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V for Vendetta
Lut and I saw the film "V for Vendetta" on Sunday. I'd already heard that Alan Moore had trashed the script, and it got a mediocre review in the local paper. So I didn't have high hopes for it. Still, we like action films and gave it a shot.
As we left the theatre, I said to Lut, "Well, it was better than I expected it to be."
I started to write up a review of the film, and found it morphing into a critical analysis of both the film and the graphic novel. Then I realized something: yes, I'd like to write a critical analysis of the film and the graphic novel. But that's not what I really want to tell you.
What I want to tell you is: "V for Vendetta" is the best comic book I've ever read, and I've read thousands of comic books. It's over twenty years old and it's still in print, with good reason.
Go see the mediocre film if you must. It's an okay movie; not as good as the first Matrix film but better than its sequels.
But please, please, read the graphic novel. It's a remarkable work on so many levels, a true gem of its field. Thoughtful, hard-edged, tightly plotted and masterfully crafted from beginning to end.
I'll give you all a couple of weeks to read it. Maybe then I'll post my critical analysis. ;)
As we left the theatre, I said to Lut, "Well, it was better than I expected it to be."
I started to write up a review of the film, and found it morphing into a critical analysis of both the film and the graphic novel. Then I realized something: yes, I'd like to write a critical analysis of the film and the graphic novel. But that's not what I really want to tell you.
What I want to tell you is: "V for Vendetta" is the best comic book I've ever read, and I've read thousands of comic books. It's over twenty years old and it's still in print, with good reason.
Go see the mediocre film if you must. It's an okay movie; not as good as the first Matrix film but better than its sequels.
But please, please, read the graphic novel. It's a remarkable work on so many levels, a true gem of its field. Thoughtful, hard-edged, tightly plotted and masterfully crafted from beginning to end.
I'll give you all a couple of weeks to read it. Maybe then I'll post my critical analysis. ;)
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No, the movie and the graphic novel have very different messages.
Alan Moore's for disliking the script are included in my link above. In general, it's poorly plotted. Um, let me clarify that. For a Hollywood action film, the plot holds together a bit better than usual. For an adaptation of "V for Vendetta", the plot is full of holes you could drive a truck through. The graphic novel is extraordinarily well-plotted, so they had to hack big holes in the plot in order to bring it down to Hollywood standards. =) It's also badly researched, which gets more airtime in the link above, but is less of a concern than the hack job on the plot.
It also significantly changes several of the characters and the roles they play in the story, usually for the worse.