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All words posted on this blog are the sole property of Michael Duffy (except where noted). Images are collected from the web and are shared herein to illustrate film reviews and opinions. If you are the owner of an image and do not wish to see it used for these purposes, please email me and I will remove it. |
Saturday, April 15, 2006
"The only Verdict is Vengeance."  V for Vendetta Yeah, I know, I should be working on my thesis... Train of thought review: Caught 'V' the other night, had a free ticket from picking up some Jet Li pics that I didn't have...(what?) Anyway, I thought it was good. Impressive. Not sure how much you'll like it, but it's a decidedly smart genre pic, ever so slightly elevated above it's station (god do I sound too English ? -- it's the movie). Some good performances from Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving's voice -- the role was initially given to James Purefoy (not sure if you know this guy -- he plays 'Marc Antony' in Rome-- he was one of my other pics for 'should be Bond'), but apparently it "wasn't working out" and the Wachwhackos hired back Weaving (who was "always their first choice", blah blah I'm so sick of this PR b.s.). So, I'm not sure who's actually playing "the body" now. I think there are some interviews available online that talk about it, though. Anyway, the film is strong, smart and witty, surprisingly talky for a "genre" pic/graphic novel/comic book adaptation. I didn't even catch all of what V/Weaving was saying all the time because it was rattled off so quick, and the sound in the theatre I was at kind of stunk. John Hurt's one-note totalitarian dictator is hammered home a little too much, and I almost couldn't stand the guy who plays his second-in-command. Stephen Rea walks around the whole time like he's got heartburn (what the heck happened to his career, by the way? He started working continuously in movies we've never heard of. Neil Jordan ran out of roles, I guess). The cinematography and supporting performances have a bit of a Euro-trash sub-Blade feel to them. I know, it sounds bad -- but it actually, in some strange, obtuse way, works. Small important roles like Stephen Fry's (which in itself is a nice knod to his performance as Wilde, you'll see what I mean when you watch this) and some neat flashbacks detailing stories of "what really happened" in the past, and written letters kind of coming alive make for interesting, and intelligent diversions. And every time V shows up, it's thrilling. This movie has something to say. I'm not sure exactly what it is, but it's about ideas. It's more than we get from "Hollywood" most of the time. It has nice little knods to contemporary political/social happenings, without concentrating on or inferring from them directly. The score was decent. The action quotient surprisingly low. The script (and slight romance) is just a little-forced in certain areas, but V's character and Portman's character, and the actors' performances, keep lifting the thing above. This movie was, dare I say it, even "powerful" in moments. So, I liked it. I can't believe I'm actually saying that about a product produced by the guys who did the Matrix movies (don't get me started), but that's how I feel. In a different world, it would win a few awards, I think, simply for "intelligence beyond the capacity of its makers". I think more people will discover it on DVD. Viva la Revolution! |