V for VendettaReview by Russ Breimeier |
posted 3/17/2006
5 of 5

Maurice Broaddus (Hollywood Jesus) identifies V as "a Christ figure … a person of judgment … and compassion, who calls for a revolution in living and thought." He concludes, "V for Vendetta is so literate, with such a powerful use of language … this easily felt like one of the best movies I ever read. … I don't know if the subversive message of a harlequin terrorist will resonate with an audience; however, anarchy has always been fashionable."
Similarly, Matthew Hill (at the same site) also compares V to Christ: "Not just the Christ of the WWJD bracelets or fish bumper stickers, but the radical, world-changing Christ who was put to death for who he was … but it was all part of his plan, see, like V's dominoes, to create even more radical, world-changing people to be part of his revolution."
But James Harleman (also on that site) had a different view: "The changes to Moore's tale involving how the evil government comes to power seem like obviously shoe-horned critiques against the current U.S. administration, perhaps even playing off the modern myth that the terrorist attacks on 9/11 were staged. While I'm certainly not opposed to intelligent criticism of this or any administration, this imposition and others on the story just seem to distract us from the tale itself."
Matt Wiggins (Relevant) says McTeigue has made "an ambitious movie that does many things very well but falls flat in the emotional aspect. It is a movie that will divide audiences but, more importantly, it will force them to ask questions. It is one of those movies that calls us to greater awareness of and participation in the forces that drive our lives. If nothing else, this makes it a movie worth watching."
Mainstream critics are generally impressed.
from Film Forum, 03/30/06
Andrew Coffin (World) writes, "Originally conceived as an extreme, anarchistic response to an extreme, fascist government in the near future, V for Vendetta has been translated, with a terrorist hero at its center, into a vicious, thinly veiled attack on American conservatives and Christians."