Gilda

Here it is.

If you saw The Island this weekend, you got to see this already. Otherwise, follow the link above. There's even a true high def version, which is awesome if you have the equipment to run it.

I'm both psyched and wary. It's, IMO, among Alan Moore's best work (IMO, better than Watchmen), and a favorite of mine. Moore has reportedly been incensed by the script and online reviewers who've read it have been mixed.

I like what I see in the trailer, but I'll have to reserve judgement until I see the whole thing.

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Johnny Pyro

Looks good. I love Natalie Portman. Good Comic too. Now I know why I saw pictures of her with a shaved head. I'll definitely check it out. Thanx.

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djflish

It does look good. It's probably not a good omen if Alan Moore doesn't like the script.
Hugo Weaving took over from James Purefoy as V half way through shooting, but you'll never notice cause he/they stay behind the mask for the entire film.

And just out of curiosity, when he says "Remember, remember, the 5th of November" at the end; does that mean anything to Americans?

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FngKestrel

I haven't read V for Vendetta yet, but I thought Watchmen was phenomenal. Is Alan Moore involved in the project? If so, what capacity? I mean, when Rodriguez did Sin City, he got Miller on as soon as possible, and in a capacity to ensure that his vision was preserved. It doesn't sound like Alan Moore is nearly as involved with this project.

And as an American, I had to google November 5th.

Fremen

I watched the trailer, and while I haven't read V for Vendetta, the story looked very interesting and intriguing.

That November 5th reference, is that about Spoiler: Guy Fawkes?

I also Googled it, and on Wikipedia's site concerning Nov. 5th, the last entry in the Event category, is a mention that the Wachowskie Bros. released the last of The Matrix Trilogy on that date simultaneously around the world at 2:00 p.m. (GMT)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_5
I wonder if they had someone edit that in for a film tie-in? (is that too out there?)

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Suave

My guess is that they are releasing the movie on November 5th. Looks cool, although the guy's hair makes me angry.

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djflish

Yup, thats it.
He tried to bring down the government by blowing up the Houses of Parliament, but was caught and executed. It was on the 5th of November and its celebrated every year in the UK (also called Bonfire Night) with fireworks and stuff.
Anyway, there's a rhyme they teach you when your young and it goes:

"Remember, remember, the 5th of November,
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
We see no reason why
Gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot."

I believe it has something to do with that

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Gilda

Nope, Alan Moore has nothing to do with it. The Wachowskis liscensed it directly from DC comics, which holds the ancillary rights. He's pretty much denounced the project after having read the script.

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Seer666

The Wachowski brothers must die. When I first heard they were doing V, I alomst shat myself with joy. I have been a die hard fanboy of this comic for years now. Then I saw a couple of photos of the mask and costume. Holy shit, it looks good!! It's V to a tee. Dead fuckin on. Wonderful! Then I started digging around. Moore not only hit the roof when he read the script it seems, and had his name yanked from this project, but also cut ties with DC over it. Bad sign there. Then, I found some photos and a synopsis of the ending. OH MY FUCKING GOD!! They freaking DESTORYED everything that made the comic great. They took one of the single greatest works in comic history, and turned it into Vaudvill. They had a perfect script and story line in the comic, all they had to do was stick with the fucking program. I, as a die hard fan of Alan Moore and his work hear by declair Vendetta on those two movie makeing retards. Please God, someone drop Old Baily on them before they film again.

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guthmund

What's so different?

I haven't read too much of Moore's work and none of the 'V' stuff.

I thought the trailer looked phenomenal. It might help wash some of the filth of the 2nd and 3rd Matrix movies from the brothers' resume, but if the author of the work doesn't want anything to do with it, I have to wonder...

You say the story line in the comic is better? Spoiler tags for those that don't want to know, if you must, but you absolutely have to tell us now that you've opened the box, so to speak.

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Willravel

Even a toned down version of V would be a cinematic masterpirce. I'm going right now to a book store to find a new copy of V, as my old one is worn out.

ratbastid

Afraid I have to disagree with you there, but there's room for more than one opinion in the world.

I liked V, but not being English, it didn't have the cultural resonance with me that it might have had. Still, it looks like the filmmakers have taken the opportunity--some might say the liberty--of making a statement about contemporary politics with the film.

Just because Moore has distanced himself from the project doesn't necessarily mean it won't be any good. Moore is one of the world's true geniuses, but he's also notoriously fussy with his material.

I'd like to see From Hell remade to be more consistent with the graphic novel. That'd be a movie, boy. And I'd love to see Watchmen adapted for film, although the high-80's zeitgeist that gives rise to the political underpinings of the story is a little dated. You'd have to turn it into a "fight the terrorists" story, and the whole Doomsday Clock motif would have to change, which would be regrettable.

Willravel

That seems like a new painter trying to paint Picaso, before learning simple shapes. Hollywood has ruined so many comics by making s**tty movies avbout them (Spider-man 1, Men In Black 2, Batman Forever/and Robin, Fantastic Four, Daredevil, etc.). I'd say start with something simple. The first Superman movie managed to capture a great deal of what the first Superman comics were about. Batman Begins is starting to head in the direction of Dark Knight, instead of Adam West (thank God). V, From Hell, and Watchmen are examples of the best the medium has to offer, and I suspect that there is no way that any movie maker can capture what they really communicate, at least in the current climate of hollywood.

ChistledStone

I get a very Big Brotherish feeling about the government (as I should). Even the head of government guy I swear was in the 1984 movie.

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Willravel

Absolutely correct. In fact, the mask that V wears is a Guy Fawkes mask, representing strong, terrorist resistance to oppressive government.

Willravel

Just watched the best movie released so far this year, a movie by the name of "V for Vendetta". While the details were on occasion fuzzy, I feel the heat of the graphic novel was preserved. I walked out of the theater honestly considereing the logistics of blowing up parlament, and I'm a pacifist. That says something. Kudos to Hugo Weaving, Natalie Portman, and John Hurt for fantastic performances. Now I get to wait for the DVD.

Jove

I enjoyed the movie as well. Hugo Weaving's voice for V was excellent and he spoke so fast on certain occassions that I had to laugh a bit.

The story was excellent and I liked the narrative by John Hurt, made everything go smoothly.

Yeah, Natalie Portman did an excellent job with a english accent of sorts. And her expressions were totally different from most of the movies she has done.

ratbastid

I agree. I thought it captured the graphic novel very nicely.

One of the best moments in the graphic novel is the murder of the doctor. It's both sweet and sickening at the same time--you're finding out about her past, V's past, and yet there's this tenderness that's there in that moment. There's a moment where V's menance disappears, and what's there is affection for this woman he killed ten minutes ago, who's grateful he's finally come, and grateful that there will be no pain. I thought that scene was captured perfectly in the film.

Not 100% sure about Portman's Evie. The comic's Evie was younger and ditzier, but also more desperate. At the beginning, rather than going for a tryst with her boss, the comic's Evie is out trying unsuccessfully to whore herself out for the first time. There's something in that that speaks to the desperation and hard times the public were undergoing. Having a bubbleheaded Evie at the beginning makes her transformation at the end all the more remarkable. In the graphic novel, she goes from being a 2-D character to being fleshed out, powerful, and complete. I didn't get anything like that character-devel arc from Portman.

MexicanOnABike

If i read the books, comics, or w/e, will it still be enjoyable? am I gonna miss too much?

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blar

geez so much people are telling me this could be the best movie of the year

i must go see it

former newt

lots of intelligent subject matter in this flick.

loved it. i wish i could sound like hugo weaving. he was very expressive even behind a mask, and his voice implied both an intellectual character and a man seeking revenge perfectly.

Tamerlain

I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. Going in, I was anticipating a lot of overdone action a la Matrix 2 and 3, so I was pleased that it wasn't overdone.

The parallels to today's political world were well done as well. I haven't read the comic/book/whatever format the written work is in, so from the previews I was expecting something a little more fabricated. Again, pleasantly surprised.

-Tamerlain

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Nikilidstrom

I enjoyed the comic, and liked the movie quite a bit. But as a representation of the comic, I thought the movie kinda blew the ending, and for no other reason then to add an extra action sequence. I was also a little disappointed that they cut out alot of the character development of the "bad guys." For the most part, they were left very one dimensional, like most hollywood villains.

But standing on its own, this is definitely the best movie I've seen all year, and I was definitely relieved that they didn't turn this into Matrix 4.

snowy

I really, really enjoyed this movie. It left me with so much to think about.

Oh, and Hugo Weaving can read to me any time.

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Fire

went in with so/so expectations- figured that it would be ok, but heavy on the politics and overboard on the bludgeoning us with the message......


Holy fuck was this movie great.... I mean really, beyond anything I had expected.....

Have not read the graphic novel, but damn sure will now...

wow

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Willravel

Just saw it for the second time already. I'm now playing the 1812 Overature on my iPod. Life is good.

I am facinated by how people are suggesting the movie is anti Bush. Just fyi, the book was written a yeart before I was born, which makes it 24 years old.

ratbastid

The novel was written in response to Thatcher. It still adapts pretty well to the current political climate.

The film did fix one narrative problem in the book, something Moore admits in the prefix to the current edition of the book. In the book, the catastrophic thing that happened was a nuclear war. Obviously, even a limited nuke war would leave the planet largely uninhabitable, in any normal way. The whole conspiracy theme doesn't appear in the novel. There are lots of other things that didn't make the book.

The crux of the adaptation question, for me, is Spoiler: V's deal with Creedy. That's an element that the Wachowskis added, and I'm not sure I like it. It buys them the main action sequence in the film, but at the cost of V's integrity. He makes a deal with the devil, and then breaks it. I don't think you can do that without costing the character something.

Oh, and Evie (who, in the novel, is called Eve after the prison scenes, signifying her having grown up) putting on the V costume in the novel is a pretty big deal. That would have been easy for them to include. Just launching the bomb doesn't really say the same thing--nor does her "he is you. he is me. he is all of us." line.

snowy

Yeah, I'm thinking about seeing it a second time on Friday. It was THAT good.

I'm a total nerd: during the climactic fight scene, I kept thinking about all the moves V made and how they directly relate to rogue combos in World of Warcraft...

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Esoteric

Never read the graphic novel, but I saw the movie and I enjoyed it. I need to pick up the novel sometime soon I think.

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Halx

I thought this movie fucking rocked. It spoke to me. I loved it.

A few things I didn't get about it, though: Spoiler: Why didn't V kill Evie's attackers in the beginning? I'd imagine rapists deserve the same fate as his actual targets. How could that lady's autobiography written on toilet paper survive the fire? When Evie is with the bishop in his room, is she trying to warn him or freak him out? I know she runs away to her boss's house afterwards but I dont know what part of that was V's idea and what wasn't? Therefore, how could he trust her afterwards?

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Mr. Spacemonkey

I really liked the movie. I've heard this movie called unrealistic by some. I'm not sure I understand that viewpoint considering that this could have almost happened. What would have happened if Nazi Germany had won the war. I don't think that a totalitarian government such as the one represented in the movie is all that crazy. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying everything about this movie is realistic, but the main idea ... the main message is importantly real. We shouldn't forget the past so easily that we completely dismiss this movie. Although, I haven't heard that on this thread so that's good.

Spoiler: As for when Evie was with the bishop, I take it that all of that was geniune on her part, she really wanted out and away from V. She didn't want to be a prisoner to him. In fact, I believe that was why she came to V in the first place to volunteer to "help" him. As for how he could trust her afterwards, I don't know for sure, but capturing her and torturing her and putting her through all that shit seemed to do the trick nicely.

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ratbastid

Agreed. Spoiler: Once Evie is cured of the fear of death, she can see V's perspective on things. He no longer has to worry about her--indeed, he's confident enough to let her stroll away.

That was something added to the screenplay, btw. In the book, Evie is still pretty much a bubble-head at this point, and plays along with V's plan in a dull, saucer-eyed sort of way.

Also, regarding the Spoiler: lady's diary... Man, you think too much. Maybe he carried it out in his ass, who really cares.

Willravel

Spoiler: Frankly, I'm still dissapointed this wasn't a trilogy. Even thought I absolutly loved the movie, I feel like a lot was missed. Also, I wanted to continue the spolier thing.

grendel

Wow, just fucking wow. I just got back from this and I already want to see it again. For what it's worth, I am not at all familiar with the graphic novel (other than knowing of its existence), and I enjoyed the movie immensely.

edit: I do have and have read The Watchmen, which I really enjoyed. I am sorry that Moore didn't like what he read of the script, but like I said, I enjoyed the flick anyway.

mrklixx

A solid 8 out of 10, and for me that's pretty good.

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stevie667

Saw it on friday, damned good film, if a little fucked up.

Only Hugo Weaving could have pulled that off, even if he did sound like Rowan Atkinson half the time

Edit: The capture of guy fawkes at the beginning has now become my new quintisensial "FUCK!" moments

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Daniel_

Saw it last night - I honestly cannot fault a thing about it. It was a revalation to me to see that Portman can act - she had little enough chance to try in the SW eps 1-3.

Spoiler: By making the deal with Cready, V didn't have to murder anyone - if Cready had stuck to his side of the deal, V and Cready could have walked away alive. Cready excuted the High Chancellor, and then tried to murder V, who retailiated in self defense - I thought this was a very clever way of allowing V to retain his integrity and keep his hands clean, if Cready had been honest, he wouldn't have died, V could have still overthrown the government

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Daniel_

Also - Spoiler: the diary? maybe V Spoiler: rewrote it from memory. Nobody said it was the same actual paper copy.

Just a thought

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ColonelSpecial

I was very impressed with this movie. I didn't like either the first or second "Matrix" movies (I never did get around to wasting time on number 3) so I was scared as to what the brothers would do to this one. I thought it was a very unique idea/presentation overall. My friend told me afterwards that he thought V should have worn a ski mask or something different because the mask he wore was way too theatrical! I laughed at him and told him that it would have ruined the movie.
While I am not a huge fan of actiony movies, I do have to admit I might end up buying this one.

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billege

Well said, and I won't re-invent the wheel.

Wow. Just fucking wow.

I want to go back and see it again.

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