My terribly late review of V For Vendetta

[ultimatefan]

Okay guys, finally saw it - I was short on cash when it was originally released, so forgive me for being so late...

The best Alan Moore adaptation.

The best Vertigo movie.

One of the best comic book adaptations ever.

One of the best movies of 2006.

Alan, I was with you on LXG and From Hell. I see your point on Constantine. V... Lighten up a bit, man! One may question the joy of seeing a graphic novel like V being translated to film, when there´s so much that´s inevitably lost or different... The joy, Alan, is to see it gain a new life, a new soul, to see the beauty of your words delivered with gusto and class by Hugo Weaving´s deep voice and Shakesperian manners, to see Evey Hammond with the sweetness and intensity of Natalie Portman´s eyes, to see John Hurt turn the chancelor into an even more despisable worm of a man than he ever was.
Of course the movie isn´t exactly the book. It can´t be. Things need to be summed up, characters are mixed, scenes miss - and some I miss dearly, like V´s Rolling Stones quote, or the girl saying "****!" and waiting for retaliation, or Evey speculating on V´s identity, or... But the soul of the book is there. The message is there. Alan, you complain the words "fascism" and "anarchism" are never spoken in the movie. They don´t need to be. The government is fascist for all practical purposes in its censorship, arbitrarism, intolerance to difference of opinion, in its lies. V is anarchist in his symbology, in his fight, in his message to Evey that she can be free in ways that even threats against her life can´t take away from her. In the way that he ultimately leaves to her the decision to fullfill the dream that he constructed, apparently for his own sake, for so many years.
I don´t care if there are references to Bush in the movie, he represents today what the Tatcher government represented back then, Alan, the story can be true to US as it can be true to England as it can be true to Brazil, as V is you and me and all of us. The Wachovskis and McTeigue were honest about it. They treated your story with heart and care and they preserved its core embelished with movement and sound and great visual beauty that is unique to movies. One day, Alan, look at this movie with a more open mind. As you taught us to seek for having one in your great tale of the fight for freedom.

 

[matrix_ghost]

I always found it funny that Alan claims that V for Vendetta was taken out of context and things were misinterpreted for the gain of the wachowskies , but ah the same time he made three beloved women characters almost hookers.

Right alan

IMO i think the guy is a genius who made some of the best comics. But he really needs to lighten up alot .

 

[Darth Elektra]

Better late than never...

I loved the film.

 

[Nivek]

Glad you liked it, man.

 

[Mr. Credible]

it really was a great movie, and one of my favorites.

 

[Hades]

I actually agree with Alan on this movie.

I think they butchered the book. Could have been alot worse, but it was just bleh.
They some how managed to make the story seem bland. And they took away alot of the mystery of V..and made him seem more like a bafoon. Basically, I thought the movie just lacked any character development. Which is one of the reasons the book was so great...because of the amazing characters.

 

[black_dust]

I didnt like it, but im not a huge fan of the comics either so...

 

[ultimatefan]

I actually agree with Alan on this movie.

I think they butchered the book. Could have been alot worse, but it was just bleh.
They some how managed to make the story seem bland. And they took away alot of the mystery of V..and made him seem more like a bafoon. Basically, I thought the movie just lacked any character development. Which is one of the reasons the book was so great...because of the amazing characters.

They butchered what? Of course a lot of things have to go, if they told the whole story the movie would be, like, six hours long. V is still a mystery, and he´s still powerful and manipulative and morally ambiguous, like he is in the book. Evey goes through a transformation that´s very similar to the book, the way she goes from being this scared, wants to stay under the radar person to be a freedom fighter.

 

[Fenrir]

I loved the film a lot the first time I saw it as well, but repeated viewings really killed a lot of the film's charms for me.

 

[Kevin Roegele]

I think it's a pretty average film, but the source material is so strong that it shines through and elevates it.

 

[ultimatefan]

I think it's a pretty average film, but the source material is so strong that it shines through and elevates it.

I think that´s the best you can ask for in an adaptation of a comics classic like this or Batman or Spider-Man: don´t get too much in the way of the source material and it´ll take care of itself.

 

[kainedamo]

It was okay... but they definately did change alot of stuff. It's confusing. It's understandable that they'd have to cut things out, but they flat out changed things they really didn't have to.

And the movie doesn't go far enough. The movie holds back.

Quite frankly, I'm glad Alan Moore is so damn honest about how he feels. Hollywood needs people with that kind of honesty and unmoving, unwavering kind of attitude. Either do it right, or don't do it at all. Good on Alan.

 

[SolidSnakeMGS]

Yeah, they did change some stuff, but on the whole, it was very similiar to the book's spirit. They couldn't within the running time of a feature nail every little detail, character, and nuance of the world Moore created. That would have needed to be a miniseries.

I enjoyed it a lot!

 

[Kevin Roegele]

Yeah, they did change some stuff, but on the whole, it was very similiar to the book's spirit. They couldn't within the running time of a feature nail every little detail, character, and nuance of the world Moore created. That would have needed to be a miniseries.

I enjoyed it a lot!

I think a BBC mini-series, a co-production with a US network, would work very well.