V For Vendetta
V for Very Rare- the first really good, thought provoking blockbuster of the year. Don’t be put off by the trailer which makes this film look like yet another post-apocalyptic man-against-the-regime turkey like Equilibrium and Aeon Flux.
The film offers a stylised take on a very relevant, contemporary issue; namely what happens you sacrifice your freedoms for a sense of safety, and turn your back on injustice. It’s about what happens when ‘Different’ becomes a euphemism for ‘Terrorist’.
It’s a film that is relevant to South Africans in terms of our past, and a film that is relevant to the world today in terms of the direction we seem to be heading- discouraging questioning of authority, bio-terrorism paranoia stoked by the media, hatred of Muslims and the rights-stripping of gays. In fact, a particularly moving story within the story - which in fact motivates masked hero V (Hugo Weaving) and Evie (Natalie Portman) beyond their fear – is focused on a lesbian destroyed for staying true to who she is.
V For Vendetta is probably one of the finest graphic novel to film adaptations ever made, and features superb acting from a Brit-heavy cast that includes John Hurt, Stephen Rhea and Stephen Fry. Adapted by the Wachowski brothers, the film manages to be very eloquent and verbal while avoiding the heavy esoteric discussions of ethics, coincidence, actions and consequence that sunk the Matrix sequels. And, refreshingly, ordinary people aren’t treated as unthinking lemmings- they’re scared of the regime but well aware of the lies they’re being told.
Very very very good.
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As an unrelated sidenote, I took the plunge and am getting an AGP version NVIDIA 6800 graphics card, the same card as Paul’s. So that’s my increased paycheque splurge!
However, I can at least justify it with the fact that AGP is on the way out, and a new card now means I can postpone an expensive wholesale system upgrade for a while longer, while still being able to play recent games. Plus, I can pass my ATI 9200 onto my parents for when they buy their new PC, making multiplayer and my sister’s adventure gaming possible.
Just don’t let my parents know. I think they would freak out of they knew what I’ve just spent on a PC card. And *grumble, grumble about last minute expense* a new power supply…
The film offers a stylised take on a very relevant, contemporary issue; namely what happens you sacrifice your freedoms for a sense of safety, and turn your back on injustice. It’s about what happens when ‘Different’ becomes a euphemism for ‘Terrorist’.
It’s a film that is relevant to South Africans in terms of our past, and a film that is relevant to the world today in terms of the direction we seem to be heading- discouraging questioning of authority, bio-terrorism paranoia stoked by the media, hatred of Muslims and the rights-stripping of gays. In fact, a particularly moving story within the story - which in fact motivates masked hero V (Hugo Weaving) and Evie (Natalie Portman) beyond their fear – is focused on a lesbian destroyed for staying true to who she is.
V For Vendetta is probably one of the finest graphic novel to film adaptations ever made, and features superb acting from a Brit-heavy cast that includes John Hurt, Stephen Rhea and Stephen Fry. Adapted by the Wachowski brothers, the film manages to be very eloquent and verbal while avoiding the heavy esoteric discussions of ethics, coincidence, actions and consequence that sunk the Matrix sequels. And, refreshingly, ordinary people aren’t treated as unthinking lemmings- they’re scared of the regime but well aware of the lies they’re being told.
Very very very good.
--
As an unrelated sidenote, I took the plunge and am getting an AGP version NVIDIA 6800 graphics card, the same card as Paul’s. So that’s my increased paycheque splurge!
However, I can at least justify it with the fact that AGP is on the way out, and a new card now means I can postpone an expensive wholesale system upgrade for a while longer, while still being able to play recent games. Plus, I can pass my ATI 9200 onto my parents for when they buy their new PC, making multiplayer and my sister’s adventure gaming possible.
Just don’t let my parents know. I think they would freak out of they knew what I’ve just spent on a PC card. And *grumble, grumble about last minute expense* a new power supply…
Comments
Surely you meant, "Probably one of the worst crimes ever perpetuated against graphic literature"? The story was gutted, the characters turned into caricatures, the emotional loci of the original narrative excised, and the high-concept, hard sci-fi sensibility reduced to a shallow pool of CGI set pieces.
"Eloquent?" Try: "Storytelling with a sledgehammer". And as for your high-falutin' blog title: "Through The Looking Glass?" More like "Navel-Gazing". Get a grip...