initial impression of "V for Vendetta"

[firecat]

Very clever of Hugo Weaving to get away from his face's being typecast as "Mr. Smith" by doing his next role entirely behind a mask.

I overall liked the movie although I thought it tried to do a bit too much. That is, I felt covered with a lot of loose ends afterward. And I didn't like the ending - I understand that they had to do something for the entertainment of all those people who showed up (as kyubi said to me afterward), but it's not like the whole thing was the building's fault.

And of course there were plot holes large enough to drive tube cars through, but that's typical of the genre.

I am suspicious of action movies that purport to contain political messages, because I think watching an action movie is cathartic and bleeds off anger, and so doesn't reinforce the urge a person might have to actually take political action. So despite all the political trappings of this movie, I have to recommend it as entertainment only.

Oh yeah - as far as I recall, it doesn't pass the Bechdel Ginger Benchmark. [sigh]

Comments

[aquaeri.livejournal.com]

I'm wondering if I have a different attitude to Hugo Weaving and Agent Smith because I'm Australian. I'd seen him in quite a few things, and particularly noticed him in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

So by the time I saw The Matrix, it was "oh, that's Hugo Weaving", whereas I imagine for a lot of non-Australians, that's the first thing they ever saw him in, and he became Agent Smith. It is a very memorable role, and he does play it well, but I much prefer having known him as an actor well beforehand.

[firecat]

Probably.

I saw Priscilla before Matrix, but it had been a sufficiently long time (and I'm sufficiently bad at remembering actors) that I didn't recognize Weaving.

[aquaeri.livejournal.com]

Well, that at least answers my idle wondering whether Priscilla was released outside Australia before Weaving became famous. But I can see that if Priscilla was the only thing you'd seen him in previously, he'd probably not stick. Whereas if one had seen him in other stuff, and then Priscilla, then I think he sticks :-).

I was just idly wondering about the fact that from the point of view of The Matrix having Agent Smith played by a skilled actor with a distinctive voice and look, but unfamiliar to the majority of the audience, is a huge advantage, but from the point of view of Hugo Weaving, not so much.

Back to topic - I did actually see V for Vendetta last weekend and was going to write a review. I didn't explicitly think of the Bechdel test, but I did notice the relative lack of women - in some sense, Natalie Portman is carrying a heck of a burden, and it might have been nice to share the load a bit.

(Oh, overall, I liked it, very much so, I think.)

[firecat]

in some sense, Natalie Portman is carrying a heck of a burden, and it might have been nice to share the load a bit.

Well said, yeah.

Look forward to your review!