The Wake

The year is 2020. The world is in many ways different, and in many ways the same. Using fear and xenophobia, a totalitarian government similar in appearance and function to the Nazi party has taken over Britain. Personal freedoms are non-existent. Censorship and lies rule the government-controlled media outlets. This is the kind of place heroes were made for. However, the hero of this place is pretentious, deranged and not entirely moral. He’s like Batman with a better vocabulary and little regard for others. He also wears a Guy Fawkes mask (Guy Fawkes attempted to blow up the British Parliament in 1605). His name is V. Welcome to the world of V for Vendetta.

You know you’ve stumbled onto a good film when it’s so enjoyable that you can ignore otherwise destructive plot holes. V for Vendetta has more than its share of problems in that department, yet it absolutely held my attention for over two hours. This movie also has plenty of super-stylized violence (it was written by the co-creators of the Matrix and directed by on of their protégés). It even has some rather high-brow drama, a smattering of great dialogue and plenty of thought provoking questions, most of them going unanswered. Basically, V for Vendetta is like an ass-kicking discourse on the relationship between government and violence.

Now when I called V the hero of the story, I was oversimplifying things. He’s really either a terrorist or a freedom fighter, depending on who you ask. Among other things, V bombs buildings, assassinates political figures and causes the deaths of several innocent civilians. Whether V represents good or bad is up to the audience, though sympathy is definitely cast in his direction. Some may not like the moral ambiguity, but I found it very fitting to the story’s premise.

In fact, one of the biggest short comings to me was how glossed-over some of the morals get. Though V never kills a civilian, he most definitely causes the deaths of several. I would have liked to hear a character challenge this. What V really lacked was a good foil—someone to make him own up when his actions aren’t entirely noble. His vendetta is both universal and personal, meaning the things he does aren’t always in the best interest of his cause or those who would help him.

Amazingly enough, V for Vendetta is a movie that I can see many people enjoying. It has enough action and drama for those only looking to be entertained, though an oddly paced mix of the two. But it also makes a willing viewer think enough to be fairly rewarding. There’s a lot in this film to talk about, whether relating to current or past politics. It’s still a comic book action movie, so those unwilling to see a person get shot outrageous amounts of times and still knife the crap out of people may not have the kind of suspension of disbelief necessary. Their loss.