Very Vindictive

I have to admit I was worried when I heard they were making Alan Moore's V for Vendetta into a Hollywood film. I remember Chris lending me the original graphic novel some years ago and it struck me as a fine example of a political novel. The themes of anarchy, the power of ideas and the complicity of the populace in their own suppression are very powerful.

I'm not slavish to the plot. There are some things that make sense on the page that are hard to convey on film. Re-reading the plot synopsis of the novel its clear a fair amount of the plot has been re-jigged and updated. However the writers have obviously tried to be very faithful to the novels themes during the screen adaptation. Hugo Weaving does a brilliant job of playing the enigmatic V (tricky for an actor who's face is hidden behind a mask for the whole film). Natalie Portman can almost be forgiven for the travesty that was Star Wars given a very strong performance in this film. There were a number of contemporary references in the film including many to the "War on Terror" that keep the films political edge. The difference between defeating a person and defeating an idea is something that we should all think about. Even the obligatory Matrix homage didn't grate. All in all I was more than pleasantly surprised with the job and can well recommend the film to anyone who's not seen it yet.