Maybe I'm the only one

V for Vendetta, one of the most brilliant graphic novels ever written (who else but Alan Moore could have penned it) is being made into a movie. I can deal with that. Out of all the stories that they have made out of his work, this particular one seems to be the most adaptable in my mind, still being able to stay true to the novel - as opposed to previous flops: From Hell, and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

Another graphic novel of Moore's - Watchmen - is being made into a film. I think that too will fail like all of Moore's previous adapted work, but solely because there is a richness and complexity to the work that will be lost in the simplification to the screen. What is a thought provoking story about the cold war, politics, life and the meaning of existence, and super-hero's, will be reduced to a cliched action adventure, because you can't fit it all in.

V, on the other hand, is more of a streamlined story. There is a single lead character (V of course is his name), and singular goals for the lead directly related to the themes. The story is told in a fairly linear fashion, resorting occasionally to flashback when appropriate. It has the makings of a great film. I'm not going to get into what V is about, let alone that it is, in my mind, one of the great stories about a future dystopia; though unrealistic, strikes a chord resonant to what I perceive to be many of today's current problems (specifically with various laws of zero tolerance, mandatory minimums, the patriot act, terrorism, and so forth).

The script is being penned by the Wachowski brothers; the team that brought us the Matrix trilogy and the film Bound. Sure they are comic book fans, sure they are a box office draw, but are they good writers? Hardly. the first matrix movie, though visually fascinating, upon repeated viewing becomes trite, and the dialogue and interactions quite mediocre. The second two matrix films are, in my opinion, garbage masquerading as postmodern philosophy. They don't seem to have an original idea between them.

So I'm being a film snob, I can't help it. I don't like the Wachowski brothers (mind you not as people, I just don't like their work) and am a little worried as to how they mine the work of Alan Moore to produce what hopefully will be a gem of a film. Though I won't let it keep me up nights, I don't think The Wachowski's are up to it. All I can be thankful for (in this matter) is: at least James Robinson didn't get a whack at this one.

For a bit of a better article about this film and mistakes the Wachowski brothers have already made see this newsarama article.

Man I'm such a comic book dweeb.

Uh.. Carry on then.