V For Vendetta [Blu-ray] [2006] [Region Free]

I dont see many blu-ray reviews here so I thought I would address that imbalance.

This is top notch entertainment. The film can be interpreted on many levels. It can be seen as an action flick with many amazing set pieces with gunfire, explosions and gory violence. Or it can be seen as a deep political statement with strong relevance to the uprisings happening currently in the middle east and north africa. The recurring message of mass popular acceptance of a dictatorship which is corrupt, violently reactive to any form of criticism and outrageously favouring cronies could have been referring to any one of the regimes now undergoing revolution. In Tunisia a man set fire to himself and provided the stimulus for people to wake up and use their collective power to overthrow their totalitarian government. In Egypt a Facebook page was the initial stimulus. V only exists because the fascist state experimented on him and his wish is to be the spark for a British revolution. It is a complex story of government manipulation of media, the deliberate creation of an atmosphere of fear where the populous feel a need to depend on the government. The parts are played beautifully. The lengthy verbose utterings of V are given life by Hugo Weaving who also plays small side roles. Natalie Portman doesnt quite pull of an English accent but still gives a deeply moving performance which completely drew me in and made me believe. John Hurt plays a psycho-nutter-fascist prime minister very well too.

Is it worth buying the blu-ray if you already have the dvd? Well, hmmmmmmm, sort of. I didnt see much improvement in the picture quality. But the soundtrack is a completely different story. If you select the DTS-HD soundtrack, which is not the default, your expensive sound system will treat your ears to a feast of amazing zinging explosions and gun battles. The music, particularly at the climax of the film, will just about lift you out of your chair. For me, it was worth the money just to repeatedly sit through the 1812 overture with synchronised sub-woofer assisted explosions coming from all corners of my tv room.

This film stands as strong as the Matrix did in its day. Being loyal to the Matrix film, V for Vendetta is also decieving until the end. At first the film seems to be a comic book action film (similar to the Matrix) but by the end it asks some challenging questions about the nature of our reality and I believe there are many truths in this film. Notice the government logo is a doublecross and this is not by accident. The film asks the question, 'who are the real terrorists?' - and I think it is a viable question since this film is based in a fascist England with the gagging of the media to fabricate the news and the imprisonment of those who do not fit within the regime.

Evey's parents were imprisoned and died after becoming political activists when their son died of a virus outbreak and Evey realises that there is something wrong with their country.

In many ways this film paralells real life, many have said that the media is controlled, the government using covert means to control its people.

I completely fell in love with 'V' played by Hugo Weaving, and I must say is acting in this is flawless. I found that I could not entirely connect Hugo with 'V' as his accent was wonderful and his portrayal of 'V's character was a lot different to characters I have seen Hugo play before. 'V' is such a lovable character, there is one scene where Evey walks in on him play acting and he is embarrassed and doesn't know what to do with himself which I found hilarious.

But as with many characters 'V' has a tragic background which has sort him to exact revenge on others. The film doesn't patronises the audience by showing the wrongs of violence, instead it gives us 'V's point of view that sometimes violence is needed, and although we find ourselves grappling with the argument that it is not, I believe that the audience knows that the violence is wrong, that 'V' is wrong, but you can't help being sympathetic to his cause as he has also been wronged.

All in all I found it an enjoyable film, slightly slow at first, speeding up towards a crescendo ending. If you love films which challenge our view of reality then this is a film for you.

Having just read some other views I'm greatly suprised that anyone should dislike this film but I think as someone has already commented perhaps it is a film that you'll love or hate. I've certainly never seen so many reviews about one film on Amazon before, and whether peoples responses are positive or negative it's certainly got them all talking. I've not read the original comic book, and have not read 1984 since school which it was partly based on. However I still found this a very original, incredibly thought provoking film which blew me away. Hugo Weavings acting was absolutely spectacular and although I thought him a good actor I never realised he was a great actor. To make you feel for a character who's facial expressions you can't even see as they wear a mask all the time is no mean feat. I also thought despite some other peoples reviews here that Natalie Portmans performance was definitely her best yet and I thought her rather good and that she has potential to be a vey good actress.

My partner and I could not miss a second of it and had to pause it for toilet breaks and couldn't sleep for hours afterwards talking about it. After I'd watched it I had a similar feeling to when I'd first finished reading Lord of the Rings that I had just experienced something brilliant, the like of which one only experiences a few times in your life.

If you love brainless, mindless action films then this film probably isn't for you, if you want a film which will sit you down and make you think about your life and the society you live in, then this film is for you. My only other thought is that when I was young I might not have appreciated this film so much, but older and much wiser about the world and free of the rose tinted views of my youth, I think made me appreciate it much much more. Well done all involved in producing it. I feel compelled to got out and do my part to help improve the state of the world.