VOLuntarilyConservative

V for Vendetta.

H for Homosexuality.

S for So Disappointing.

The VOLConWife and I managed to take a break from what turned out to be a tough week in retrospect and catch the film V for Vendetta this past Friday night at the Pinnacle 18. The film itself is set around a terrorist-vigilante that is enamored with Guy Fawkes and his attempt in 1605 to blow up Parliament in London, so, given the time I lived in Britain, I was naturally curious about the film.

Unlike several of the critics that have panned the film, I was able to get past some of the pacing difficulties that make this film jump like a 1968 Dodge Dart with a bad clutch and water in the tank. What I did have a problem with, though, was that very few films show so much departure from the original writing than V. It was so obvious that someone had taken Alan Moore's novel and hacked the bejezzus out of it to fit the second author's political agenda. (After researching the topic, that is exactly what happened, to the tune of Moore disassociating himself from the movie and demanding that his name be pulled from the credits.)

The result is a film that could have been about freedom and overthrowing tyranny was instead a political piece aimed at anti-American and pro-homosexual sentiments. I actually was able to enjoy the movie for what it was until a completely unnecessary flashback scene to non-characters and their hardships due to their homosexual love affair. (I thought the VOLConWife was walking out of the theater at this point - it was a good thing that I bought her the large Diet Coke to weigh her down so that she didn't bolt for the door.) The writing was so different at this point and so superfluous to the plot that it was apparent that this was an indoctrination and not entertainment. The rest of the movie could not rescue the sagging and predictable plot from this point on.

Overall, I give V for Vendetta a 5.4 out of 10. Since it is the only movie that I have seen at the theater this year, it gets the #1 ranking for 2006 by default. However, with several good movies coming out in the next few months, it will be unlikely that V ends up in the top 10 for the year.

One of those movies that I would not characterize as "good" and worth seeing would be The Shaggy Dog. Nancy has a short review on that lovely film. Well, actually her husband David does, which raises some questions by Donkey Cons and a questioning of David's blogging manhood. Ouch...

MORE: Blake Wylie has a pre-review of V for Vendetta up at NashvilleFiles. He is promising a proper post-review later. I have a feeling that we have different opinions regarding this movie, though.