In Defense of the Wachowskis

Let me begin by saying that I really enjoyed V for Vendetta in its graphic novel glory. In addition to being fun to read, it serves as a fine warning against Thatcherism, fascism, and, to paraphrase Ferris Bueller, all the -isms. I enjoyed the characters, though not being used to the graphic novel format, I would occasionally have to look back to figure out who someone was. The multiple narrative strings are a great storytelling tool, one I enjoyed more here than in He, She and It. Let me also indicate that I'm not saying that the movie is better than the novel.

That being said, I still say that V for Vendetta is also a damn fine movie; it just happens to have very little to do with the novel. We've got the same protagonist, a dude in a Guy Fawkes mask who went insane during medical testing. We've got the same general idea of constant surveillance and 1984-ishness. The backstory of how we got to that point is pretty vague in both instances. And there's a girl. Other than that, we're pretty much blazing our own trail.

Saying this, I have the benefit of just having watched V for Vendetta as HBO has decided to play it constantly for a few weeks. Even if I caught a few minutes halfway through the movie, I enjoyed watching it. It's a cool movie. It certainly doesn't give the same message and the path it takes is substantially different from the novel. But this isn't to the detriment of the film. There was a lot to cover in the novel and a movie wasn't going to catch it all. Instead of really trying, the Wachowskis took the premise and messed with it, creating their own story while retaining some of the most badass lines of the original. Sorry, Alan, but them's the breaks.

This isn't to say that some graphic novels can't be turned directly into films. Sin City and 300 are both fine examples of carbon copies of their graphic novels and they're both excellent films. I just can't see an exact copy of V for Vendetta (maybe V for Verbatim?) working as well onscreen. I don't think the Wachowskis could, either, so they tried to write something that could at least live up to the namesake, and I think they succeeded.

Here's a trick to enjoy any movie with Hugo Weaving. In V for Vendetta, imagine V as Agent Smith. In The Matrix, think of Smith as Elrond. And in Lord of the Rings, of course, think of Elrond as Smith. Also in that one fight scene in LotR, think of Christopher Lee as Count Dooku and Ian McKellen as Magneto. Trust me. It all makes more sense that way.