“People shouldn't fear their governments; governments should fear their people."  This is the theme of the film starring Natalie Portman as “Evey” and Hugo Weaving as “V.”  Whether or not you like this movie will depend a great deal on how you feel about that theme. 

 I personally do not understand why there has to be fear at all, on either side.  Similarly, I also do not understand how you make a statement against violence with violence.  While the willingness to die for an ideal can be considered noble in some cases, a suicide bomber is not one of them, and I don’t consider a terrorist to be an innovator.  The film seems to blur this message to me and hides some pretty frightening ideas behind a glossy comic book world.  Yes, as “V” says, “blowing up a building can change the world,” but is that how you want to support change?

 I was extremely eager to see this movie (perhaps too eager) and I did believe that the content could be pulled off effectively (i.e. Fight Club).  Unfortunately I felt like it had no heart on either side.  On paper the oppressive government sounds evil but I felt the film did a terrible job of making me feel enough emotion against them to justify the actions of the “hero.”  And regardless of what the filmmakers claim, “V” is represented as the “hero” – he is granted moral superiority throughout the film and while she may call him a monster, he still gets the girl.  I think the biggest failure of this movie could lie in the fact that the writers were unable to decide how to characterize “V.”

  But truly, you can put all politics aside and still judge this movie as extremely disappointing.  While it was beautifully produced and well acted, it failed to manufacture any effective emotion.  I am a little dismayed by the positive reviews considering the screening audience I saw it with was collectively dissatisfied.  This movie borders on boring, failing to entertain or inspire.

 “V” is driven by revenge and fails to be relatable, which is unfortunately a major shortcoming considering the filmmakers want you to see yourself in him.  At the end everyone in London (including characters who have died) are wearing the same mask as Natalie Portman responds to the question “who was he?”  According to Portman’s Evey, “V” is everyone.  Well thankfully, he is not me.

  I believe this movie will be one of those films that the major fans will say is too intelligent and risky for everyone to enjoy.  The reality is it’s just a bad film that failed to resonate.  While it might spark interesting debate about the nature of government, it was inherently uninspiring and lifeless as a movie.  I give it 2 out of 5