V for Vendetta (2006) is based on the graphic novel by Alan Moore and David Lloyd and was adapted for the silver screen by the Wachowski brothers (creators of the Matrix trilogy). The themes of this movie are clearly similar to those of The Matrix (1999). Both involve a war between free thought and an oppressive “machine.” In Vendetta, the machines are not AI-infused mechanisms, but the totalitarian government of a futuristic England. The movie is also incredibly reminiscent of George Orwell’s novel 1984: the film’s totalitarian regime is headed by a figure usually imaged as a gigantic head on an impressively large scene (“Big Brother,” anyone?). Also, Vendetta’s focus on the power of the media draws extensively on Orwell’s novel.

So what makes this film so special by comparison with these similar works? Well, for starters, it touches on some issues that hit much closer to home. Few of us are worried about intelligent machines taking over the world, and hopefully we won’t be subjected to a totalitarian state anytime soon, but the issues brought up in Vendetta are fairly realistic. The movie raises questions concerning war, freedom, biological weapons, corrupt governments, social intolerance, and—most noticeably—terrorism and its possible justification.

An interesting idea Vendetta reiterates is that it is not the man that matters, but the idea. Unlike the inner members of the controlling and corrupt Party, the character “V” does not wish for fame, fortune, or power. He commits acts labeled “terrorism” by the government and mass media in order to force onto the population an awareness that they are being oppressed by their leaders. As he puts it, “People should not be scared of their governments. Governments should be scared of their people.”

V starts a movement for freedom by breaking the laws and blowing up a few buildings along the way. Are his actions justified, or do they constitute cold-blooded terrorism? You’ll have to watch the movie yourself to form your own opinion, but here are a few things to keep in mind as you do so:

• Christ was sinless, yet he was tried and convicted as a criminal. The society he lived in found him guilty of being a rebel against the government.

• The Bible tells us to follow the laws of our earthly rulers, but what do we do when those laws and governments are obviously wrong?

• Christianity has been oppressed in various forms all around the globe. Thousands of martyrs have sacrificed their lives in order to further the faith. How have real-life martyrs embodied the notion that “Ideas are Bulletproof”?

• “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Matthew 10:39