In an instance of truly terrible timing, the Elderbeast and I watched V For Vendetta today—only realising when when we were already engrossed that we were watching it a day early.
It was viewed at the Elderbeast’s request, but it’s a film I like and so I was happy to comply. I’m not sure what had piqued his interest, but I suspect it’s something to do with the recent cultural impact of the Gay Fawkes mask, particularly since he wants his own mask now.
I missed seeing V For Vendetta when it first came out, and it was some years before I finally caught up with it on bluray. It’s one of those movies that I didn’t give too much thought to at first, but that I find I increasingly admire the more I that watch it. I gather that the message has been somewhat altered from the original comic book (much to Alan Moore’s typical chagrin), but I’d argue that the movie is instead dealing with a political landscape that is far more relevant to us–even now–than the politics of 1980s England.
I was worried that the Elderbeast might find the movie a bit heavy-going in parts, and warned him going in that it probably wasn’t the action movie he was expecting. I needn’t have worried. At the end he proclaimed: “That was a really good movie!” A simple critique, for sure, but a sign that something in there really struck home.