CERT: 15 / PLATFORM: 4K UHD / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
Based on Alan Moore and David Lloyd’s comic book miniseries of the same, V for Vendetta first stomped to the silver screen in 2006. With Hugo Weaving as the mysterious, masked freedom fighter V, the film depicts a tale of revolution in which Natalie Portman’s Evey finds herself swept up in. Given its elements of social commentary and questions of governance – not to mention a virus starting to rise up – there are alarming elements of relevancy to V for Vendetta here in 2020. Not to linger too long on the plot, then, it’s time to see what’s under the hood of this new release of an old favourite.
From the moment that the opening V for Vendetta logo pops from the screen, you realise that this is a movie that will look glorious in 4K. And glorious, it most certainly does indeed look. The palette of director James McTeigue’s film lends itself beautifully and brilliantly to this 4K restoration of the original camera negative. Whether it’s the dark shadows of underground tunnels or the vibrant slashes and splatters of blood, V for Vendetta has never looked better. At times, it can feel a little like a redundant cash-grab when certain other movies are revisited and served up in 4K, but that is far from the case here. The film looks phenomenal, it sounds phenomenal (with a remixed soundtrack at play), and the movie hits just as hard now in 2020 as it did 14 years ago.
Not only has V for Vendetta been given a 4K upgrade here, but the release also has several new pieces of bonus material included. The V for Vendetta Unmasked and James McTeigue & Lana Wachowski in Conversation featurettes give a fun, fascinating and in-depth look back on putting the film together and the process of taking an iconic comic book of the same name. Then there’s a brilliant glimpse behind the curtain as we get to see Natalie Portman’s audition for the movie. Those special features are included on the 4K UHD disc, and then the accompanying Blu-ray disc includes all of the additional content that’s been featured on previous releases of V for Vendetta.
As a movie, V for Vendetta holds up amazingly well over a decade after its initial release. And as a release, this new, packed 4K UHD offering is the absolute perfect way to devour a film that almost seemed ahead of its time, yet simultaneously timeless.
