The trailers don’t do the film, V for Vendetta, justice. I saw the trailers before and it didn’t get me interested enough to see the movie. But after my very good friend told me to go watch it, I did and was pleasantly surprised. This is probably the best movie I have seen so far this year.

Produced by the Wachowski Brothers, this film is as political as The Matrix (the first one) was philosophical. It’s a great thinking movie with an intricate plot, dashed with some action and stunning visuals. The cinematography and editing is excellent and both Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving gave very, very good performances.

The best part of the movie for me would have to be the detention scenes of Evey (Portman), where she got her head shaved, juxtaposed with the story of Valerie. I was engaged with the movie from the start but then it struck me profoundly as Valerie’s story unfolded.

What’s not to like about the movie? First, the love angle is unnecessary, and second, I think the movie is a little too black and white for me. While the movie strives to blur the distinction between revolution and terrorism, you can’t help but be put off by the strict totalitarianism of the government and really end up cheering for the masked V despite his questionable methods. High Chancellor Sutler, the head of the British government, is particularly bad since there is no depth to his madness for total control.

I’ve read that the original comic book blurs the lines much more since writer Alan Moore wanted the readers to choose between the extremes of fascism and anarchy. While V’s anarchistic philosophy of the original graphic novel was toned down for the movie, some elements were shown during the latter parts of the film as Chief Inspector Finch imagines the chaos that might be triggered by V’s actions. Those scenes were also quite moving.

If you haven’t seen V for Vendetta yet, go now and watch it!