Contentious, pretentious but with a great last 20 minutes.
V For Vendetta (2005)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:225
Fresh:164
Rotten:61
Average Rating:6.8/10
Consensus: Visually stunning and thought-provoking, V For Vendetta's political pronouncements may rile some, but its story and impressive set pieces will nevertheless entertain.
Rated: 15 [See Full Rating] for strong violence and some language
Runtime: 2 hrs 13 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
Theatrical Release:17-03-2006
Synopsis: Set against the futuristic landscape of totalitarian Britain, V For Vendetta tells the story of a young working-class woman named Evey who is rescued from a life-and-death situation by a masked man... Set against the futuristic landscape of totalitarian Britain, V For Vendetta tells the story of a young working-class woman named Evey who is rescued from a life-and-death situation by a masked man known only as "V." Profoundly complex, V is at once literary, flamboyant, tender and intellectual, a man dedicated to freeing his fellow citizens from those who have terrorized them into compliance. He is also bitter, revenge-seeking, lonely and violent, driven by a personal vendetta. In his quest to free the people of England from the corruption and cruelty that have poisoned their government, V condemns the tyrannical nature of their appointed leaders and invites his fellow citizens to join him in the shadows of Parliament on November the 5th – Guy Fawkes Day. On that day in 1605, Guy Fawkes was discovered in a tunnel beneath Parliament with 36 barrels of gunpowder. He and his co-conspirators had engineered the treasonous "Gunpowder Plot" in response to the tyranny of their government under James I. Fawkes and his fellow saboteurs were hanged, drawn and quartered, and their plan to take down their government never came to pass. In the spirit of that rebellion, in remembrance of that day, V vows to carry out the plot that Fawkes was executed for attempting on November 5th in 1605: he will blow up Parliament. As Evey uncovers the truth about V’s mysterious past, she also discovers the truth about herself – and emerges as his unlikely ally in the culmination of his plan to ignite a revolution, bringing freedom and justice back to a society fraught with cruelty and corruption. Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Virtual Studios, a Silver Pictures production in association with Anarchos Productions Inc., NATALIE PORTMAN in V For Vendetta, starring HUGO WEAVING, STEPHEN REA and JOHN HURT. Directed by JAMES McTEIGUE, the film is produced by JOEL SILVER, GRANT HILL, ANDY WACHOWSKI and LARRY WACHOWSKI from a screenplay by THE WACHOWSKI BROTHERS, based on the graphic novel illustrated by DAVID LLOYD and published by VERTIGO/DC COMICS. The executive producer is BENJAMIN WAISBREN. The director of photography is ADRIAN BIDDLE, B.S.C.; the production designer is OWEN PATERSON; the editor is MARTIN WALSH, A.C.E.; and the music is composed by DARIO MARIANELLI. V For Vendetta is a United Kingdom-Germany co-production. This film has been rated "R" by the MPAA for "strong violence and some language." V For Vendetta is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company. -- © Warner Bros. [More]
Starring: Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving, Stephen Rea, John Hurt
Starring: Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving, Stephen Rea, John Hurt, Rupert Graves, Sinead Cusack, Stephen Fry, Natasha Wightman, Tim Pigott-Smith
Director: James McTeigue
Director: James McTeigue
Screenwriter: Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski
Producer: Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski, Joel Silver, Grant Hill
Composer: Dario Marianelli
Producer: Joel Silver
Studio: Warner Bros.
Reviews for V For Vendetta
For all its anti-establishment esprit, it’s more a case of Z for Zzzz.
The cleverest aspect of the film is the way it turns a terrorist into a crusading hero while remaining politically correct. What it doesn't manage is to create a credible future or avoid pomposity.
V for Vendetta is visually stunning, marvellously rich and possibly the first great Alan Moore adaptation.
Enjoyable, smartly designed and superbly acted thriller that actually gives you something to think about while you're watching stuff get blown up.
There are a lot of ideas here - and two impressive set-pieces - but while it may provoke thought, it rarely thrills or engages as a story.
Setting out more to challenge us with its ideas than make us whoop at the action, Vendetta can be clumsy, but there are enough impressive flourishes to make up for its stumblings.
So gorgeously visual and thematically resonant that we don't really mind if the characters are a bit shallow.
V for Vendetta is a milestone. Maybe not a big marker, but a milestone nonetheless.It is anti-establishment redux.
The details of V's beef with society are hazy, but the film has a certain purity of spirit.
Major studio pictures can certainly be more creative, but they're rarely as bold as this.
blends modern-day politics with good old-fashioned derring-do to explore the grey areas (in a very grey-looking London) between freedom, justice, dissidence and retribution.
When the script sticks close to Alan Moore, it works best. Which, sadly, is seldom.
Every time Mr. Weaving is on screen the spirit of Mr. Moore's character comes alive. Those moments, at least, are worth fighting for.
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