V for Vendetta

Stunning. I had high hopes for the movie and the first half hour left me thinking "good, but not great", but the movie rises to such a powerful crescendo in the final thirty minutes that I couldn't help but be blown away. Portman is good as the terrorist V's accomplice and Hugo Weaving does an extraordinary job of acting behind a mask. The most haunting dialogue, however, comes from the movie's totalitarian government. I'm a huge fan of the dystopian genre, so it's no surprise that I loved this aspect of the movie (in fact, those who are also dystopia fans might see V's government as a less strict version of the one Margaret Atwood depicted in The Handmaid's Tale). However, I don't think it's necessary for anyone to be a dystopian, science-fiction, or comic book fan to enjoy this movie - the best part about it is that it's current and unabashedly political. Highly recommended. My grade: A-

Synopsis: A shadowy freedom fighter known only as "V" uses terrorist tactics to fight against his totalitarian society. (via Imdb)

Avg. Critic's Score: 6.9 (via Rotten Tomatoes)
Avg. Viewer's Score: 8.2 (via Imdb)

Director: James McTeigue
Writers: The Wachowski Brothers (The Matrix), based on the graphic novel by Alan Moore and David Lloyd
Stars: Natalie Portman (Star Wars: Attack of the Clones), Hugo Weaving (The Matrix), Stephen Rea (Interview with the Vampire), Stephen Fry (A Civil Action), John Hurt (Alien), Tim Pigott-Smith (Johnny English), Rupert Graves (The Madness of King George), Roger Allam (RKO 281), Sinead Cusack (Stealing Beauty), Natasha Wightman (Gosford Park)

Useless Trivia: Being huge fans of the book, the Wachowski brothers wrote a draft of the script in the '90s before they worked on The Matrix, which shares several similar themes with V for Vendetta.