★★★ V for Vendetta

[Gino: 3.0, TwoShoes: 3.5, Twinkletoes: 3.0]

Gino says:"(Note that Twoshoes was also leaning towards a 3.0). Ok: the acting and art direction in this film were pretty good. And I think it probably is a fairly realistic glimpse at what the road to fascism might look like. In the end, I want to stress that this is generally a favorable review, and I am giving it a respectable 3 stars, but I had a few problems: (a) I realize that the source material was from the pre-9/11 and G. W. Bush era, but the filmmakers clearly adapted it to fit nicely in the present-day scenario. As such, it was kinda distracting to think about such things. I realize it was entirely intentional, but it took away from the entertainment value for me. And in the end I was not able to accept the 'terrorism for the common good' angle. I realize it was supposed to make you feel both ways, for the supposedly complex hero/anti-hero, but... didn't quite make it for me. And (b) despite the very dark material and fairly good acting, I was not touched emotionally (except perhaps one moment). In other words, this was another film adapted from a graphic novel that for me "felt like it was adapted from a graphic novel." (c) There are a lot of British actors out there: why cast N. Portman?: she was fine, but I was sitting there evaluating her accent too much of the time."

Twinkletoes says: "I don't really have much to add as I pretty much agree with all of Gino's comments. I had high hopes for this so I was disappointed. I felt like there was a better movie to be had here. I was hoping for something more along the lines of Orwell's 1984 but it felt more like just another comic book superhero adaptation."