People should not be afraid of their governments, governments should be afraid of their people.

Such is the underlying philosophy of V for Vendetta, a film set in the year 2020 and a world where America has been nearly wiped out by war and England is run by a fascist, totalitarian regime. The film is more 1984 than The Matrix, despite what the previews would have you believe, so don’t go in expecting a lot of pompous psychobabble, confusing, reality-altering plot-lines and gobs of kick-butt action. What you can expect is a provocative, stirring film that will challenge the way you look at the current state of world politics and the nature and necessity of violence as a means to an end.

The story revolves around a man known only as V (played magnificently by Hugo Weaving). His face is perpetually shrouded by a Guy Fawkes mask, Guy Fawkes being the mastermind behind the failed Gunpowder Plot in 1605 to blow up London’s Houses of Parliament. V is determined to free London from — or at least awaken it to — the tyranny of the government currently in power. V takes under his care a young girl, Evey (Natalie Portman with a spotty British accent), after she is nearly raped by government thugs. V brings Evey to the “Shadow Gallery,” his hidden, underground sanctum that essentially acts as a museum of items now declared illegal and dangerous by the current government. This includes everything from Count Bassie records to works of art, the Koran and even butter. It is here that Evey’s eyes are truly opened to what V is hoping to accomplish.

There is no question that the government in power is vile. It manipulates the public through carefully planned lies, exterminates anyone not a white, middle-class “Christian” — this includes blacks, homosexuals and Muslims — and thinks nothing of using in-home surveillance and phone tapping to spy on its citizens. The whole feel of London is very sterile and haunting, very much like Orwell’s 1984, complete with a Big Brother-esque party leader (played by John Hurt) who is seen almost exclusively on large viewing screens.

V seems to be the only person not in power that realizes how damaging and controlling the government is and he aims to wake the populace from their apathetic slumber by blowing up buildings and killing off government leaders. However, his motives aren’t entirely noble. He also wants revenge against those who tortured him and countless others in what was essentially a government sponsored concentration camp. Hence, the “vendetta.”

Where the film truly begins to challenge viewers is in the fact that V is essentially a terrorist. He enacts violence as a means to an end. He never kills innocent people, but he never hesitates to kill those who are linked to his tortured past or blow up a building as a statement. The confounding part of it all is that it works. The people begin to feel empowered by V’s actions and are awakened to how controlled and sterile their lives have been. Making it more challenging still is with V himself. He is as charming, funny and chivalrous as he is dangerous and Hugo Weaving is masterful in his portrayal of V, especially considering that V is never seen without his mask. And yet Weaving manages to emote with his body language and voice more than most actors are able to with their faces unshrouded.

Most notably among those empowered by V’s actions is Evey, who makes a dynamic shift from being sheepish and confused to bold and determined. And despite her dodgy accent, Portman does an excellent job of bringing Evey full circle in this change. V’s methods frighten her at first, but then she truly comes to realize how necessary someone like V truly is. Thrown also into the mix is Chief Inspector Finch (Stephen Rea) who is burdened with the task of hunting down V. Finch is torn between his devotion to his government and following his personal convictions. The more he researches about the connections between V and his murders, the more he realizes he knows nothing about the true nature of his government.

The Wachowski Brothers (the same duo responsible for The Matrix trilogy) adapted the film from the graphic novel by writer Alan Moore and artist David Lloyd. It follows the original work more in spirit than in letter, but it achieves the same desired effect. Director James McTeigue does a fine job in his directorial debut in crafting a film that is both exciting and thought provoking in that it has some great action sequences but offers no easy answers for V’s methods. Yes, the government in question is undoubtedly horrendous, but could the same results be achieved through different means? Would the public have been as stirred to action had V not been so brazen in his defiance of authority? These questions are left up to personal interpretation more than some would like. But it is in that respect that the film succeeds so magnificently.

Viewers will get out of V for Vendetta largely what they bring into it. If you go in wanting to see parallels to the Bush administration you will certainly see them. If you want to see a commentary on world politics in general, that exists as well. If you want to see lampoons of late-night talk show hosts and pompous political commentators like Bill O’Reilly, that will be more than visible. If you go in essentially wanting the movie to be an attack on conservatives you will probably leave the theater with a lot of fodder for your letter to the editor.

But if you go in looking to see what can happen when people sacrifice security for freedom, give in to the paranoia and fear that so many politicians foster and are apathetic toward changes that affect everyone but yourself, that is what will be presented. The movie undeniably draws parallels toward the Patriot Act and Britain’s own increasing use of video surveillance, but it also asks viewers to consider how far a government should go in protecting its people in exchange for personal freedoms and liberty and the right to be different no matter how much others might be opposed to it.

V for Vendetta is a rare film in that it actually requires something of its viewers and offers no simple answers or solutions to the questions it presents. It also happens to be one of the best films that will likely come out this year. Three-and-a-half stars out of Four.

V for Vendetta is rated R for violence and language.