V for Vendetta

[Zane]

Finally a critically acclaimed graphic novel gets a make over for the movies, but the question is whether or not it will be over-stylised and suffer from hollywoodism.

The trailer looks okay enough, and appears to stick to the story close enough, the only major flaw is the general mob appearing to dress like V and stage a cliche; one for all and all for one stand, against the government. Which will suck. Why do filmmakers and studios feel the need to have the masses come to their senses in the film, while by the of graphic novel, it is only the beginning of the revolution. At least V looks like he should. They'd better not show his face either!

Interestingly the 'credit' in the credits is given to the illustrater, David Lloyd rather then Alan Moore, the writer... could this be because Moore didn't want himself to be associated with the Hollywood film? Rumour has it that he doesn't want anything to do with Watchmen either...
Hopefully they give this great piece of literature its due.

[bigsleepj]

Well, Alan Moore called the Wachowski Brothers' script "moronic" and asked to have his name removed from the project altogether. He is openly resisting any movies based on his works. I've never read V for Vendetta, but I have something of a dislike of Moore and some of his works (although he does seem to be a genius, I'll give him that) so I doubt I'll catch it in cinemas.

Edit: I got this from the Wikipedia:

Moore's reaction was to divorce himself from the film world: he would refuse to allow film adaptations of anything to which he owned full copyright. In cases where others owned the rights, he would withdraw his name from the credits and refuse to accept payment, instead requesting that the money go to his collaborators (i.e. the artists). This was the arrangement used for the film Constantine.

[Radical Dreamer]

Well, I'm completely unfamiliar with the comic, but I think I'll keep an eye out for this movie. It really does look rather intriguing.

[Stephen]

I am pretty excited about this. It looks really good.

[bigsleepj]

I don't know - seeing those throwing knives in one trailer leave trails like the bullets in the Matrix kind of put me off. Those things were cool in the first Matrix movie, but in everything else it was stupid. If seems to want to be just another Matrix wannabe.

[Stephen]

Heh. Actually, its done by the Wachowski brothers. So its not a wannabe. If its anything, its rehash. lol.

[bigsleepj]

Well, they only wrote & produced it, they did not direct it. And they should have known better than to use Knife-Time.

[Yojimbo]

The Wachowski brothers are two of the biggest hacks in moviedom. Practically stole half the original Matrix from the book "The Third Eye" and of course a dozen other comics and movies from Spawn to Dark City.

The Matrix is a decent movie and I don't like sounding like a snobbish elitist. I just think it's ridiculous how much the "Matrix Culture" and the media has deified these guys. When the Wachowski's had to actually *think* of somewhat original concepts for the second and third movie they fell flat. Of course there was wailing and gnashing of teeth when the fanboys discovered just how fake and superficial they were. They're not film gods they're no Ridley Scott or Francis Ford Coppola just two guys who took a whole bunch of concepts and threw them together pretty shamelessly. All gloss no originality.

I expect mediocreness across the board with V.

[bigsleepj]

Well, I'm not a big Wachowski Brothers fan and I prefer Dark City to the Matrix, but by the time Dark City was released the Matrix had begun shooting already. It is just a coincidence that the two movies have similar themes and ideas. I don't believe that the Wachowskis got their ideas from there because the time-line involved. Its like Antz and A Bugs Life coming out within a short time of each other - both were began at the same time (more or less) and were released too close together to qualify as rip-offs of another.

[Alice]

I don't know anything about this, except I saw the preview. It looks really interesting. What do you think the rating will be? (Or did I just miss that on the preview?)

[Yojimbo]

Well, I'm not a big Wachowski Brothers fan and I prefer Dark City to the Matrix, but by the time Dark City was released the Matrix had begun shooting already. It is just a coincidence that the two movies have similar themes and ideas. I don't believe that the Wachowskis got their ideas from there because the time-line involved. Its like Antz and A Bugs Life coming out within a short time of each other - both were began at the same time (more or less) and were released too close together to qualify as rip-offs of another.

True but Dark City came out in late 1997 plenty of time till 1999. Take a look at these side by side stills and tell me there isn't a scary similarity in alot of them. Yes some of them don't match up that well but alot do. That's just in the shots but the story you cannot deny is almost too set up. The mentor Dr. Shreber (Morpheus), the love interest (Jennifer Connely's person), the enemy "aliens", the fact that they need humanity to "stay asleep", the Shell Beach (Zion), it's too much sometimes. While there are some elements that are way too similar to be coincidence I will admit they are different in quite a number of ways.

http://galeon.hispavista.com/cinerama/actu2/matrixdarkcity.htm

But I have read some snippets from The Third Eye and that is even worse. If The Matrix borrowed from Dark City it practically plagiarized from The Third Eye. Well the author did sue the Wachowski's and I believe won a good chunk of change from the profits of the first movie so obviously the courts agreed.

EDIT: I'd count on an R rating for sure.

[Maledicte]

I'm pretty excited to see it, have been since I saw the trailer last year. The comic is very good in my opinion.

I'm a little worried about the movie, storywise at least, seeing as how the later Matrix movies kind of went down the toilet and that Alan Moore hated the screenplay. Also, having seen the latest trailer, there's one shot with a lot of people wearing V masks, which doesn't happen in the comic.

However I have my utmost confidence in Hugo Weaving, playing the title character, as he was the only actor to deliver his lines convincingly and humanly, despite not being a human in the Matrix.

[Stephen]

Eh. I have heard all the bashing on the Matrix films a hundred other times. There are fans, then there are the people who run around saying they stole everything. Newsflash. Have you ever written a book, or a song..or a poem before? Somtimes you write somthing...totaly from your heart...and when your done...you find someone else has done somthing very similar. It happens. Oh well.

[bigsleepj]

Yojimbo, Dark City was shot in Australia and they recycled some of the roof-top sets when they shot the Matrix there. Other than that, the rest are too coincidental. Schreber isn't that much like Morpheus, who I think owe more to Obi-Wan as a sci-fi fantasy archetype. Dark City harks back to the German Expressionist silent movies like The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari and Metropolis while Matrix is more Ghost in the Shell. These movies have the same elements, but many other movies that aren't sci-fi have those too. Those comparisons are a bit of a stretch. Shell Beach is not the base from which rebels launch their attacks.

[Godly Paladin]

Does anyone else think the guy looks like Zorro? I mean, come on...it's Zorro meets the Matrix.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

It looks like that yes. But its based on a graphic novel from 1980? (by Alan Moore).
Inspired by Zorro yes, but The Matrix? Maybe a bit for the movie (since the Wachoski Brothers are doing it), but certainly the graphic novel isn't.

[Godly Paladin]

I thought we were talking about the movie here.... >.>

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Yes, but its based off a graphic novel so I thought it was appropriate to bring that up.

[Maledicte]

Eh. I have heard all the bashing on the Matrix films a hundred other times. There are fans, then there are the people who run around saying they stole everything. Newsflash. Have you ever written a book, or a song..or a poem before? Somtimes you write somthing...totaly from your heart...and when your done...you find someone else has done somthing very similar. It happens. Oh well.

I wasn't saying that the Matrix was ripped off of anything. I thought the first movie was very original and intriguing. But the final two thirds were manufactured and flat, cop-outs for what had the potential to be an awesome movie trilogy, at least in my opinion. If you write something from the heart it doesn't make it automatically exempt from honest critique and improvement.

I'm merely saying that I hope this movie won't be as bad as I've been expecting. If they altered the story to better fit the screen, kudos to them, but if they make a hash of it, don't expect me to say I think otherwise.

[Joshua Christopher]

I thought the other two Matrix movies had good points, but it tried to be too flashy anime, and wasn't introspective enough (the nonsensical psychobabble not withstanding).

But this V for Vendetta looks like a guy with a silly mask and a goofy haircut starting a revolution.

Perhaps he is Reggie.

[indyrocker]

i will more than likly see it but the true test for me will be if its cinimaticly well done and the acting is convincing. Most movies that are ased off of grafic novles have used artistic licence to change things same goes with books so even tho i havent read any of the novles for this one I am sure that the story will differ some what. if you look at the movies that have ben based off of comic books thus far some of them have been horable (most of the Batman movies) then you get a few that are kinda good (DareDevil) and then you get some that are amazing and fun to watch (The Crow) so i will just have to wait and see how this one stacks up.

[Silent Hunter]

i know nothing of the graphic novel, I just thought it looked cool when i saw the previews.

[Kawaiikneko]

I read some of the comic in the bookstore before my parents dragged me out. I had seen the trailer before so I was interested in reading the comic... Well, I think I'll see the movie first then read the comic because if I do it the other way around I'll never be able to enjoy the movie. I'd end up critiquing it against the book too much.

[Maledicte]

I'm going to see it this Friday. \^o^/ I'm really hyped about it, I saw the new trailer and there was one clip that looked exactly like a frame from the comic. (of course it IS just one frame...) Anyway, going to see it with a friend. Woohoo!

[Radical Dreamer]

The exciting thing is, five days after this movie is released, I can totally go see it by myself (will be 17! *o*//). XD Even though I'll still be going with friends.

[EireWolf]

I had no idea it was from a graphic novel, but that has very little bearing on my interest anyway. It looks like an intriguing story, and I like Natalie Portman as an actress, so I want to see it.

[shooraijin]

Well, y'all have made me curious, so I'm going to go buy the "graphic novel" and read it. Amazon has it on sale.

I hardly go to movies anymore since I'm either working or traveling on weekends, alas. If I don't see it in the theatre, I'll probably rent it.

[bigsleepj]

As I understand it, the graphic novel is extremely dark. Prepare for a journey into darkness, Shooraijin....

MWAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!

[shooraijin]

Well, I know some of his other work (like From Hell, even though the movie was nothing like it), so I expect a little blackness, yeh. ^^;;

[TrigunX89]

I didn't know it was a graphic novel either, but the movie looks cool.