V for Vendetta

I saw V for Vendetta this weekend and really enjoyed it. I managed to finish reading the book last week, and felt the movie was an accurate adaptation. Minor things were changed, and certain subplots were omitted, but that's necessary when you're not making Kenneth Branaugh's 4+ hour Hamlet.

That being said, I just don't see what all the brouhaha is about how much the movie relates to current events. Sadly, it is apparent that when you describe a fascist state, people immediately think you're presenting an allegory about the Bush administration. V for Vendetta is not an allegory.

I'm no fan of the Bush administration, but the movie pretty faithfully tells the story that was written in 1981. Yes, they modernized the setup to the story, but Alan Moore himself even admitted that his setup was terrible (it initially assumed that England had survived a worldwide nuclear war, in which England wasn't attacked because American missles had been removed from the country).

Speaking of Alan Moore, I found it amusing that the third credit or so at the end of the movie read "Based on a graphic novel illustrated by David Lloyd." I believe Moore once had the quote (paraphrased) "When they make a movie out of your work, they kill your baby. That they ask for your involvement in the movie is effectively them asking if you want to help kill your baby."

I was also amused by John Hurt playing a Big Brother type character, as he plays Winston in the film version of 1984. Ironic casting at its finest.

Anyway, the movie was good. Go see it.