 | I am quite surprised that nobody has brought up this movie. I watched it twice over the weekend on DVD.
V is a strange character, and we learn little of what motivates him or what makes him tick. He lives in London in the near future, probably before 2050. Britain has enacted many laws restricting personal liberty and is executing without trial, all in the name of "national security." There are some great lines in the movie:
Our story begins, as these stories often do, with a young up-and-coming politician. He's a deeply religious man and a member of the conservative party. He's completely single-minded and has no regard for the political process. The more power he attains, the more obvious his zealotry and the more aggressive his supporters become. Eventually, his party launches a special project in the name of national security. At first, it's believed to be a search for biological weapons and is pursued without regard to its cost. However, the true goal of this project is power; complete and total hegemonic domination. The project, however, ends violently. But the efforts of those involved are not in vain, for a new ability to wage war is born from the blood of the victims. Imagine a virus, the most terrifying virus you can, and then imagine that you and you alone have the cure. But if the ultimate goal is power, how best to use such a weapon?
We are told to remember the idea, not the man. Because a man can fail. He can be killed and forgotten. But four hundred years later an idea can still change the world. I've witnessed firsthand the power of ideas. I've seen people kill in the name of them; and die defending them. But you cannot touch an idea, cannot hold it or kiss it. An idea does not bleed, it cannot feel pain, and it does not love. And it is not an idea that I miss, it is a man. A man who made me remember the fifth of November. A man I will never forget.
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