People looking for a punch'em out, shoot'em up kind of movie shouldn't look to "V for Vendetta," but if a captivating adaptation is what you seek, look no further. "Vendetta" joined fellow comics turned movies this weekend, but takes on parallel story lines to reality.
A third world war has taken place. The United States has basically destroyed itself. England is now being ruled under a totalitarian government with a heavy handed chancellor at the helm. It's a world of "1984" and "Fahrenheit 451" with anything and everything being controlled by big brother.
There is one man (played by Hugo Weaving) who is willing to fight the repression. He goes by a letter, V, and hides his face from the world behind a mask with significance -- a Guy Fawkes mask.
"Remember, Remember the fifth of November," the movie intones. The date may seem random, but this is the day Fawkes tried to blow up Parliament in the 1600s for being too oppressive. V believes that it is his responsibility to take on Fawkes' mission.
Call him a vigilante. Call him a terrorist. Call him a savior. All V knows is that he is doing the right thing because, "People should not be afraid of their governments, governments should be afraid of their people." V provides ideas, which for the government could be more detrimental than violence.
V shares his wisdom with Evey (Natalie Portman), a girl he saves by chance from the government's fingermen (secret police). She saves him in return, but now the police are after them both.
Hidden describes everything about V. No one knows about his past, where he came from, why he is doing this, but what V is hiding is the fact that he has a vendetta to settle. There's a reason why he wears that mask and to make up for it, he must kill a few people. Detective Finch (Stephen Rea) will stop at nothing to put every piece of V's puzzle together and bring about justice.
V puts out call to London, to fall in line with him is to save the country, otherwise you are willingly giving up your freedom.
The Wachowski brothers, fresh off "The Matrix" trilogy, tackle "V for Vendetta" head on. There are traces of their blockbusters, but otherwise "Vendetta" is a masterpiece all its own.
Weaving took on the arduous task of playing the masked V. No skin will show; no emotions to be seen. It could have been a role comparable to a moving statue or a mime with someone providing the voiceovers. He took on the role with ease and never has a masked figure seemed so alive and intellectual. The mask even seemed to change from seemingly sinister to loving thanks to Weaving's mastery.
This is the role that everyone knows Portman shaved her head for. For more than half the movie, however, she does have cascading brunette curls. Evey begins as a timid girl, but grows into a fearless woman all because of Portman's portrayal.
By no means can "V for Vendetta" be considered just another movie about a guy in a mask or a subpar comic book movie. It created a world with the problems in today's society, but heightened. Of all the films released so far this year, "Vendetta" tops them all.
"V for Vendetta" is rated R and is now showing.
Originally from Des Plaines, Ill., Heather moved to Milwaukee to earn a B.A. in journalism from Marquette University. With a tongue-twisting last name like Leszczewicz, it's best to go into a career where people don't need to say your name often.
However, she's still sticking to some of her Illinoisan ways (she won't reform when it comes to things like pop, water fountain or ATM), though she's grown to enjoy her time in the Brew City.
Although her journalism career is still budding, Heather has had the chance for some once-in-a-lifetime interviews with celebrities like actor Vince Vaughn and actress Charlize Theron, director Cameron Crowe and singers Ben Kweller and Isaac Hanson of '90s brother boy band Hanson.
Heather's a self-proclaimed workaholic but loves her entertainment. She's a real television and movie fanatic, book nerd, music junkie, coffee addict and pop culture aficionado.
