"V For Vendetta" doesn’t officially come out until tomorrow, but enough early reviews have poured in to give it Rotten Tomatoes’ Certified Fresh seal of approval!
Currently sitting at 74% on the Tomatometer with 43 reviews in, "Vendetta" is earning kudos for its impassioned political message as much as its bombastic visual effects and action sequences.
Critic James Berardinelli of ReelViews calls the pic "a visually sumptuous concoction that combines political allegory, bloody action, and a few stunning cinematic moments into a solid piece of entertainment." Edward Douglas of Comingsoon.net says "Vendetta" is "a potent combination of action, emotion and wry political commentary."
While it seems "V For Vendetta" is neither straightforward action nor pure political thriller, critics agree that the combination of a zealously anti-fascist political ideology and a smattering of impressive set pieces nevertheless makes for compelling entertainment.
"Setting out more to challenge us with its ideas than make us whoop at the action, Vendetta can be clumsy, but there are enough impressive flourishes to make up for its stumblings," writes Empire Magazine‘s Dan Jolin. The Village Voice‘s J. Hoberman echoes that sentiment: "Absorbing even in its incoherence, "V for Vendetta" manages to make an old popular mythology new."
For more "V For Vendetta" reviews, click here.
Click here for the "V For Vendetta" synopsis, photos, and more. For a good read, check out the production notes, where director James McTeigue cites cinematic influences like Pontecorvo’s "Battle of Algiers" and Kubrick’s "A Clockwork Orange;" graphic novelist David Lloyd describes the adaptation of the source material to the screen, sans co-creator Alan Moore (who notoriously removed his name from the project); and the filmmakers share the tension-filled agony of staging the 22,000-domino set piece.
"V For Vendetta" stars Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving, John Hurt, and Stephen Rea, and is directed by James McTeigue with the Wachowski brothers producing.
