good. Probably the best movie of 06 so far. Hopefully it'll set the standard for Moore adaptions and **** like From Hell and LXG will never be produced again.

[are i]

[COLOR=DarkRed]I saw V for Vendetta last week, and I was impressed. They didn't put so much action in that it detracted from the political message. Natalie Portman's accent was a little forced, true, but her acting was very good compared to Star Wars III :animeswea

[spoiler]I've heard some people complain because V wasn't unmasked, but I think they missed the point... we weren't supposed to see his face. When the crowd of people took off their masks at the end, that was like V's unmasking. :) [/spoiler]

As far as the Matrix goes, I'm still in love with the first one (the second and third were trash).... however... I think the Wachowski brothers redeemed themselves with V for Vendetta. :cool: [/COLOR]

[James]

[QUOTE=sungravy]Your argument would be a lot more valid if the source material for this movie wasn?t originally produced in the mid-80s, long before Dubya?s reign. It could be read as an ?FU? to Bush, but if you want to read it that way, then it was more of an ?FU to all of Government in general. But really, it?s just a comment on all of fascism., I mean, the dystopian setting, the Guy Fawkes mask, it all fits together working for more of a "theme" rather than just snubbing Bush.

[/QUOTE]

[font=franklin gothic medium]That's very true I think. Not every political film these days is a commentary on president Bush.

Moreover, I think people tend to forget that this film is based on specific source material...so although some may consider its theme topical, it's more a timing thing than a direct reference to current day events.[/font]

[Leofski]

The odd thing about this film is that post 9/11, films that just contained images of the twin towers had warnings labelling them as possibly disturbing and no film touched the subject for a number of years. On the other hand, 8 months after the London tube bombings, a film actually has a train full of explosives blowing up a major national landmark. On the other hand its true to the comic, so I'd personally blow up the director and editing team if they'd taken it out.

[Gen. Andronicus]

[quote name='Leofski']The odd thing about this film is that post 9/11, films that just contained images of the twin towers had warnings labelling them as possibly disturbing and no film touched the subject for a number of years. On the other hand, 8 months after the London tube bombings, a film actually has a train full of explosives blowing up a major national landmark. On the other hand its true to the comic, so I'd personally blow up the director and editing team if they'd taken it out.[/quote]

WOW! I bet you're really good at dodgeball!

[QUOTE=sungravy]Your argument would be a lot more valid if the source material for this movie wasn’t originally produced in the mid-80s, long before Dubya’s reign. It could be read as an “FU” to Bush, but if you want to read it that way, then it was more of an “FU to all of Government in general. But really, it’s just a comment on all of fascism., I mean, the dystopian setting, the Guy Fawkes mask, it all fits together working for more of a "theme" rather than just snubbing Bush.

But anyway, movie was pretty damn good. Probably the best movie of 06 so far. Hopefully it'll set the standard for Moore adaptions and **** like From Hell and LXG will never be produced again.[/QUOTE]

...

I think you missed the part in my post saying that I felt the [i]movie[/i] was [b]over-ambitious[/b]. The [i]movie[/i], not the movie's source material is what we are discussing here, correct? Just because it's based a comic written 20 years ago doesn't mean that the screenplay is not in fact, a misrepresentation. However, it would be silly of me not to realize that the movie was trying to recreate the same message of that of it's source material. I felt that that was what the movie aspired to be, but fell flat.
Now, I have never read nor have I been familiarized with the comic, but many people seem to think it's great and that it has a profound message about government, similar to that of Orwell's 1984. So, forgive me if I'm wrong in assuming that the movie attempted to make a profound message about (all) government in it's recreation of the mid-1980s comic. That is my claim of what one of the movie's ambitions were. I [i]felt[/i] that even with all the movie's "themes" and stylistic differences in it's message, it still fell flat of it's ambitions because it was as if the writers still wanted to wag their middle finger at current world leaders. For me, this dates the [b]film[/b] and gives me less hope that it will have the same intergenerational connections that the comic seemed to have had.
Now, about the invalidity of my arguement... All I stated was the "I" felt the movie was over-ambitious. I don't see how my own thoughts on a movie, can be invalid because the movie is based on an idea 20 years old. I could have said that I was dissappointed that the movie didn't have more rubber duckies in it. You could have replied that the original comic did not have any rubber duckies at all and you would have not invalidated my arguement deductively. Yes, your statement did have implied inductive reasoning to it but it was not enough to measure the validity of mine.

P.S. I liked From Hell.

[Starwind]

I just saw it not even an hour ago and I have to say that it's probably one of the better movies I've seen in the last year. That's probably due to the fact that I see a lot of crap, but still. It reminded me a little of "1984", or at least the society in which it is based. The term "black bagged" I feel was a nice touch. I love the wonderful work of illiteration in the begining from the man himself. I wish I could find the actual document of that. It would make a great quote, even if it is very long. What hits the hardest as for the fact that the world feels so real at aome points and seems so close to our own.

[Stark]

[SIZE=1]I saw it yesterday with Starwind, and I notice the thread just now. So here I am.

Anyway, the main reason why Vendetta drew me in was the likeness to 1984. The dystopian government with a Big Brother style dictator and the mass information suppression are all used very well in this, and provided a perfect set up for V. The key difference that I found between Vendetta and 1984 is that, while Orwell's character fought against the machine, he made no progress in the end. Nothing was radically changed in their society, everything went about as it had been for years.

[spoiler]V, on the other hand, did what Winston(wikipediaed that little bit--I forgot his name!)never could. Where Winston fought against the machine unsuccessfully, V fought it and utterly destroyed it. Of course, he destroyed himself in the end too. He left Evey to rebuild the world from the ashes of the inevitable explosion that began with his 'birth' at Larkhill. [/spoiler]

the movie itself was great--I am not disappointed in it at all. Overhyped it may be, but a lot of flicks are overhyped. I don't buy many films at all, there's only a couple that I own and one I watch on a regular basis (Pirates of the Caribbean, if you're curious) so I think that is a lot coming from me. I want to see Vendetta again, and I'd love to add it to my personal collection.[/SIZE]

[size=1][color=red]Edited spoiler tags in. - James[/color][/size]