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The Movie: Based upon the graphic novels written in the '80's by Alan Moore (who has since disassociated himself from the picture, as he has with adaptations of his "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" and "From Hell") and written for the screen by the Wachowski Brothers ("The Matrix"), "V For Vendetta" opens in 2020, where America has fallen and England has become the leader of the world, ruled by a dictator named Adam Sutler (John Hurt), who runs the country by using fear and propaganda and, taking away the freedom of the country's citizens. Anyone who opposes the regime is locked away. The government listens in on conversations on a daily basis. Early in the picture, low-level TV employee Evey (Natalie Portman) is on her way home when she runs into a couple of Sutler's thugs. She's saved when V (voiced by Hugo Weaving, best known as "Agent Smith" in the "Matrix" movies), whose face is covered by a Guy Fawkes mask, steps out of the night to drop her attackers. He then has her join him to watch his planned destruction of the Old Bailey, set to the "1812 Overture". Afterwards, V breaks into the TV station where Evey works and takes over the airwaves, inviting the citizens to watch as he'll blow up the Parliment a year from the day, which will break the hold the government ("People shouldn't be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people," he says) has over the people and restore their rights. As the film progresses, Evey gets caught up in V's plan and we find out about the tragic pasts of both V and Evey. Meanwhile, a police detective (Stephen Rea) tries to track down V and ends up learning more about the regime in the process. "Vendetta" was marketed more as an action/thriller, but the picture is certainly more of a drama, with a lot of exposition. Those who are expecting an action movie (as the trailers seemed to indicate) would best be willing to be open to more of a drama, as that's really what this picture is. There are a few well-choreographed fight scenes scattered throughout the picture, but they're fairly brief. For a movie about rebelling against an oppressive government, there are times here-and-there when the picture feels curiously too low-key, despite fine performances. It's never boring, but the film (some points of which seem rushed; while I've never read Moore's work - although watching the movie made me curious to see the differences - it felt as if some elements of it were lost in translation) has a stop/start momentum, when it should be relentless. While some aspects of the story seem a bit muddled, it still does deliver messages of not tuning out to what's happening in the world, to be able to question and to formulate your own opinion instead of just taking in what you're being told. McTeague's film does have aspects going for it, including a pair of fine performances from Portman and Weaving, the latter using his voice expertly, since he's never seen. Portman offers one of her better (although her English accent could have been better) recent efforts as a young woman who gradually finds herself drawn into V's battle against the oppressive, totalitarian government. Technically, "V" appeared respectable for a $50m picture, but I didn't feel as if it fully created the kind of grim, oppressive mood and atmosphere that the movie truly needed or that other similar pictures have been able to accomplish in recent years. McTeague makes a rather average directorial debut here and one wonders if a more experienced director could have plunged the audience further into the film's world. Overall, this is a moderately involving drama, although the material could have been reworked to give it more focus and more flow. The DVD VIDEO: "V For Vendetta" is presented by Warner Brothers Home Entertainment in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. The presentation is a very fine effort from the studio, with enjoyably crisp and well-defined images on display throughout the show. Aside from a couple of slight instances of edge enhancement, the picture remained crisp and clear, with no print flaws, pixelation or other issues. Colors are understandably subdued and are presented without issue here. SOUND: While this is not an action-heavy picture by any means, the film's sound design certainly is quite aggressive during much of the picture, with the surrounds offering a great deal of ambience, reinforcement of the music and plenty of discrete sound effects. When the action does come into play, the audio offers a pretty substantial punch, as the film's sound effects certainly have a lot of power behind them. Dialogue remained clear and undistorted throughout. EXTRAS: The 2-DVD Special Edition offers a 15-minute "making of" on the first disc and a trio of featurettes on the second disc - one about the history of Guy Fawkes, another about the production design and one on the comic. Also found on the second disc are a Cat Power "montage" and the trailer. For easter egg hunters, there's also a hidden feature on the second menu of the second disc: Natalie Portman's "rap" from "Saturday Night Live" (censored). I'm surprised that there isn't a tribute featurette cinematographer Adrian Biddle, who passed away after filming was completed (and who the film is dedicated to.) Final Thoughts: "V For Vendetta" remains a moderately involving drama, although the material could have been reworked to give it more focus. The DVD presentation offers very good audio/video quality and a few decent supplements. Many fans will likely be pleased with the single-disc edition, while those who haven't seen the picture should try it first as a rental. 
Film Grade The Film B- DVD Grades Video 91/A Audio: 94/A Extras: 75/C |