(UK/France) Drama/Thriller. Directed by Tomas Alfredson. Starring Gary Oldman, John Hurt, Benedict Cumberbatch, Colin Firth, Toby Jones. Category IIA.
(Denmark/Sweden) Written and directed by Lars von Trier. Starring Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kiefer Sutherland, Alexander Skarsgård. Category IIB.
(USA) Directed by Tarsem Singh. Starring Henry Cavill, Mickey Rourke, Freida Pinto, John Hurt, Luke Evans, Stephen Dorff. Category IIB.
Category IIB. Jim Caviezel seems to have developed a bit of a messiah complex, perhaps resulting from his turn as the holy messiah in “The Passion of the Christ.” In this bizarre sci-fi monster movie, he plays Kainan, the dragon-slaying Viking savior (yes, this takes place in Viking times) who falls from the sky to hunt alien beasts known as “Moorwen.” They destroyed his homeworld, and he’ll be damned if he’s gonna let them destroy ours.
Category IIA. It was never going to compare. Like “Star Wars” or “Rocky” or “Die Hard” or any other franchise resurrected well past its sell-by date, the fanboys were ready at the premiere, keyboards in hand, to vilify “Crystal Skull” for violating their cherished childhood memories. Sure enough, the reviews came streaming in—he’s too old, it’s too funny, it’s completely unnecessary, or the weakest of all: It’s not “Raiders.”
“V For Vendetta” is engaging, fascinating, dark, comical, silly, wordy, complex, confusing, likeable and ridiculous all at the same time. It’s that rare film that will intensely engage one moment, bore you with wordplay the next, then pack a wallop to wow you back into it.
V For Vendetta is a thoroughly entertaining, but fans of the original comic book may be disgruntled.
Whether it’s the loyalists’ feeling of discontent over the treatment of the original graphic novel by Alan Moore and David Lloyd, or the politically-charged themes that are raised, it’s quite an understatement to say that V For Vendetta is bound to be one very talked about movie.
