Alan Moore is perhaps the hardest person to cater towards with film adaptations of his iconic work. Whether his reasons make sense or not in regards to the changes the films make to the graphic novels, alterations doesn't equal a tarnished movie. While there have been decent adaptations of his works such as "Watchmen", it's the 2005 adaptation of his 1988 hit that I feel is the strongest to date. In a dystopian future, the U.K is a totalitarian regime with strict laws and neo-facist views. A woman named Evey is roped into an ideological and political battle after she is rescued by a vigilante known as V. V is hoping that he can wake people up from their average lives and realize the corruptive nature of their government that needs to be changed with the act of destroying Parliament in one year's time. In the meantime, Evey is forced to take refuge with V while the vigilante seeks revenge on the people who have made him the man he is today. While the story is largely the same like the source material, aspects of the characters and political context has changed to respond to the Bush administration in the early 2000's. This context has also managed to age brilliantly with the Trump administration and even the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in some capacity that makes sure that this movie will not leave the spotlight for a long time. The tone takes itself seriously for the most part in regards to the political agenda, but V's eccentric personality does add a bit of levity to a film dealing with heavy and relevant subject matter.
Natalie Portman is an actress who is hit-or-miss in regards to her performances. Sometimes, she can be really good like in "Black Swan". Other times, she can be pretty bad like in the "Thor" and "Star Wars" movies. Her performance as Evey is one of her better ones, but still flawed in areas. Portman easily delivers on the naivety of the character and her overall growth throughout the story from being a victim to V's protege. The issue is really that Portman doesn't act that wrathful or arrogant in the scenes where Evey shows extreme hatred to V for the circumstances she is put in, which makes her performance a bit awkward in areas. Hugo Weaving however is fantastic as the titular V, mainly due to the vocal and physical performance. While the body language expresses the more theatrical and playful aspects of the character, Weaving's voice acting adds that playful energy and a hint of anguish of the character. Stephen Rea as Chief Inspector Finch is also doing a great job as he sells the reluctant yet determined detective who is both pursuing V as a criminal while questioning the government he has worked for in his lifetime career. Stephen Fry as Gordan Deitrich, Evey's boss who hides his political views and sexuality to keep her show, adds a good bit of humour and character to the world-building and the spread of V's message. Lastly, the late John Hurt plays Adam Sutler, the High Chancellor who is always seen via a television screen with diluted pupils and a bitter rage about V's influence on the public. Hurt knows how to ham up his roles and Sutler is perhaps his most hammiest yet effective in the appearance and position of power. As a whole, the cast is great for the most part with Weaving and Rea doing some of the best performances in their career. The only one that's a bit behind is Portman, who needs to channel more rage in critical moments of the film.
While the promotion and screenplay seems like the Wachowskis are behind the whole film, the directing duty actually went to James McTeigue, a long-time assistant director for various projects before this film taking up his official directorial debut. This is easily McTeigue's best film to date, both by the quality and overall skill he presents for the film. The goal was clearly to make the film both visually stylized while making it feel extremely grounded in its imagery and palette. The world is devoid of colour with the only striking colours being red, white and black as everything else is muted, almost like a film noir. V's hideout is perhaps the only pleasant location in the film, due to the various art and antiques the terrorist has "liberated" for himself in a windowless environment. However, the film can offer some surreal and iconic images from V's "birth" and the use of the Scarlet Carsons. The transitions and editing by Martin Walsh can be excellent at times, particularly with the seamless cuts and parallels with V, Evey and Finch. The cinematography by Adrian Biddle captures the look of the graphic novel by having a static camera with slight pans. The score by Dario Marianelli is good in the suspense/intense tracks, but is practically overshadowed by the use of 1812 Overture during the film's most iconic sequences. The visual effects are quite obvious, whether it's the green screen, compositing, or armies of V's supporters, but it's not done so much in the film that it's distracting. The action sequences are also on the weaker side, considering that the film is more of a political thriller rather than a superhero beat-em-up. The first action scene where V saves Evey feels way too cheesy and out of place for the character and film, almost like it came from Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man". The second in the television station is cool for V's intelligence and quick movements, but it's way too short. Lastly, the climatic showdown between him and Sutler's right-hand man involves some cool use of slow-motion and suspense, but the obvious blood effects and slowed-down grunts make it a bit too silly to take seriously. Even though the effects and action are underwhelming, it's not a huge issue given the film's modest budget as well as the rest of the quality filmmaking handled by McTiegue and the others.
"V For Vendetta" is a flawed yet almost excellent adaptation of Moore's work. From the story being left intact while being updated for the modern climate, the tone being both serious and comical when it needs to be, V is brought to life by the charismatic Weaving, the side cast are generally well-acted and have organic roles and development for the overarching narrative, the editing by Walsh is well-timed and matched to the film's pace and thematic threads of the characters, Biddle's cinematography perfectly captures the graphic novel origins onscreen, the score by Marianelli offers some nice tension to the respective scenes, and McTeigue's direction allows both wonderful stylization and gritty reality to co-exist in this dystopic setting. There are issues to be called out though, as the film does take liberties with the source material, Portman's performance as Evey is decent but lacking some emotional energy in the more demanding scenes, the CGI is very noticeable, and the action set-pieces aren't anything mind-blowing or well-executed in contrast to the rest of the film. With that said, this is still an amazing adaptation that, whether he would accept it or not, Moore needs to be proud of.
Verdict: 8/10. A great comic-book adaptation and political thriller. Watch it for the first time or a repeat viewing, especially after the year that was 2020.
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