by Nathan Stout (of AccordingToWhim.com)
V for Vendetta is a 2006 movie based on a comic book serial by Alan Moore and David Lloyd from 1982. The comic was a featured (and popular) serial in the comic anthology Warrior. When Warrior was cancelled Moore and Lloyd’s work was reprinted and continued as a comic on it’s own (by DC comics).
The Story of V for Vendetta was brought out of Alan Moore’s increasing loathing of the conservative control of England by Prime Minister Thacher and her party. In V for Vendetta Moore has created a Britain of the not-too-distant future where the government rules with an iron fist. A masked individual only known as ‘V’ starts a campaign of terror against the ruling regime, trying to start a revolution to overthrow the ruling party.
Evey, a young woman working at the state-controlled television station (she is a factory worker in the comic) is saved by V and somewhat reluctantly helps him in his plot. Eventually she sees the truth in plan and helps him whole-heartley. V himself is the product of government biological testing. V goes after each of the people that were apart of that testing (which are now big shots in the government). The weapons they were developing were used against their own people in an attempt to grab more power and restrict the freedoms of the public. The other main character is a police detective that is investigating the terrorist known as V. He slowly uncovers the biological attack for what it was and eventually turns against his own government.
I really enjoyed watching this movie. It was made by the guys that did the Matrix and you can see this is some of the action scenes. I like the theme even though it was spawned as a slight against conservatism. A good story is a good story and the movie doesn’t go out of it’s way to bash conservatism.