Vendetta vexes viewers

Anyone who watches "V for Vendetta" expecting a mind-bending thriller is sorely misguided. The film's political elements add purpose to its violence, but looking for a satisfying philosophical treatise in the latest effort from directors Andy and Larry Wachowski is a formula for disappointment. "V for Vendetta" is not only uninspired as a political allegory but also forgettable as an action flick.

The film takes place in the year 2020. Britain is controlled by a totalitarian government led by High Chancellor Adam Sutler (John Hurt) who promises security from war and plague in exchange for total obedience. In this brave new world, Hugo Weaving plays V, a terrorist who wears a grinning mask of Guy Fawkes, the man who attempted to blow up Parliament on Nov. 5, 1650. V subverts the government with martial arts and fancy knife-work and has explosive plans to commemorate the next Guy Fawkes Day. Dangerous happenstance brings him together with Evey Hammond (Natalie Portman), a loyal gofer at the government television network, causing both their conceptions of their roles in society to change.

Though the source graphic novel is clearly based upon the dystopian fiction of Orwell and Huxley, the movie adaptation is informed by a wide range of cinematic influences, from "The Phantom of the Opera" to "Batman" and even the Wachowskis' "The Matrix." Still, "V for Vendetta" is unique, combining all its inspirations into its own "cyber-Soviet" aesthetic.

While the film's visuals are novel, the same cannot be said of its plot. "V for Vendetta" draws upon so many tired political thrillers and detective films that the story dies long before the credits roll. Particularly infuriating is Finch (Stephen Rea), a government inspector assigned to V's case, who bumbles around for most of the film while the answers he seeks are often painfully obvious.

"V for Vendetta" also feels familiar, unfortunately, because you've seen it every night on the evening news. The film's motivating political questions — the difference between a terrorist and a freedom fighter, the tradeoff between freedom and security, the origins of personality cult dictatorships — have been so exhausted recently by pundits and politicians that their unimaginative restatement in the film seems annoyingly old.

The movie is set in the future, but elements of 2006 America seep in and add confusion to the film. Homosexuality, the avian flu, pedophile priests and pill-popping pundits all make cameo appearances, though none appear to have any substantial purpose other than as heavy-handed references to the present day.

Though it was written and produced by the guys who brought us the video game "Bullet Time," this film does little to advance digital effects. The few lackluster action sequences are rendered even less adrenaline-pumping by V's lack of formidable enemies. In true video game style, V's adversaries serve only as generic landing sites for his knives and fall like dominoes during combat.

What is perhaps most frustrating about the film is its total, stone-faced seriousness. For a movie about a man in a mask and cape, it lacks a swashbuckling sense of fun that could have redeemed its flaws. We are genuinely meant to care about what "Vendetta" has to say, but the film is so obtuse and gaudy that is nearly impossible.

"V for Vendetta" is neither an interesting philosophical treatise nor a solid sci-fi action flick. An unsatisfying thriller, a featherweight political statement and a limp cat-and-mouse detective story, the movie is a sorry disappointment. This is a movie by geeks, for geeks. It is oozing with absurd dialogue and is padded with Shakespearean grandiosity — a field day for pop fantasists. But for the rest of us, "V for Vendetta" is just plain bad.