What is it about revolution stories that get me going? Serenity, Trinity, any Final Fantasy game...they're all about a person or group of people who stand up against tyranny. But Saturday night I saw a movie that makes the rest pale in comparison for the simple fact that it could happen. There are no Sci-Fi aspects involved. And it proves the point that terrorism is all in the view of the beholder.
In a country that has given up its personal freedoms for the illusion of security (sound familiar, anyone?), where gays, non-caucasians and non-Christians are killed, where one person is executed for having a copy of the Koran in his house; one man takes it upon himself to start a revolution. Yes, he kills. He is not a kind man. He has no face and no name. He goes by V.
What I loved about this movie is that it leaves the audience with ideas. At what point do we decide our freedom has be sacrificed too much? Why do we blindly believe what our government tells us without asking questions? This movie hits hard. There are parts of dialogue from the protagonist (because is he really a hero?) that will remind us of 9/11. They even made me cringe a little. But I found myself siding with the hero nonetheless.
I had read the graphic novel that it was based on, so I knew the basic storyline, and I am pleased to say that the changes they made were for the best. For the most part. Namely, the fact that they kept the best line in the entire story. Near the climax (of the movie, it's different in the book), V has fought off countless soldiers, and has been riddled by bullets, yet he still stands. The final villain asks him how he can still be standing after being shot so many times. V responds:
"Did you think to kill me? There's no flesh or blood within this cloak to kill. There's only an Idea. And Ideas are bulletproof."
Remember: The instigators of the Boston Tea Party were called terrorists. Today we call them patriots.
I can honestly say that "V for Vendetta" is the best movie I've seen in a while.
