V For Vendetta (2006)

In 1984's Nineteen Eighty-Four, John Hurt played the role of everyman Winston Smith. Through his unwise action of thinking outside the boundaries enforced by the Party, Winston is subjected to hideous torture until his will is bent to the liking of the overlord of Airstrip One, Big Brother. Just over 20 years later, the roles have been utterly reversed - John Hurt is now British Chancellor Adam Sutler (Susan in the original comic book), who rules this green and pleasant land with an iron fist and a powerful will. He even resembles Big Brother, with his moustachioed face appearing massive on the giant viewscreen in his government Lair O' Doom. This time the heroes are Hugo Weaving's V, a remarkably eloquent and frighteningly deadly masked freedom terrorist, and Natalie Portman's Evey Hammond, a normal girl caught up on V's attempt to take down the corrupt Norsefire party. Now, fans of the original comic book (creator Alan Moore included) will likely despise this adaptation, as nearly all talk of anarchism is expunged and instead V is fighting to free people from an oppressive government, not from government in general. In fact, the greatest, and generally quite fair, criticism is that this is merely a shallow ersatz of the Bush Administration, satirising the increased intrusion into public freedom post-9/11, rather than the anti-Thatcherite tone of the original story. This is generally fair, but since when was satire either boring or wrong? A faithful adaptation this is not, but this is still a clever and powerful film, treading some old ground and scouring some new as well. The entire story is held together well by its enigmatic and charismatic hero, and simply Hugo Weaving's vastly verbose and veritably victorious introductory monologue is well worth a watch. This film deserves little of the scorn it earns, as it remains entertaining, though not as inspirational as some dewy-eyed anarchists might wish.


There seems to be a theme developing with these totalitarian regimes...

The Matrix (1999)

It's customary to comment that The Matrix is an archetype for why sequels are a terrible idea, and how a good thing can be ruined by excessive philosophy. Say what you like about the sequels, the original was and is a clever piece of science fiction, bringing some very old metaphysical questions into the public consciousness and giving us some brilliant special (and practical) effects into the bargain. While it wasn't the first piece of fiction to explore the idea of a false reality (it was preceded by decades by Daniel F. Galouye's Simulacron-3 and Philip K. Dick's Time Out of Joint), it popularised the notion, and remains a synonym for the concept. The strongest aspect of the original film, as opposed to its successors, is that the concepts are there, but it is left to the audience to discuss it, debate it, and draw their own conclusions. I defy anyone who ever saw this film who denies that, even for a second, they ever wondered if they were in the Matrix, that perhaps reality isn't so real after all. All this being said, The Matrix is first and foremost an action film, and the action is fast-paced and exciting, incorporating enough special effects to make it spectacular without removing all realism. The scene everyone remembers (and which has been parodied to death) is the lobby sequence, where nary a slab of marble is left intact after a hectic gun-battle-cum-kung-fu-fight, complete with the iconic look of the main characters. Shades and trench-coats have never been cooler.


Well... In theory...