I AM THE LAW! -- "Governments should be afraid of their people"
First off, a quick and dirty review of the Pittsburgh Mills shopping mall, a circular mile of commerce and villainry:
1) Lucky Strike is a cool, cool place. It's a sports bar plus billiard hall plus Cosmic Bowling triple threat of awesome.
2) the stores at PGH Mills are decidedly ho-hum. There are no less than like, four PGH sports stores, i shit you not, though the flag store is really cool.
3) the stores are all really small.
4) I'm too fat for H&M, though a lot of the stuff there is cool. damn europeans.
5) the Pontiac G6 is a hot, inexpensive little number. I'm almost torn.
6) generally the mall has a ton of potential, just needs a few cooler stores and some time to grow. I've got a good feeling about it.
7) I dominated Kauffman's (DONT CALL US MACY'S YET) all weekend. Beth helped. Kudos to Beth.
Anyway, after a splendid afternoon of bowling for dinners, trying on ill-fitting sweaters, and ignoring Beth's pleas that I purchase a pink paisley tie, we decided to catch a flick. Initially, I agreed to "Failure to Launch" if only to make up for the points i had lost for the ill-fated rental of "Redeye" a few weeks earlier. However, once we finally found the theatre (it's hidden in the back, but still attached to the mall, don't ask how we missed it), and I realized that V for Vendetta was playing in the IMAX theatre, my schoolboy excitement levels could not be ignored, and the fine lass not only agreed to change our plans, but she flatly offered to forget Matthew McCaughnehey and roll with Guy Fawkes and the delicious Natalie Portman.
I was pleased. Surprisingly enough, so was she.
I had warned her that she'd probably hate it, being that we were about to check out a hardcore comic book-based movie about a terrorist/freedom fighter starting a revolution against the backdrop of a disptopin near-future England, but go figure, she dug it.
It's a complex movie, to say the least. Not only is it elegantly shot and impeccably acted, but it's also got a tremendous script and powerful iconography. And the fight scenes are badass. There aren't a lot of them, to be honest, but the "big one at the end" is as well-shot as any Cool Fight Scene I've ever seen. The characters are all compelling, the lighter moments work perfectly, and themes resonate loud and clear.
Before I get to the themes though (and the accompanying controversies) I need to give special attention to Hugo Weaving, who just turned in an incredible performance as the enigmatic V. Being generally unfamiliar with the comic, I had no idea that V would have as many lines as he did. I guess I figured that behind the Guy Fawkes mask (a truly fantastic concept that comic writer Alan Moore (one of The Best Ever) should be lauded for forever), there just wouldn't be much worth saying. As I read articles about the movie and its buildup, I think I envisioned V as a mime with knives. Thank God I was wrong.
In V's intricate alliterative introduction, Weaving expouses a dizzying array of words that paint a vivid portraite of his character. Instantly likable, you can see Agent Smith smiling beneath that mask, using nothing but his phenomenal voice and subdued mannerisms to make friends both with you, and with Evey. Vitally important, considering he's about to start blowing up buildings. I can think of only one other character that was able to come across so fully behind a mask, and that is, of course, Darth Vader. But while Vader is decidely one-note (meancing), V gives us doses of anger, longing, humour, forgiveness, sorrow, love, and hope. Just as he explains that he is more than flesh and bone, he is far more than the mask. As we learn, he is all of us, and Weaving makes that point a reality. I can't say enough about his performance.
Nearly as good was Portman, while all of the various government officials do splendid jobs of being meancing, forebaring, slimy, pragmatic and dogged. The Brits brought the ruckus. Perhaps the most understated casting was that done with the various TV watching families. The everymen that do such a wonderful job of being everyman. From the fish-eyed little girl to the happy-go-lucky geezers, it only occurred to me now, while trying to critique the film, that the were actually part of it too. That they weren't just bystandards like I was. This is probably as good a compliment as I can give.
Now, obviously, no discussion of this movie is complete without talking about how much the Bush Camp and the hardwing Right truly fear/hate/sound off on their contempt for it. To that, I'll have to make a couple of individual points as simply as possible:
1) The comic was written in 1983. The Wachowskis started the screenplay before they wrote the Matrix. The question everyone should be asking should not be, "isn't it bullshit to see Hollywood cashing in on anit-Bush sentiments by canonizing a terrorist," it should be, "isn't it scary that a comic book written 23 years ago describing a facist state taking over England and limiting rights, "For Your Protection" by championing Christianity and striking out against all things different reasonates so damn closely to real life?" And that's Hollywood's fault? Granted, some changes were made, and occasionally the politics are a little heavy handed. But to say that the themes aren't universal and historic far beyond anything that's happened in the world in the last five years is to take a very myopic view of the art of it all while simultaneously being incredibly defensive about an administration that less and less people trust.
Look, I'm a moderate liberal. And I'm not going to sit here and tell you that liberals won't like this movie far more than conservatives. But the fact of the matter is that those who tell you that the entire movie is hippie nonsense dreamed up to undermine GW and Friends are those who will also tell you that disagreeing with the Patriot Act or the War in Iraq is unpatriotic and unamerican. Were things tweaked from the comic to make them more presently relevant? Sure. But the fact of the matter is the theme is bigger than all of it.
2) V is a terrorist. This means the movie is anit-american and terrible? Here's the thing, V is only referred to as a terrorist by the government. The bad guys. Just as the Empire calls Luke and friends "Rebel Scum." Does that make Luke and Han and Leia rebel scum? Rebels, sure. Scum, no. They're freedom fighters-- revolutionaries, same thing here. Is there really a difference between V blowing up Parliament and Luke blowing up the Death Star? If there is, I don't see it.
To get less geeky for you, let's go with Braveheart . The King is evil and he's subjugated the Scottish. William Wallace leads the downtrodden by attacking the British at every turn, slaughtering as many leaders as possible, and generally undermining the government until the people raise up for something better. Do I really need to keep going here?
Without going on and on and on (as I'm afraid I've already done here), I'll just say that the movie's fantastic, and that I'm certain I'll be purchasing it. There are great characters, a hugely memorable climactic fight scene, and a well-structured plot with a universal political message that sums up best as: Freedom is about all of Us. It's not about us not being afraid.
VERDICT:
Highly recommended.
-apk
ps: to rank this with other comic movies is incredibly difficult, because it's not trying to be a comic movie. That being said, in terms of "trying to be what it wants to be, and succeeding" it's Right There with Spider-Man 2 , X2, Batman Begins and the Incredibles. I've still not seen Sin City.
pps: the Superman Returns trailer, on IMAX, is absolutely perfect. I had chills for 1:04, nonstop. I'm not a big fan of the Big Blue Boy Scout, but I cannot wait for this movie. X3? to quote Uram, "W is for Whatever."
1) Lucky Strike is a cool, cool place. It's a sports bar plus billiard hall plus Cosmic Bowling triple threat of awesome.
2) the stores at PGH Mills are decidedly ho-hum. There are no less than like, four PGH sports stores, i shit you not, though the flag store is really cool.
3) the stores are all really small.
4) I'm too fat for H&M, though a lot of the stuff there is cool. damn europeans.
5) the Pontiac G6 is a hot, inexpensive little number. I'm almost torn.
6) generally the mall has a ton of potential, just needs a few cooler stores and some time to grow. I've got a good feeling about it.
7) I dominated Kauffman's (DONT CALL US MACY'S YET) all weekend. Beth helped. Kudos to Beth.
Anyway, after a splendid afternoon of bowling for dinners, trying on ill-fitting sweaters, and ignoring Beth's pleas that I purchase a pink paisley tie, we decided to catch a flick. Initially, I agreed to "Failure to Launch" if only to make up for the points i had lost for the ill-fated rental of "Redeye" a few weeks earlier. However, once we finally found the theatre (it's hidden in the back, but still attached to the mall, don't ask how we missed it), and I realized that V for Vendetta was playing in the IMAX theatre, my schoolboy excitement levels could not be ignored, and the fine lass not only agreed to change our plans, but she flatly offered to forget Matthew McCaughnehey and roll with Guy Fawkes and the delicious Natalie Portman.
I was pleased. Surprisingly enough, so was she.
I had warned her that she'd probably hate it, being that we were about to check out a hardcore comic book-based movie about a terrorist/freedom fighter starting a revolution against the backdrop of a disptopin near-future England, but go figure, she dug it.
It's a complex movie, to say the least. Not only is it elegantly shot and impeccably acted, but it's also got a tremendous script and powerful iconography. And the fight scenes are badass. There aren't a lot of them, to be honest, but the "big one at the end" is as well-shot as any Cool Fight Scene I've ever seen. The characters are all compelling, the lighter moments work perfectly, and themes resonate loud and clear.
Before I get to the themes though (and the accompanying controversies) I need to give special attention to Hugo Weaving, who just turned in an incredible performance as the enigmatic V. Being generally unfamiliar with the comic, I had no idea that V would have as many lines as he did. I guess I figured that behind the Guy Fawkes mask (a truly fantastic concept that comic writer Alan Moore (one of The Best Ever) should be lauded for forever), there just wouldn't be much worth saying. As I read articles about the movie and its buildup, I think I envisioned V as a mime with knives. Thank God I was wrong.
In V's intricate alliterative introduction, Weaving expouses a dizzying array of words that paint a vivid portraite of his character. Instantly likable, you can see Agent Smith smiling beneath that mask, using nothing but his phenomenal voice and subdued mannerisms to make friends both with you, and with Evey. Vitally important, considering he's about to start blowing up buildings. I can think of only one other character that was able to come across so fully behind a mask, and that is, of course, Darth Vader. But while Vader is decidely one-note (meancing), V gives us doses of anger, longing, humour, forgiveness, sorrow, love, and hope. Just as he explains that he is more than flesh and bone, he is far more than the mask. As we learn, he is all of us, and Weaving makes that point a reality. I can't say enough about his performance.
Nearly as good was Portman, while all of the various government officials do splendid jobs of being meancing, forebaring, slimy, pragmatic and dogged. The Brits brought the ruckus. Perhaps the most understated casting was that done with the various TV watching families. The everymen that do such a wonderful job of being everyman. From the fish-eyed little girl to the happy-go-lucky geezers, it only occurred to me now, while trying to critique the film, that the were actually part of it too. That they weren't just bystandards like I was. This is probably as good a compliment as I can give.
Now, obviously, no discussion of this movie is complete without talking about how much the Bush Camp and the hardwing Right truly fear/hate/sound off on their contempt for it. To that, I'll have to make a couple of individual points as simply as possible:
1) The comic was written in 1983. The Wachowskis started the screenplay before they wrote the Matrix. The question everyone should be asking should not be, "isn't it bullshit to see Hollywood cashing in on anit-Bush sentiments by canonizing a terrorist," it should be, "isn't it scary that a comic book written 23 years ago describing a facist state taking over England and limiting rights, "For Your Protection" by championing Christianity and striking out against all things different reasonates so damn closely to real life?" And that's Hollywood's fault? Granted, some changes were made, and occasionally the politics are a little heavy handed. But to say that the themes aren't universal and historic far beyond anything that's happened in the world in the last five years is to take a very myopic view of the art of it all while simultaneously being incredibly defensive about an administration that less and less people trust.
Look, I'm a moderate liberal. And I'm not going to sit here and tell you that liberals won't like this movie far more than conservatives. But the fact of the matter is that those who tell you that the entire movie is hippie nonsense dreamed up to undermine GW and Friends are those who will also tell you that disagreeing with the Patriot Act or the War in Iraq is unpatriotic and unamerican. Were things tweaked from the comic to make them more presently relevant? Sure. But the fact of the matter is the theme is bigger than all of it.
2) V is a terrorist. This means the movie is anit-american and terrible? Here's the thing, V is only referred to as a terrorist by the government. The bad guys. Just as the Empire calls Luke and friends "Rebel Scum." Does that make Luke and Han and Leia rebel scum? Rebels, sure. Scum, no. They're freedom fighters-- revolutionaries, same thing here. Is there really a difference between V blowing up Parliament and Luke blowing up the Death Star? If there is, I don't see it.
To get less geeky for you, let's go with Braveheart . The King is evil and he's subjugated the Scottish. William Wallace leads the downtrodden by attacking the British at every turn, slaughtering as many leaders as possible, and generally undermining the government until the people raise up for something better. Do I really need to keep going here?
Without going on and on and on (as I'm afraid I've already done here), I'll just say that the movie's fantastic, and that I'm certain I'll be purchasing it. There are great characters, a hugely memorable climactic fight scene, and a well-structured plot with a universal political message that sums up best as: Freedom is about all of Us. It's not about us not being afraid.
VERDICT:
Highly recommended.
-apk
ps: to rank this with other comic movies is incredibly difficult, because it's not trying to be a comic movie. That being said, in terms of "trying to be what it wants to be, and succeeding" it's Right There with Spider-Man 2 , X2, Batman Begins and the Incredibles. I've still not seen Sin City.
pps: the Superman Returns trailer, on IMAX, is absolutely perfect. I had chills for 1:04, nonstop. I'm not a big fan of the Big Blue Boy Scout, but I cannot wait for this movie. X3? to quote Uram, "W is for Whatever."
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