V for Vendetta.......M for Masterpiece

[Jelmer]

No thread yet? Just got out of the theatre. Awesome movie, brilliant!

[Gmanx]

God I hope so. Not seen it yet. Love the comics.

[FunkaDelicDass]

Yeah, I liked it. They took a few liberties with the story but they kept the central message intact. Not that it matters to Alan Moore...

Hugo Weaving did a great job playing V.

[flaagan]

very good to hear after the whole "Ultraviolet sucks" thing... may try to see V this weekend.

[Josh_Singh]

I liked it a lot. Two thumbs up.

[Slum]

Yeah, total surprise. I was thinking it was going to be your typical action flick, so I wasn't very interested. My girl begged me to go, so I did, and I'm glad. Very very awesome movie indeed.

[Marcus Dublin]

I saw it last night and it easily makes up for both of the mediocre Matrix sequels!

Marcus Dublin

[Ninjas]

Well, it was worth going to the theatre here in OK just to see the audience reaction. They were made pretty uneasy!

The movie had it's weak points but it was worth my $6.50. I would give it a 7/10, with 5 being an average movie.

[Vailias]

Would it be worth $9.00?

[Slum]

I get free passes for movies since I know people who work at the theater, but in retrospect I would definitely pay full price for this movie.

[MoP]

Yep, saw it tonight with Poopinmymouth and Rooster, well worth the price, very enjoyable film - and some memorable lines! /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[nitzmoff]

I just got back. It was just average as a stand alone film, and pretty crummy as an adaptation of the comic. True to big budget Hollywood style, there were no gray areas, it was very black and white compared to the comic. The greatest evidence of this was in the ending, which resembled more a Levi's commercial or something than anything the comic produced.

It was disappointing it was not truly an 'uncompromising glimpse of the future' as it was touted ad nauseum.

Even still, V is a very magnetic character and it was entertaining to see him and some of his escapades on the screen.

Two cents.

[Snowfly]

I agree, it was a masterpiece. The actor's portrayal of the chancellor got on my nerves after a while though.

[Jackablade]

So is it going to get banned here for inciting terrorism or anything fun like that?

[EarthQuake]

Saw it last night, thought it was damned good. Hell people even appluaded when it was done at the theater i was at hehe.

[Striff]

Thought it was very very well done, loved some of the twists too.

Portman's acting was extremly good I thought as well.

[Josh_Singh]

I especially liked the part where he goes off saying words that start with the letter "V".

[MoP]

Yeah those lines were awesome! /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[aesir]

great movie.

[AstroZombie]

Loved it.

[blankslatejoe]

I enjoyed it... I felt they added a few silly hollywood things that didn't need to be there, but otherwise they stuck pretty close to the book...especially in look and "feel".

[PaK]

What a great film. First good movie I have seen in ages.

[arshlevon]

saw it last night. i loved almost everything about it EXCEPT crappily portman. man she stinks at acting. i wanted to punch her in the face.
she should stick to movies like garden state, ones i will never see.

[gauss]

i'll not see it until it receives Rorshach's imprimatur. /images/graemlins/smile.gif which somehow i doubt it will, but who knows. moore himself has washed his hands of the whole thing and is even trying to get his names off of the original book, too.

interesting interview:
http://www.comicon.com/thebeat/2006/03/a_for_alan_pt_1_the_alan_moore.html
http://www.comicon.com/thebeat/2006/03/a_for_alan_pt_2_the_further_ad.html

i'm not a huge fan of moore (though Watchmen will of course, remain a giant for a very long time), but i'm very much not a fan of the wachowskis and company. and they didn't even direct this movie, a second unit director on the matrix sequels did. not the most encouraging pedigree...

[Kevin Johnstone]

I'm still undecided as I will go and see it as usually when I watched a british story simplified into american terms I find it disappointing and annoying.

I'm meant to be going to see it this weekend with friends after going to the pub but I don't know if I can consume enough alcohol to dull my senses enough to cut myself off from the literature snob in me!

r.

[blankslatejoe]

they kept the brit aspect pretty well.. as far as that goes, and as far as how 'brit' the book was. They DO go through a 'prologue' and explain that the mask is of guy fawkes...since that's not exactly American common-knowledge.

[blankslatejoe]

Guass, that article is GREAT.

[Justin Meisse]

Just got back and thought it was pretty good, it wasn't perfect, but a hell of alot better than The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy movie.

It seems the audience got the most upset during the flashbacks to Victoria's life (the lesbianism). Angry head shakings, people leaving, etc.

[MoP]

WTF? Why would people leave during that? It's not like it was offensive or gratuitous in any way.

[Daz]

yeah but its Florida MoP. Perhaps they were all over sixty ;-)

Thanks for the link gauss, that was definitely an interesting read. I wasn't before but Im curious to see the movie now.

[Justin Meisse]

well, you've got red states and then you've got the Villages, if I hear someone mention "the homosexual agenda" in omenous tones one more time I'm going to crack.

[Scott Ruggels]

"The Homosexual Agenda"

*Aims Video Camera..*

Scott

[Justin Meisse]

http://www.artbyjustin.com/misc/freakout.gif

[MoP]

http://www.ldaustinart.com/paul/agent-elrond-for-vendetta.jpg

[rooster]

lol!

[Thegodzero]

I have to agree, that movie rocked! It was much better than i had hoped. So many good points in it. The ending had me all misty eyed because of how powerfull it was.

My girlfriends brother asked me when we said we wre going to see it, "isn't that the movie that all proterrorism?" So i'll me making him go see it.

Great movie!

[LordScottish]

I saw the movie with my girlfriend last thursday and liked it quite a lot. I think of it as a mass-market version of 1984. It went into the same direction as Equilibrium. The resistance is real and powerful, the revolution is working and everything is less depressing and disenchanting than in the book. And it has more action of course /images/graemlins/smile.gifDoes anyone know the comic? How close is the comic to 1984?

[Rhinokey]

i enjoyed the movie, much better tha the matrix sequels. over all a decent film,, it could definately be considered pro terrorism, v was definately a terrorist. the thing that makes him feel like a good guy is that we consider his government to be bad enough that its ok to be a terrorist. also we feel sorry for his sad past gettin burned and experimented on and all that jazz. the thing that really comes to mind, is how bad does a government have to be , before terrorist become heroes, wheres the line.

i was glad they kept most the hip mtv hollywood out of the movie, cept for the verry end withthe slow mo fight and the knife trails. i coulda done without that.

the chancelor was great, tho john hurt has etched himself into my brains movie greats section by being both the first person to ever have a chest burster pop out of them on film, and to a lesser extent, being hellboys pop.

i think they shoulda shown more of how corupt the government was. everyone looked like they had decent homes, jobs, the city looked nice,, no homeless people running around on the streets, the governmetn looked controlling, but it looked like most of the opresion was gearred at gays and alternitive religions in the film.

[rooster]

rhinokey, I think the point of the comics/movie was to make you ask that question.. where is the line?

I think the extent of the corruption was evident enough in the first scene where two police officers were about to rape a woman for catching her past curfew..

[Ninjas]

I think of a terrorist as a person who attacks civilians in order to cause terror. Calling everyone who attacks legitimate government targets a terrorist would mean that George Washinton and the rest of the founding fathers would be terrorists also. I think a better word to describe people who attack their own government would be revolutionaries, freedom fighters or anarchists.

Of course, governments in general now want to call anyone they don't like terrorists. Now in the US some people are trying to pass laws so that gang members qualify as terrorists too. This goes along the same lines as the government waging a "war" on drugs, or creationists calling their theories "scientific". This is a ruse that these groups use to trick stupid people who don't understand their own language. Don't be fooled.

[KDR_11k]

Freedom fighter is just a word for a terrorist that is on your side.

[rooster]

well, if they attacked civilian targets I wouldn't call them a freedom fighter. That would be my distinction

[KDR_11k]

Depends on what civilians, no? Aristocrats are civilians but they are often supporting the government and indeed the source of the corruption.

[aesir]

freedom fighters often times use terrorist actions to accomplish their goals.

[Ninjas]

I support the government too by paying taxes. So what? That doesn't mean I love it. Rather that I don't want to go to prison.

About freedom fighters; Often terrorists call themselves freedom fighters, but that does not make it so. Some people are both terrorists and freedom fighters, but not all freedom fighters are terrorists.

I think it is pretty clear cut in most places who is employed by the government and who isn't.

[Thegodzero]

The reason the movie was so powerfull to me is that i see the same ideas being put in place here. I belive very strongly that you should never have to live in fear your government. Even more so for being diffrent. It is our diffrences that make us strong.

The movie was in no way proterroism, it's antiterroism. The government was using terror of the unknown to keep the people just scared enough not to ask questions. He killed those with power who used it only to serve the agenda of keeping up the peoples terror.

The movie shows that people will give up almost everything for the false sense of being safe. If you feed people a lie for long enough they start to forget what truth is. Thats what governments do they sell lies of the greatest order to make you feel safe at night, but scared enough that you will do what ever they ask of you with out question.


To me the line of what consatutes a governemt as being evil enough to make actions against it ok if not heroic, is simple. Any time a government stops listening to the people and starts telling them what they need, thats when. When you have to question wether their actions are for the good of the people or for their own good.

[Rhinokey]

rooster, i odn't see how 2 police officers raping a girl is a sign of bad government,, its a sign of 2 bad police officers. i guarantee you theres police running around in the USA just as corrupt as those

[oXYnary]

My sister with PHD in sociology said that before any society is at the point of a revolution, it must have food shortages/starvation. Which translates to keep the peoples basic needs well fullfulled.

I haven't seen the movie, but what Rhino is striking on why this is true. Many people wont complain or more, just deal with the fear if they can have their basic daily sustenance.


[ QUOTE ]
"Does the government fear us? Or do we fear the government? When the people fear the government, tyranny has found victory. The federal government is our servant, not our master!"

[/ QUOTE ]

-Thomas Jefferson

[rooster]

rhino, well the incident was mentioned by the government guys and they all understood the circumstances- but they just brushed it under the carpet instead of mounting a full scale investigation into the incident. It does imply that it was an occurance not out-of-the ordinary

[TomDunne]

[ QUOTE ]
My sister with PHD in sociology said that before any society is at the point of a revolution, it must have food shortages/starvation. Which translates to keep the peoples basic needs well fullfulled.

[/ QUOTE ]

The American colonies had food shortages and starvation? I don't know that I ever heard Thomas Jefferson had trouble putting food on the table at Monticello prior to the Revolutionary War. Where'd your sister get her diploma from? /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[JKMakowka]

Ok I just saw the movie, and I think it was pretty good. Definitly a lot better that almost everything I have seen in the movietheater lately.

It had a lot of plot holes and goof-ups though, but while usually that annoys me greatly, this time it didn't; which speaks for itself I guess /images/graemlins/smile.gif

But there is one thing that where this movie fell short and that was it's own ambition. It wants to be up there with 1984 or Fahrenheit451, but utterly fails at that since the makers obviously didn't understand what these masterpieces are really about.
They build up the setting of a totalitarian regime with all the tricks in the book, up to the point where it was almost to much of a cliche (very strong analogy to Hitlers size of power) and also made a 'rich' enemy in the person of V (who is nowhere even close to the (sinister) idea of a 'Emanuel Goldstein' but it works).
But all this carefully build up system than collapses as they fail to explain the foundation on what is system bases its power on after the size of power.
There is no large proportion of the population that activly supports any of the ideals of the dictator (after all he doesn't have any) as in the case of Hitler, nor is there a clever system of though control like it is described in 1984. And there isn't the totalitarian conformaty (which is maybe the most sinister vision of all the genre) Bradbury describes in Fahrenheit451.
It thus feels hollow in its most interior and left me with a bitter aftertaste of a bad copy.

But maybe I am just an interlectional wanker, who even finds something to nitpick on an otherwise great movie /images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Edit: But maybe the original work is better in that aspect (I haven't read it yet).

[oXYnary]

[ QUOTE ]
The American colonies had food shortages and starvation? I don't know that I ever heard Thomas Jefferson had trouble putting food on the table at Monticello prior to the Revolutionary War. Where'd your sister get her diploma from?

[/ QUOTE ]

My quote was not linked directly to what she said. She was speaking on a historical basis, and I could have misinterpreted what she said as the finality. However, she did mention the food distribution as one of the main instigations needed.

From that viewpoint then yes, the American Revolution would fall under it partially with the taxation to such a degree for food stuffs home grown.

You watch the condescending tone about my sister ok? She know alot more than either of us (yes even you Mr. University Verm) on the subject.

[TomDunne]

oXY, don't get uptight. The smiley was there for a reason.

[oXYnary]

Smileys can mean many things. Some people smile when they are in fact angry. So, I apologize. But Im proud of my sisters accomplishments.

Especially given she has dyslexia.

[Weiser_Cain]

Very quiet ride home, normaly we take a movie apart on the way back but not this time. I liked it but he seemed moved, which is pretty rare.

[Kevin Johnstone]

Not to hit a sorespot but I don't think that revolution can only happen because of the final push of starvation, I think you must be misreading her.

Unlike her or Verm, I've not been to college but I do read a bit now and then and insurrections / revolutions are based purely on people having been pushed too far or been degraded for too long and I think that trend is still viewable in minature whenever one of us quits a job in the games industry because of artistic differences!

I've been reading http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0859765199/026-3263350-9867633 lately and its another example of armed uprisings and the move for revolution that is not borne out of the reasons of starvation.

Also, judging by the debate about Pro / Anti terrorism generated by the movie, I'm pretty glad I haven't gone to see it. It was a story about anarchy and the need for the individual to have individual freedom and passion rather than sacrifice that for the ideals of fascism.

The book has little relation to 1984 other than the loss of hope and a decaying orwellian dystopian world. The thing that put me off the most about the trailers was that
the sad little insular and fearful man that was looking to build walls around his emotions had to be blown up into
some hitler stereotype in order to communicate to the american market that 'terrorism' is sometimes necessary despite american's own beginnings as 'freedom fighters'.

It's been good to read this thread though as I was half and half previously, what with Alan Moore condeming it, I had to consider he had personal reasons, but hearing what the pros and cons of it are from most of you in here has saved me some dollars /images/graemlins/smile.gif

r.

[Ninjas]

Well, I just got back from watching Syriana and have to say that it covers a lot of the same ground as V for Vendetta, but does it better. It has terrorists, corruption, idealistic folks trying to take over the government. I would give it at least a 9/10.

I may be biased though since my folks live in Saudi and I have grown up on the oil patch my entire life.

[edit]

I just read a bunch of viewer reviews for this movie. It seems that the majority of folks found it "boring" or "confusing". I'm sure these folks feel the same way about books with no pictures. I didn't want to suggest for people to see a movie they wouldn't enjoy. Be warned.

[ElysiumGX]

I liked it. I read the history of guy fawkes, and the discussion with the author before watching it. I understand the movie isn't the book.

What the movie is, is smart. The movie is popular, and a great portion of the average american population will see it. If you read the book, no need to watch the movie. The average american will not read the book. They need the quick colorful action-packed simple version that criticizes the current administration and questions the meaning of terrorist. I was hoping to see people walking out shaking their heads during the lesbian scenes, so I could laugh. It is an American film. So I understand why the author is upset.

My second favorite quote from the film.

V: The building is a symbol, as is the act of destroying it. Symbols are given power by their people. By itself, a symbol is meaningless, but with enough people, blowing up a building can change the world.
Evey: I wish I could believe that. But every time I've seen this world change, it's always been for the worse.

My favorite was his introduction. /images/graemlins/laugh.gif

[Irritant]

I finally saw this yesterday, and have to say it is one of the best movies I have seen in a very long time.

A couple of scenes had me shaking with emotion.

[Downsizer]

i did'nt like it. never answered anything, felt like it skipped around too much. the dialogue was pleasant though. i gotta say, my girl is in love with the movie, but never gives any other reason other than having a crush on V. which i'll never understand, and is quite disheartening in fact.

it felt like a comic book trying to have more depth than it really had. i got nothing emotional out of it at all. i was'nt attached to any character, i never felt sorry or worried or suspensefull.

take this post with downsizers official gain of salt. i'm generally dissapointed with 95% of the crap out there. which means average joe would love it.

[Joao Sapiro]

downsizer if you ever liked anything i would be so surprised that incidentally my brain would freeze lol... its funny, one of my friends also said the exact same thing as you...

anyway...i watched it and loved...simply amazing...

*goes and puts V mask but suffocates accidentaly*

[Downsizer]

I like Pho Soup, Saga Frontier, Ocean City MD, and Spaceballs.

[MoP]

And that's all.