V is for Vendetta

Hollywood, why why why do you keep doing this to us???

I love the Wachowski brothers' movies. I was ready for this flick man, excited about a movie that could capture my imagination in the same way that the Matrix Trilogy did.

So why did I hate V is for Vendetta? In short, it was more of a preachy, self-righteous, anti-war flick than Fahrenheit 9/11. Michael Moore couldn't have done a better job if he tried.

Originally a graphic novel designed to whine about Margaret Thacther's Great Britain, V is for Vendetta is set in Orwellian England sometime in the near future. I'm not going to go into the movie too much, other than to say it's chock full of attacks on conservatives, Christianity, the war on terror, and other tired cliches used exhaustively by today's anti-war movement.

What really pissed me off after watching V is Hollywood in general. Would it kill them to make a somewhat patriotic film for a change? Why does every single movie that comes out of that rat hole have to be about how brave people are for having an ideology that is anti-American, anti-Christianity, and anti-military?

I love movies. I realize that they're there for entertainment value. And I don't get into huge hissy fits over gays, or abortion, stem cell research, or any of the other hot liberal vs. conservative debates of our current era. And I sure to hell don't offend easily.

But there's only so much you can expect someone to take. Vendetta didn't just attack my beliefs as a patriotic, church-going American, it ridiculed them, spit on them, and lectured me on how those beliefs make me an enabler of fascism.

I don't know if it was the pedophile Catholic bishop, or the American and British flags embedded with the swastika, or the lectures on how "the former United States" started its decline with its war on terror. Whatever made me snap made me snap hard.

My friends who were with me, a nice couple from Alabama, decided that enough was enough and walked out halfway through. How much of the "you're a stupid fascist" diatribe did the Wachowski brothers expect them to sit through?

Why does Hollywood continue to hero-worship this cult garbage? Don't they realize the potential of a patriotic, flag waving, hero kills the terrorist, and gets the girl apple pie flick? 80% of Americans self-identified Christians, and I bet you a buck that even more of those folks are self-identified patriots. The Passion of the Christ demolished the box office, wasn't that a strong enough message to ruling movie elites that America has a thirst for films that satisfy their core ideology?

I don't know why the Wachowski brothers decided not to let me sit through a popcorn thriller filled with cool fight scenes and gee-whiz special effects, something that they're damn good at. Instead they decided to take out all their anger and aggression about the evils of the United States and organized religion on me, the innocent movie-goer.

Hollywood, if any of you guys have the guts to make a movie about real heroes - our American fighting men and women - I'll go see it. But for now, I want my seven dollars back.