Dial M for Vendetta
by
c64Glen on May 30, 2006 in Article, Obscure Reviews
The futuristic remake of a Classic Hitchcock thriller unfolds in a Great Britain that has become a fascist state. An Elf freedom fighter known as Agent Elrond V Smith (Hugo Weaving) uses terrorist tactics to fight the oppressive society. He rescues a Princess Leia Hammond (Portman) from the evil Empire, and she becomes his unlikely ally as he protects her and the unborn son of Luke Skywalker.
John Hurt reprises his role as Winston Smith from the film 1984, however in an Ironic twist he has now become Chancellor of Neo-Tokyo and is ruling with an Iron Fist that Big Brother himself would have been proud of before he got into the business of trapping a small number of psychotic people in a house and watching them shower.
The dialogue and script is Intense, witty, honest but only 75% patronising, intelligent but only 63.3% pretentious.
This is not only an exceptionally well acted film, a film that is shot not badly, but a film that has some iconographic moments, such when V truly sets Portman character free when he figuratively and literally cuts of her head and the amazing final battle which features the digitally reanimated corpse of Alfred Hitchcock in a knife fight with two Goblins and a Storm Trooper.
Hugo Weaving’s performance is definitely what grabs you from the start. He delivers some of the hardest lines with incredible charisma. The only problem I have is some moments of the film were spoiled by him calling everyone he met Mr Anderson, and then saying Mordor in a strange Scottish-like accent every 6 to 8 seconds.
Not as well known as similar Hitchcock films, this one is no less of a gem. Although the story and handling, particularly the dull-British “Scotland Yard” dialog are definitely from another era, the unfolding plot is sheer Hollywood candy.
Overall I congratulate the makers of this film for visual expansion and interpretation of an interesting, but dated, book.
