Back in 2006, I caught the movie V for Vendetta at a matinee. As a middling comic collector in the ‘90s I had the foresight to get in on the limited series at the ground floor. So seeing the movie rendition, even though Alan Moore disowned it, was mandatory.
When I walked out, I was pretty satisfied but a little disappointed. The film was a solid adaptation, taking modern liberties where needed, yet keeping most of the spirit of the graphic novel. For the time it was released, 2006, the movie spoke deeply about government, and society writ large, falling apart. The US administration of the time mirrored some aspects of V’s Britain, and I believed a really great film could have sparked some change.
Turns out the times have caught up with the film. John Scalzi called it in the moment, that V for Vendetta could be a hidden gem of the new millennium’s first decade. Of course he’s correspondingly patting himself on the back, but I also enjoyed how he put the Occupy movement’s appropriation of V imagery in context. The Guy Fawkes Mask now carries symbolism in the US as well as Britain. But, depending on your perspective, it might be a good thing that most Occupiers don’t “remember, remember the 5th of November.”
Makes we wanna do an Amazon Instant or iTunes rental this weekend.