V for Vendetta

[rowyn]

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. ;)

Comments

[circuit-four.livejournal.com]

V for Vendetta is a maddening, arrogant, and often self-contradicting work that raises more questions than it answers. Frankly, I think Alan Moore is a crusty old pr*ck and his ideas are just begging for a thorough point-by-point rebuttal.

And needless to say, I agree with your assessment of the graphic novel wholeheartedly, entirely because of this. :) These are accusations that just couldn't be made against your typical "guys in spandex" or "hi, we'll be in college for eight years, reciting catch phrases and playing NES" comics. :)

[rowyn]

Frankly, I think Alan Moore is a crusty old pr*ck and his ideas are just begging for a thorough point-by-point rebuttal.


This is hard to argue with. ;) Well, I don't know that all of his ideas need a point-by-point rebuttal, and I think the graphic novel is ambiguous enough that it's not clear even he believes the ideas it advocates are reasonable. But still.