Okay, I will be the treasonous dog that says this: The movie is better than the comics.
The comic book was a nice little story, but it hardly deserves the semi-legendary status it achieved in the 1980's, when Alan Moore had slipped heroin into the printer's ink, and the fans wanted Moore Moore Moore! Watchmen, Swamp Thing and Jaspers Warp were tha great stories, but V for Vendetta is merely a very, very good comic book, not a great one. "V for Vendetta" is, however, a great movie. Not the greatest movie ever, but in the top 1,000 or so.
Now, why do I say this? Because I've seen more movies than you, and it's true. You can't name 1,000 movies better than "V for Vendetta." No, serriously, you can't. You probably can't even name 1,000 movies.
So, I am not going to try justify it. I am instead going to do two things. I am going to share with you the thing I wrote before seeing the movie, because I was only told Friday that I had to see the bloody thing and I decided to mock it. And then, I'm going to tell you what about the movie changed my mind.
So, what I wrote before seeing the movie:
Top 10 Ways the Movie was Different from the Comic Book:
10. Natalie Portman has a much nicer ass than the Evey in the comic book.
9. If we want to see the hideous dictator die a horrible death in the movie, all we have to do is put "Alien" on the DVD player.
8. You don't have to shake a Mac to clear the screen. Oops, sorry, wrong list.
7. The movie didn't end two thirds of the way through, forcing us to wait a couple years for the ending, which given that it was done by the folks who brought us "The Matrix" was probably ironic.
6. There is no rule six.
5. Alan Moore's name wasn't on it.
4. Stephen Fry was the best thing in the movie.
3. The Clutch Cargo effects on V's mask were just creepy.
2. Those weren't coloring mistakes in the movie. British people are just really pale.
1. The heavy handed political commentary is actually appropriate today.
(I was actually surprised that 4, 5, 1, and 10 were actually relevant.)
Now, why did I think the movie worked. The simple fact of the matter is that the movie is very Hollywood, and Hollywood, at its best, makes some fine flicks. You absolutely cannot make a movie that is as unrelentingly dark and gloomy as "V for the Vendetta" the comic book is. You'd have to pass out cyanide tablets at the concessions stand. THe movie recognizes this, and the lighting and casting decisions allow for a somewhat lighter feel. You can only do an open-ended story, as in the comic book, if you know you're going to do a sequel, and frankly, the W Bros haven proven they can make one count'em good movie, and then really screw up the sequels, so I'd rather not give them a chance.
Now, there were some mawkish bits, like having the dead guys show up at the end, and if John Hurt had been one of the crowd, well, I might have died laughing. Also, John Hurt was channeling his "Richard III" role, which was kind of weird.
So given all that, I got to thinking afterwards. I really enjoyed the movie. I thought the comic book was interesting, but so what? The comic suffered from a couple problems: 1) For a while in the 1980's and 1990's, comics writers seemed to be looking for any reason to bad mouth America, while we might have some problems, it got kind of annoying, and 2)It lacked a certain something that made it enjoyable. I mean, I liked Jim Shooter's second run on LSH. I liked Big Numbers. I liked John Byrne Alpha Flight. I liked Archie comics. "V for Vendetta" is interesting, but it's just not likeable.
Can a comic book be great without being likeable? Sure. "Maus." "Acme Novelty Library." "Crisis on Infinite Earths." "Sandman: The Kindly Ones." Movies too. "Chinatown" and "Easy Rider" aren't likeable movies. However, if you have two movies, and they are of comparable quality, which one will you watch first, the likeable or the important? "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" or "Au Revoir les Enfants?" "Star War: The Phantom Menace" or "Beach Babes from Beyond?" "The Incredibles" or "Waking Life?"
The movie "V for Vendetta" is likeable. Natlie Portman has screen presence to spare. "Beautiful Girls," "Leon the Professional," "Closer." The camera loves her. Stephen Fry, well, I've like him since "A Bit of Fry and Laurie" and "Black Adder." He's hilarious. Hugo Weaving is one of the best actors in the world at delivering lines.
The comic book "V for Vendetta" is not likeable. It's depressing. In my opinion, that puts the movie ahead.
Posted by Mike Chary at March 20, 2006 9:38 PM