  |
|
March 9, 2006
|
Pop Culture: Dork vs. Dork Why, you might ask, would I use these excursions in pain as examples of how V for Vendetta will excel? One simple word: shame. Shame and regret are powerful motivators, and considering all the Christian symbols and mythology employed in all the movies these guys have been involved in, I would think that fear of eternal damnation, if nothing else, would be enough for them to crank out one good feature. In this Orwellian story of government corruption and its small band of resistors led by V (Hugo Weaving) and Evey (Natalie Portman), the movie is sure to drive the right crazy with its overt political overtones and anti-authoritarian stance. Interestingly, the Wachowskis wrote the script for V for Vendetta before The Matrix was released. And in the new movie, they updated the evil empire that caused the world to collapse in fascism to the United States. Moore’s original comic was a searing commentary on the British government and Margaret Thatcher’s iron-fisted rule, and the update will be sure to cause some controversy. But even if you’ve grown tired of Bush bashing, the movie will be loaded with cultural references from the Velvet Underground to William Blake. V for Vendetta will also serve up a heavy helping of moral ambiguity, a darkness that’s featured in all of Moore’s work. It’s a pity that, thus far, none of Moore’s comic creations has translated well into movies. (In fact, Moore has reportedly turned his back on V for Vendetta, which may actually help the movie if you think about it.) If nothing else, V for Vendetta will be an exciting, operatic break from the winter doldrums. At worst, there will likely be lots of slow-mo kicking. Glenn responds Sweet Jimminy Cricket on a drunken wish bender. Listen to yourself, is it possible to hedge your bets any further? If the best you can muster is that V for Vendetta is sure to contain pop cultural references to aging Anglophile fetish memes than, well, I suppose that serves as its own denouncement. Your Bizarro-world reverse psychology wherein you entreat us to root for this cinematic tumor by rattling off its worst aspects (namely everyone involed in its creation and execution), that, um, that failed to convince. Sorry, but pointing out how flawed and feeble-minded the cast and crew of V for Vendetta are is my job. Don't Leno my Letterman buddy. The scales of my patience have finally tipped when it comes to comic-to-film adaptations. The stone that dashed the delicate “For every Ghost World there is a Catwoman” balance? V for Vendetta coming soon to Splash! Bam! Zonk! Heavy-handed subtext! its way onto the silver screen next week. I like Alan Moore, not love, merely like, he’s a hermity sasquatch of a man with kooky hair and an axe to directionlessly grind against every established notion. Sure, I like a heaping helping of subversiveness and critical satire, but when you’re engaging in deconstruction for deconstruction’s sake, you’ve missed the philosphical point of the endeavor. Yes, Moore has “washed his hands of” this, the latest movie adaptation of his work. Of course he would, he’s backed away from every film made from his material. It’s to be expected, because the idiosyncratic charm and meta-comic book post-modernism that hallmarks Moore’s work simply doesn’t translate. And who better to unsuccessfully translate this almost-great tale of Guy Fawkesery than the same people who brought us nine needless minutes of Carrie-Ann Moss dying, and once-terrifying robots dancing like peacenick picknicking bears with their human enemies under rainbows in The Matrix: Revolutions. Moore needs to hold firmer to his material and leave it on the printed page. If he hasn’t learned that with the ill-received From Hell he should have gotten the message with the horriffic abomination that The League of Extraordinary Gentleman proved to be. But lo! He shan’t and soon we shall suffer his vision again, this time flayed on screen by Elrond/Priscilla/Smith and hardcore rap phenom Natalie Portman. Oh well, at least this failure might convince the studios to leave The Watchmen alone. Dan responds Well, Judas, so much for your previous, irrational worship of the Matrix trilogy. If you spent your 30 silver pieces on a consistency workshop you might want to get your money back. You can also save your treatise on the metaphysics of Alan Moore’s comic philosophy for the next Comic-Con. If Moore’s graphic novels were designed to be templates for interesting cinema, then maybe they would be, you know, interesting to begin with. Refresh my memory, were we reviewing a movie here, or Alan Moore’s graphic novels? Far be it from me to get sidetracked and end up forgetting to address your comments about V for Vendetta. Except, you have none. Comments? Thoughts? Discuss this article and more at hippoflea.com |
|
Navigation
