Okay, so it’s a couple of months since I first posted about V for Vendetta. Well it got its NL release yesterday and my review published in the Amsterdam Weekly, so being a cheeky bugger, here it is. In fact, this version is bigger and better. When it came to the printed version a whole 350 words were chopped at the last minute to make way for ads. That’s life sometimes. Anyway, I didn’t change my mind from my earlier post. I still like it…

Is it the kiss of death for a film when the man behind the story’s inception turns his back on it? Well, clearly not if you throw enough money at it, cast big name stars like Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving and John Hurt, and hire the men behind The Matrix to bring it to fruition.

This is the case with V for Vendetta, a politically inspired action-adventure based on a comic series, and later, a graphic novel. Begun in 1981 by Alan Moore and illustrated by David Lloyd, it drew upon the conservative political climate of the era, imagining a futuristic post-nuclear Britain of 1997. The country is being trampled by a totalitarian government with much of the developed world being wiped out in war, and our hero V is its unlikely saviour. He hides behind a Guy Fawkes mask, boasts no special powers–other than the lyrical prowess of a Shakespearean actor and a dark desire to avenge those who have wronged him in the past–and has the will to inspire a civil uprising against the country’s leaders.

Moore finally completed the work in 1988, and it has come to be regarded as one of the finest examples of graphic novels in existence, filled with sharp dialogue, elaborate artwork and powerful themes about freedom, the value of art, loss, revenge and fascist control.

Understandably, however, in the process of readying the movie for filmgoers, scriptwriters Larry and Andy Wachowski–directors of The Matrix trilogy–have modernised the story, throwing it further into the future, to 2020, and replacing the fears of then with the prime Western concern of the present: terrorism.

Yet Moore is none too happy with what the brothers have done to his masterpiece. In fact, he isn’t happy about how Hollywood has treated any of his works although, with the adaptations of From Hell (2001) and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003), you can see his point. But it should be remembered that Moore is a self-confessed perfectionist and control freak with a specific vision: anything which doesn’t match that view is typically met with discontent, so take his complaints with a pinch of salt.

This cinematic rendition of V for Vendetta is actually a whole lot of fun and encapsulates the spirit of the original. It maintains a healthy dose of grit and grime, right down to the unsightly grey English complexions and rotting teeth, and frames its stark images in a convincing comic book style.

Dealing with a verbose script, Hugo Weaving (The Matrix, Lord of the Rings) has the unusual task of performing the lead role from behind a mask, meaning it’s essentially a voice-over part. He carries it off, though, handling the rapid-fire alliteration with ease, and selling the culture-loving personality of V. And let’s be honest, the prospect of Natalie Portman (Garden State, Closer) performing for two hours in an English accent is enough to unsettle the strongest stomach, but even she, as Evey, V’s unknowing pupil, manages an accomplished turn. Perhaps too much attention is lavished upon the scene of her weeping while having her hair shaved off–we’ve all had bad haircuts.

Thankfully there is much more subtlety and clarity here than can be found in the last two Matrix movies, and while there are some very neat action sequences scattered throughout–though primarily punctuating the spectacular beginning and end–the in between plots are strong enough to satisfy when the focus falls upon speech.

There’s the impressive supporting cast, too. John Hurt, the antithesis of his Winston Smith role in 1984, stars as Supreme Chancellor Adam Sutler. This self-styled leader of the government appears on massive TV screens throughout the Orwellian dystopia. Stephen Rea plays the detective Finch, the man put in charge of stopping V, who stumbles upon a horrific cover-up in the process. Meanwhile, Stephen Fry is given the electric task of almost playing himself in the form of an intelligent, culture-hungry, secretly gay TV host, who provides some of the best comedy, particularly through a mock Benny Hill sequence which satirises Sutler.

Of course there are always angles to attack the story, and the easiest is to question how acts of terrorism like blowing up London’s Old Bailey and the Houses of Parliament–symbolic as they are–could dent a government which laid its foundations by spreading fear and lies. But this isn’t Syriana, offering only bleak truths. It’s just a piece of lively fantasy fiction–albeit one with a bit of edge, for a pleasant change–and it’s allowed to sell some hope in anarchy.

Think positive: as well as being an entertaining movie with a breathtakingly visual pay-off in its finale, it has the power to spark thought and encourage debate–how many comic heroes have managed that? And for those still worried about Moore’s great work being tarnished by yet another glossy adaptation, V for Vendetta is sure to turn a whole new generation towards his printed work, where they can be digested and judged as originally intended. Isn’t that the happy ending that it deserves?