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ghostman
Joined: 18 May 2006
Posts: 482
Location: The area of your back you can't reach. |
V for Vendetta - true to the book?
I was finally able to watch V for Vendetta over the week. I've read the graphic novel by Alan Moore and thought it was brilliant. So skipping the flick was not an option.
The adaptation stars a protagonist who doesn't fit the typical mold of a "superhero." For starters, his moral standards on murdering villainous subjects are absent, if it means obtaining what he wants. And what he wants, is a revolution against a totalitarian government.
I'm not sure if the movie was really good or not. My opinion comes naturally biased, as I've already read the original medium the story was intended by the author. I don't think the movie was bad to the point, where people should be demanding their refund at the box office. I thought it was much so a movie that's above average, but far from perfect.
When V for Vendetta was released at the box office, I noticed a lot of disappointment coming from the fans of the comic. Now that I've seen the film, I can observe that the criticisms weren't unwarranted. Here are just a few alterations made for Hollywood's sake...
1. V in the comics, is serious and flawless in his mannerisms. V in the movies, is more human... you can tell he's lonely, depressed, etc. Also, V in the comics does not fall in love with Evey.
2. In the movies, it seems as if the civilians are living in decent times. People are generally smart... in the books, it's more like America in the 1800s, but even more oppressed. It's just a bunch of factory workers who watch TV and believe everything spoonfed by the government.
3. Evey in the books, is a lowlife prostitute. Contrary, the movies portray Natalie as quite a sophisticated young girl who can deduce her own conclusions, although in the literary version, V is more hands-on and methodical in harvesting Evey's cranial capacity to fruition.
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Sat Aug 19, 2006 1:26 am |
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cinemaKid
Joined: 22 Mar 2005
Posts: 1819
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Re: V for Vendetta - true to the book?
quote:
Originally posted by ghostman:
2. In the movies, it seems as if the civilians are living in decent times. People are generally smart... in the books, it's more like America in the 1800s, but even more oppressed. It's just a bunch of factory workers who watch TV and believe everything spoonfed by the government.
Have you read 1984? This sounds like the world portrayed in the original comics is very much like the world portrayed in 1984.
Also I can't help thinking that there is a parallel line between the movie's storyline and the current political climate. What do you think about that?
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Sat Aug 19, 2006 2:40 am |
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ghostman
Joined: 18 May 2006
Posts: 482
Location: The area of your back you can't reach. |
Re: V for Vendetta - true to the book?
quote:
Originally posted by cinemaKid:
quote:
Originally posted by ghostman:
2. In the movies, it seems as if the civilians are living in decent times. People are generally smart... in the books, it's more like America in the 1800s, but even more oppressed. It's just a bunch of factory workers who watch TV and believe everything spoonfed by the government.
Have you read 1984? This sounds like the world portrayed in the original comics is very much like the world portrayed in 1984.
Also I can't help thinking that there is a parallel line between the movie's storyline and the current political climate. What do you think about that?
No, I haven't read any of Orwell's books. I've seen War of the Worlds however. I believe he wrote that, didn't he?
But yeah, it's probably a lot like 1984... a lot like Fahrenheit as well. The movie on the other hand downplayed the totalitarian aspect of it. Life in the comics was dreary for normal citizens, but it seems very decent in the movies.
As for the political parallel, definitely yes. That was Alan Moore's purpose for writing the novel. He was trying to predict the future (sociopolitical). The movie modernized/futurized a lot of the political and worldly elements portrayed in the comics.
More changes...
1. The movie conveniently does away with a few key figures from the original work and some climactic scenes... which sorta surprised me. I thought some of the scenes were quite profound and should've been left in there. For example, the train in the movies is loaded with 100% bombs. Yet in the novel, it's not only a storage for explosives but a garden of flowers. And he asks Evey to give him a Viking funeral when he dies. Of course in the movies, this segment is substituted with a kiss between Evey and V. 
2. Evey in the movies, is like a captive in V's mansion. However in the novel, Evey wants to stay. V is the one that opposes it and later ejects her from paradise.
3. The movie treats the audience like they're stupid. For example when V says, "e... Vey?" He emphasizes the "V" so we sorta know where this is leading. It also flashes back a lot to draw parallels with V and Evey. None of that really happens in the book. It's less in-your-face and more calculated, as is all of Alan Moore's works. V in the book, is much more elusive and abstract. He never tells Evey what his purpose is. She has to figure it out. Even before V dies, he doesn't tell Evey to do anything... she has to put to puzzle together and there's actually quite an important scene where she contemplates whether to unmask V or not... and what it could mean...
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Sat Aug 19, 2006 4:54 pm |
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