Jun
20
2007
Not too long ago I watched V For Vendetta. I was quite skeptical of it, as I am of all films based on comic books, as I find their treatment of the themes of ostracization and revenge unfulfilling, perverse. Comic books and their film brethren often ignore the option of simply not caring. On more than one occassion when watching a comic book film I have asked myself a question, in lieu of the hero. "Who cares? So the world doesn't recognize your talents. And the wrong people are elevated beyond their competence. Tell me something I don't know. How did you get this idea in your head that life would unfold otherwise, that the mass of humanity owes you more gratitude?"
I did not have this problem with V For Vendetta. Watching V for Vendetta is like listening to Metallica's And Justice For All... It's defiant, unforgiving, and without the self-loathing typical to other works in its genre. You don't want to slit your wrists after listening to Metallica or watching this film. On the contrary. You are more in love with life than ever.
V's introductory speech plays like a Kirk Hammett solo over a heavy Hetfield riff:
"Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition. The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose so let me simply add that it’s my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V."
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