Right off I will say this is a fantastic movie and I think everyone should see it. In the same breath, though, I think that not everyone should see this movie. I’ll explain in a little bit.

V For Vendetta was written by the Wachowski Brothers, fans of the original DC Comics anti-hero only known as “V”. Anyone who is a fan of this comic will love the film. I’ve never read the comic, nor did I know anything about V and I loved the film.

The anti-hero is well played by Hugo Weaving (King Elrond in the Ring trilogy and Bad Guy in the Matrix). V is an avid reader of books and adores old movies. He often quotes from Shakespeare and other writers of the “mellifluous word”. There is a speech made in which the majority of the words begin with the letter V. Hugo Weaving did a fantastic job of enunciating each word without getting garbled behind the mask. And that, I think, was key to Hugo Weaving’s performance. By the end of the movie, you no longer need to see V’s face because the mask is, in a way, alive and who he is.

Natalie Portman (Amadala from Star Wars) has definately shown she’s got some mettle. As Princess Amadala, she was pretty, but a yawn as far as acting goes. She did a great job in this movie considering my first thought when I saw her was, oh man, she’s going to ruin the whole movie! She didn’t. I hope she’ll find more dramatic roles like this one. As Evey, V’s apparant soulmate, her life changes from the night she meets this supposed madman reciting, “Remember, remember, the 5th of November…”

Evey has been careful and afraid her whole life; doing what she can to be invisible. Her parents were revolutionaries after her little brother died when terrorists dropped a biological weapon upon the school he attended. V comes to Evey’s rescue when she’s out after curfew, and before she knows it, she is being hunted down as V’s ally.

V For Vendetta deals with a subject that’s very touchy in this day and age; terrorism. In fact, the movie was to be released November 5, 2005 but was delayed when London was bombed by terrorists. This is a hard movie to watch if you are someone who is trying to see the movie as a commentary on the world today. The reason being, if you watch it that way, it seems to advocate terrorism as a way of getting at your enemies. This is one reason I say not everyone should watch this movie.

V is a DC Comics character and the world that made V is one that is our worst nightmare; a totalitarian society in which anyone who doesn’t conform to the norm is sent to prison, put to death, or used as experimental subjects. V identifies himself with the historical figure, Guy Fawkes.

Guy Fawkes (14th April, 1570�31st January, 1606) was an English soldier and a member of a group of Roman Catholic conspirators who attempted to carry out the so-called Gunpowder Plot in 1605. The plot was an attempt to assassinate King James I of England (James VI of Scotland) and the members of both houses of the Parliament of England. To do this, Westminster Palace was to be blown up during the formal opening session of the 1605 Parliament, in which the king would address a joint assembly of both the House of Lords and the House of Commons. Guy Fawkes was in large part responsible for the later stages of the plan’s execution. His activities were detected, however, before the plan’s completion. Following a severe interrogation involving the use of torture, Fawkes and his co-conspirators were executed for treason and attempted murder. Guy Fawkes is remembered with Guy Fawkes Night on November 5.

One of V’s quotes to Evey is, “People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people.” In this film, John Hurt as the Chancellor, is the government. His fears, his hatred become law. One of the men allowed to enforce the law as he sees fit is Creedy, played by Tim Piggot-Smith. Creedy’s men are known as “finger-men”. After curfew they rule the streets and do whatever they please.

There is quite a bit of symbolism and philosophy in this movie. If you’re willing to let go and not see this movie as a commentary about our world today and to put yourself into V’s world, then you’ll understand that this isn’t about terrorism, but more about revolution and regaining freedom.

I think when we left the theatre, my husband made a succinct observance; “Terrorism is one step away from revolution.”

If you’ve seen the movie, tell me what you think.