This 2005 Film May Be The Best Alan Moore Adaptation (But He Hates It)
While the author feels that it completely missed the point of the original, fans see it as arguably the best adaptation of his work.
Summary:
- Many of Alan Moore's works have been adapted for the screen over the years, with varying degrees of success
- However, the author has been known to express distaste for even those adaptations that are considered good
- 2005's V for Vendetta is one such case, although some fans actually prefer the movie to the original graphic novel
The impact that Alan Moore's work has had on popular culture is hard to underestimate, as the author has given us a number of undoubted masterpieces over the years, such as Watchmen, Batman: The Killing Joke and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
Of course, with such acclaim for his graphic novels, it comes as no surprise that many of them have been adapted for the big screen, but the results have been incredibly hit and miss, ranging from embarrassing disasters to great cult classics.
2003's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was spectacularly bad, 2016's The Killing Joke butchered the original story, and 2001's From Hell, though not exactly terrible, was still rather dull and inferior to the original novel.
The Author Despises Even Good Adaptations Of His Work
While there have been some successful adaptations, such as 2009's Watchmen and 2019's Watchmen TV series, the author has always been quite vocal about his distaste for all adaptations of his work, even those that are considered good by the public for a multitude of reasons, as he feels they miss the point of his original creations.
2005's V for Vendetta, adapted by the Wachowskis and directed by James McTeigue, did not escape such a fate, despite the fact that both critics and audiences were quite positive about the film.
Starring Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving, who did an especially excellent job since the actor's face isn't even shown throughout the film, V for Vendetta is based on Moore's limited graphic novel series of the same name.
The story takes place in a near-future Britain ruled by a fascist and authoritarian political regime that came to power after a nuclear war between the U.S. and the Soviet Union decimated the rest of the world.
Evey Hammond (Portman), whose parents were arrested and died in prison when she was a child, tries to live a normal life (as much as possible under a totalitarian government) and works for the British Television Network.
One faithful evening, her whole life is turned upside down when Evey is almost arrested by the secret police, only to be saved by a mysterious vigilante who always wears the Guy Fawkes mask and calls himself V (Weaving).
This sets her on the path to becoming V's apprentice, albeit reluctantly at first, and eventually leads to her becoming crucial to V's plan to start a revolution and ultimately overthrow the fascist regime.
Fans Loved the Movie – Moore Didn’t
According to the author, the film turned the original story into a "Bush-era parable" and had little to do with the themes of the original, as the adaptation was made by people who were afraid to set this political satire in their own country.
Fans, on the other hand, love the movie, calling it arguably the best adaptation of Moore's work, and some even prefer it to the original graphic novel.
With outstanding acting, a great story that subtly updates some aspects of the original, and an impressive visual style along with some nice action, it is a must-watch if you are a fan of the author's work or the dystopian genre in general.
Source: Reddit