Remember, remember, the 5th of November...
On November 5, 1605, Guy Fawkes was caught in the cellars of the Houses of Parliament with several barrels of gunpowder, intent on leveling the building in a statement of rebellion. Some 400 years later, a terrorist has taken on a Fawkesian mask and assumed his role as speaker of the people in an attempt to remake the government.
Meanwhile, Natalie Portman has escaped a potentially damaging past of parents who were rabble-rousers and now glides through her own life, but one night she comes into contact with the self-labeled V, who rescues her from those who would do her in and delivers a lovely alliterative verse in the process.
The rest of the film unrolls in rather predictable - but fun - fashion, and though it runs a bit long, the only thing we are left wondering at the end is if the self-styled hero will indeed make his appointment with the rest of the citizens come the next November 5th at the Houses of Parliament.
As it turns out, he does, but perhaps not in exactly the fashion he, or you, would predict. All in all, quite a good movie, although it does run a bit long.
Rated R for strong violence and some language. Frankly the dialogue was quite good in most cases, and probably could have gotten by without the swearing. The splattering blood likely could have been toned down as well, though I'm not sure if it could have been done without some of the more gruesome visual images, so perhaps it doesn't matter much.
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