Review by VictorM

Starring Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving (as V), and Stephen Rae (in an excellent performance), this movie might not please everyone but I really liked it. To enjoy it you have to remember that this was based on a comic strip -- it looks and feels that way. It also helps if you like your art painted with broad strokes rather than realistic images.

This movie is a cross between the Phantom of the Opera, Zorro, and Che Gueverra on steroids. The movie uses many symbols and metaphors to tell a common idea: the human desire for freedom. That idea has survived many attempts to kill it, and in this movie, that killing tradition is carried on by John Hurt's character.

The hero may at times appear like a super hero -- is he? Maybe, maybe not -- but it all makes sense when he's shot several times and the bad guy asks: "Why don't you die?" The answer by V makes the story believable. If you were paying attention, you would have known the answer, so there's a bit too much exposition for my taste but it might help those less inclined to analyze films.

(Oh, and if you were paying attention to this review, I gave away the answer to the bad guy's question. Can you spot it?)