Every time I see the "masked avenger" in the V for Vendetta trailer, I think of the villain's mask in the Scream trilogy. As such, I have trouble taking the film seriously, Natalie Portman's shaved head and all. Larry and Andy Wachowski, the team that brought us The Matrix wrote and produced the film that starts today in theaters nationwide.

From the start, Larry and Andy Wachowski, the Matrix brothers, pack Vendetta with literary, religious, political and pop culture references: the Sex Pistols and The Girl From Ipanema, The Count of Monte Cristo and Beethoven, Twelfth Night and Benny Hill.

Though Vendetta is a potential bonanza for a graduate student in search of a thesis topic, it may leave the rest of us scratching our heads.

That's not because Vendetta tries to pull together too many ideas and icons. It's because it doesn't pull together anything.

The Wachowskis, who wrote and produced the film, and adman Jim McTeigue, who directs, throw all kinds of icons and chewy concepts into their pot. But they seem to have forgotten to consult a recipe. So Vendetta fails both as a political text and as a Hollywood blockbuster.

The Wachowskis adapted the screenplay from Alan Moore's acid, richly layered comic, written in the early 1980s. Controversial long before 9/11, the original Vendetta follows an embittered anarchist-terrorist as he tries to spark a revolution by, in part, dynamiting government buildings.

The film follows a similar story line. Wearing a creepy mask in honor of Guy Fawkes (a Catholic rebel who, in 1605, planned to blow up Parliament and assassinate King James I), V first explodes the Old Bailey courthouse. Then he infiltrates the headquarters of BTN, a Fox News-like TV network. Hacking his own DVD into the system, V urges viewers to overthrow, by any means necessary, the fascist government.

The Wachowskis move the action from the late 1990s to 2020 but provide plenty of contemporary links. News programs discuss avian flu, the rendition of terrorists and an Iraq war gone wrong. Vendetta also features a Bill O'Reilly-style pundit and venal pharmaceutical companies in its story line.

These references end up feeling like red herrings: Vendetta is too vague to pack much political punch. Hollywood, with its congenital fear of alienating anyone, manages to dilute the comic book's radical, complex vision.

What's left is a fuzzy, pandering film. What are its lessons? Totalitarianism is bad. People power is good. Unless you aren't quite sure where to stand on the whole Hitler-Nazi-Holocaust thing, Vendetta is unlikely to evolve your worldview.

Source: Wired News

PointBlank

New York, NY

November 2004

MAR 17, 2006 11:59 AM

The Wachowskis didn't direct V for Vendetta. James McTeague did (as the quoted bit says).

[Edited on Mar 17, 2006 by PointBlank]

zoton

Kuwait

November 2005

MAR 17, 2006 12:06 PM

wachowskis and joel silver both played some role in it though. That's why it's going to suck or at least be a let down compared to the comic....

Jthrak

Orlando, FL

January 2003

MAR 17, 2006 12:13 PM

The film does not suck.
The story is pretty solid and very exciting, please go watch you'll not be dissapointed.

aegies

Oakland, CA

June 2004

MAR 17, 2006 12:18 PM

generally the reviews are leaning much more toward positive than negative. and whether he likes it or not, i can generally tell from ebert's reviews whether i'll enjoy a film. i'll be seeing this one.

PointBlank

New York, NY

November 2004

MAR 17, 2006 12:21 PM

aegies said:
generally the reviews are leaning much more toward positive than negative. and whether he likes it or not, i can generally tell from ebert's reviews whether i'll enjoy a film. i'll be seeing this one.

Actually, they've been pretty split, from the New York Times:

The more valid question is how anyone who isn't 14 or under could possibly mistake a corporate bread-and-circus entertainment like this for something subversive. You want radical? Wait for the next Claire Denis film.

to Time Magazine:

It's a terrific movie. I love the look and the verve of the thing, the confidence of its epic design, its smart use of half a dozen noted British thesps, lending weight and wit to the supporting roles.

PhotoBeatsFilm

Jamaica

February 2006

MAR 17, 2006 12:39 PM

Wow, let's just bash the film because it seems like it might have a complex plot. Way to go, Wired news. Decide that you can't understand the film before even seeing it. Maybe that's why nobody gives a shit about movie reviews.

[Edited on Mar 17, 2006 12:40PM]

PointBlank

New York, NY

November 2004

MAR 17, 2006 12:41 PM

PhotoBeatsFilm said:
Wow, let's just bash the film because it seems like it might have a complex plot. Way to go, Wired news. Decide that you can't understand the film before even seeing it. Maybe that's why nobody gives a shit about movie reviews.

[Edited on Mar 17, 2006 12:40PM]

Seriously: What the fuck are you talking about? They did see the film.

belkins666

South Bend, IN

February 2006

MAR 17, 2006 12:43 PM

Fuck it, I'm gonna watch it because Alan Moore officially distanced himself from it. I love the guy, but I'm excited to see it none the less...been waiting for a bit. And Natalie P. with a shaved head....

Cigarette

Cleveland, OH

April 2004

MAR 17, 2006 12:44 PM

PointBlank said:

Actually, they've been pretty split

ROTTEN TOMATOES SAYS YOU'RE WRONG, BOYO!!!

Reviews in general have been pretty positive.

But their "Cream of the Crop" have it pretty split.

PointBlank

New York, NY

November 2004

MAR 17, 2006 12:45 PM

Clov said:

PointBlank said:

Actually, they've been pretty split

ROTTEN TOMATOES SAYS YOU'RE WRONG, BOYO!!!

Reviews in general have been pretty positive.

But their "Cream of the Crop" have it pretty split.

METACRITIC (which actually, you know, compiles all the reviews) SAYS I'M RIGHT, SUCKA!

Hooraydiation

Boston, MA

October 2005

MAR 17, 2006 12:50 PM

The Wachowskis move the action from the late 1990s to 2020 but provide plenty of contemporary links. News programs discuss avian flu, the rendition of terrorists and an Iraq war gone wrong. Vendetta also features a Bill O'Reilly-style pundit and venal pharmaceutical companies in its story line.

Blah!

Are any of the Wachowski's additions an improvement over Moore's story? That's what I wanna know.

CheshireCat

Los Angeles, CA

January 2004

MAR 17, 2006 12:53 PM

..I just saw this movie last night and it does not suck;in fact the only problem was that it should have been a half hour longer. the parallels between the movie and real life are a bit to scary.......and I for one had a warm feeling in me as the Parliament building blew up.....if only there were someone in real life like V to represent all of us who are to scared to over turn a government gone awry.

Motionboy

Vancouver, BC

January 2004

MAR 17, 2006 12:53 PM

wired news can go suck cock , the movie rocked

Motionboy

Vancouver, BC

January 2004

MAR 17, 2006 12:54 PM

Hooraydiation said:

Blah!

Are any of the Wachowski's additions an improvement over Moore's story? That's what I wanna know.

yes they are in my opinion. I am a huge fan of the comic too and none of the changes bugged me , in fact i felt like they improved on the comic.

PointBlank

New York, NY

November 2004

MAR 17, 2006 12:57 PM

Hooraydiation said:

Blah!

Are any of the Wachowski's additions an improvement over Moore's story? That's what I wanna know.

They should also add baseball players on steroids, a vice president who shoots everyone in the face, and robot with a heart of gold(Nazi Gold!!) to really spice it up.

Quirky

Birmingham, AL

October 2005

MAR 17, 2006 12:59 PM

I want that mask on my wall next to Tuxedo Mask and The Phantom of The Opera. Masks are sexy.

CheshireCat

Los Angeles, CA

January 2004

MAR 17, 2006 01:09 PM

...I agree the changes were not bad.....considering the book was written in the 80s ......the basic plot is the same with scenes right out of the book.....in fact some were am improvement....V is not Watchmen ; it does not have the complexity of that book in which changes would all together ruin the story. I am looking forward to another Moore adaption.......and hopefully a frank Miller one give Me Liberty.

mitchclem

San Antonio, TX

August 2005

MAR 17, 2006 01:36 PM

I keep looking at this trying to see it as something other than a movie review. So... This is just a movie review, right? How does this fit in the news section?