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V for Vendetta

V for Vendetta (2006)

tomatometer

73

Average Rating: 6.8/10
Reviews Counted: 233
Fresh: 170 | Rotten: 63

Visually stunning and thought-provoking, V For Vendetta's political pronouncements may rile some, but its story and impressive set pieces will nevertheless entertain.

63

Average Rating: 6.2/10
Critic Reviews: 38
Fresh: 24 | Rotten: 14

Visually stunning and thought-provoking, V For Vendetta's political pronouncements may rile some, but its story and impressive set pieces will nevertheless entertain.

audience

88

liked it
Average Rating: 3.9/5
User Ratings: 803,092

My Rating

Movie Info

Based on the graphic novel by Alan Moore, V for Vendetta takes place in an alternate vision of Britain in which a corrupt and abusive totalitarian government has risen to complete power. During a threatening run in with the secret police, an unassuming young woman named Evey (Natalie Portman) is rescued by a vigilante named V (Hugo Weaving) -- a caped figure both articulate and skilled in combat. V embodies the principles of rebellion from an authoritarian state, donning a mask of vilified

Aug 1, 2006

$70.5M

Warner Bros. Pictures

Cast

All Critics (233) | Top Critics (38) | Fresh (180) | Rotten (64) | DVD (41)

By the movie's midpoint, the Wachowski brothers' screenplay has gotten so bogged down in back story that it takes 40 minutes for director James McTiegue to get back to the explosions that his 16-year-old target audience assumes will solve everything.

October 18, 2008 Full Review Source: NPR.org | Comments (13)
NPR.org
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The swashbuckling first hour is superior to the second, which bursts at the seams with backstory, but a rousing climax makes this the most potent piece of agitpop in years.

April 18, 2007 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | Comment (1)
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Feels far too starched and clean to do its source material justice.

October 7, 2006 Full Review Source: Salon.com | Comments (2)
Salon.com
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A welcome blast of pop subversion.

May 12, 2006 Full Review Source: New York Magazine | Comment
New York Magazine
Top Critic IconTop Critic

This is not the movie, and these are not the times, for sophisticated arguments.

March 17, 2006 Full Review Source: Toronto Star | Comments (2)
Toronto Star
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Richly satisfying entertainment the way movies are at their best, when they prod you to think.

March 17, 2006 Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | Comment
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Tn its ambition to weld a political message onto a comic-book movie it falls rather pitifully between two stools.

August 26, 2010 Full Review Source: Independent | Comment
Independent

In adapting Moore's sprawling narrative into a workable screenplay, the Wachowski Brothers have come up with a balance of thoughtful philosophy and all-out action that feels more natural and organic than it did in their Matrix films.

August 23, 2010 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | Comment
eFilmCritic.com

Alan Moore may be greatest victim of Hollywood's comic book adaptation craze.

July 6, 2010 Full Review Source: Reverse Shot | Comments (2)
Reverse Shot

Daredevil in agitator garb

August 30, 2009 Full Review Source: CinePassion | Comments (9)
CinePassion

You have to really credit Hugo Weaving for pulling in a strong performance, helping to carry the film over his back, and never really reveal his face.

April 29, 2009 Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | Comment
Cinema Crazed

Moore and Lloyd posed this paradigm in a Cold War era and it never came to pass. Leave it to the Wachowski Brothers to update it for the War on Terror, or rather its aftermath.

April 23, 2009 Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | Comment
Boston Phoenix

Better than the original comic. Seriously.

February 27, 2009 Full Review Source: CHUD | Comments (5)

V for Vendetta is a milestone. Maybe not a big marker, but a milestone nonetheless.It is anti-establishment redux.

February 2, 2009 Full Review Source: tonymacklin.net | Comment (1)
tonymacklin.net

Forget the faux accent, it's the raw emotion [Portman] displays, especially in the film's latter stages, that's positively Streep-like and most captivating.

November 20, 2008 Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | Comment (1)
Hollywood.com

Contentious, pretentious but with a great last 20 minutes.

October 14, 2008 Full Review Source: Film4 | Comment (1)

Complex but heavy-handed action film. Adults only.

July 24, 2008 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | Comment
Common Sense Media

The details of V's beef with society are hazy, but the film has a certain purity of spirit.

June 8, 2008 Full Review Source: Paste Magazine | Comment
Paste Magazine

...an exciting, thoughtful, old-timey romantic-adventure story that shows up well in high-definition picture and sound. (Blu-ray Edition)

May 15, 2008 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment
Movie Metropolis

Major studio pictures can certainly be more creative, but they're rarely as bold as this.

January 15, 2008 Full Review Source: Dark Horizons | Comment
Dark Horizons

blends modern-day politics with good old-fashioned derring-do to explore the grey areas (in a very grey-looking London) between freedom, justice, dissidence and retribution.

August 10, 2007 Full Review Source: Eye for Film | Comment (1)
Eye for Film

When the script sticks close to Alan Moore, it works best. Which, sadly, is seldom.

July 23, 2007 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | Comments (2)
eFilmCritic.com

Every time Mr. Weaving is on screen the spirit of Mr. Moore's character comes alive. Those moments, at least, are worth fighting for.

July 14, 2007 Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound | Comment
Big Picture Big Sound

The Wachowski Brothers have delivered another feast for the eyes and mind with this multilayered story of vengeance and honor.

July 10, 2007 Full Review Source: DVD Review | Comment
DVD Review
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for V for Vendetta

Hugo Weaving and Natalie Portman both shine in this awesome adaption of a Moores comic series. Spectacular movie in my opinion. After another recent viewing I realized how great a movie this actually is. 5 stars easy

May 19, 2007
jmanard52

Super Reviewer

If a film suffers from production problems, it stands a greater chance of being a bad film than one on which everything runs smoothly. It's a perfectly logical observation to make, one which is largely correct in the grand scheme of filmmaking, and especially with regard to adaptations of Alan Moore. The scale of the

January 29, 2012
Daniel Mumby
Daniel Mumby

Super Reviewer

    1. V: Remember, remember, the Fifth of November, the Gunpowder Treason and Plot. I know of no reason why the Gunpowder Treason should ever be forgot.
    – Submitted by Chris C (2 days ago)
    1. Evey: Artists use lies to tell the truth while politicians use them to cover the truth up.
    – Submitted by Ben M (21 days ago)
    1. V: The building is a symbol, as is the act of destroying it. Symbols are given power by people. Alone a symbol is meaningless, but with enough people, blowing up a building can change the world.
    – Submitted by Ben M (21 days ago)
    1. V: What was done to me created me. It's a basic principle of the universe that every action causes an equal and opposing reaction.
    2. Evey: Is that really how you look at it? Like an equation...?
    3. V: What was done to me was monstrous!
    4. Evey: And it created a monster...
    – Submitted by Michael D (48 days ago)
    1. V: Would you... dance with me?
    2. Evey: Now? On the eve of your revolution?
    3. V: A revolution without dancing is a revolution not worth having!
    – Submitted by Anastasia K (53 days ago)

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Foreign Titles

  • V wie Vendetta (DE)
  • V pour Vendetta (FR)
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