Imagine a world where America is no longer a super power, but instead a leper colony. Blacks, gays and people of religions other than Christianity have all been nearly exterminated. Britian now has control of everything.

Got all that? All right. Now on to the story.

In V for Vendetta, the latest Alan Moore novel to be turned into a movie, this is exactly the situation in which people live. The people are ruled by a High Chancellor, and must adhere to a strict set of rules. People out after curfew are usually arrested, and anyone who speaks out against the government is made an example of.

And so it is that one night, Evey Hammond, played by Natalie Portman, is out late on her way to a friend's house when she is accosted by a couple of unsavory characters. When she threatens to mace them, she discovers that they are Fingermen, a branch of the London police force. Things don't look too good when the men begin to close in on her, but just before they can do her any harm, a strange man wearing a Guy Fawkes mask appears and saves her. When Evey inquires as to who he is, he simply tells her to call him V.

While most people would probably run from such a strange figure, Evey agrees to follow him when he tells her that he is a muscian on his way to give a performance. However, instead of taking her to a grand hall full of instruments, he takes her to a rooftop overlooking London.

Here, fans of the book will be happy to know that one of the key scenes was left in. As Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" blares from speakers all over the city, V picks up a baton and begins waving it around as though conducting a vast orchestra. As the piece comes to a crescendo, the Old Bailey, one of the main buildings of London, erupts in an explosion. As the music continues and people look on in wonder, fireworks explode into the night sky of Nov. 5, Guy Fawkes Day.

High Chancellor Adam Sutler, played by John Hurt, is understandably upset, and sets the Fingermen, the Eyes and the Ears---which are other branchs of the government---to work finding and capturing the "terrorist known as Codename V".

This is just the beginning of a chain of events that will rock London for the next year as V, with a little help from Evey, try to give the world back to the people and get revenge for something that happened many years ago.

While many elements of the book were left out, such as the scene when V greets the priest by quoting the Rolling Stones's "Sympathy for the Devil", many of the major scenes were left in. Evey's prision time, which contains the famous head-shaving scene, was left intact. Valerie's letter is completly word for word, and Evey does indeed chose to be shot behind the chemical sheds rather than give them the wherabouts of V. V's personal vendetta against the overseers of Larkhill, the containment camp where he was subjected to medical experiments before escaping, is a thread of the story, though it doesn't have the same promenece that it does in the book. Of course, he leaves his trademark throughout the streets of London, and the Wachowski brothers were kind enough to leave in such small things as Evey's little-girl outfit, and the little girl with pigtails and glasses spraypainting the V on the wall.

However, Lewis Prothero is not the Voice of Fate, but the Voice of London. Nor does V leave him a blitering idiot who can only say "Mama" in mimic of his precious dolls that were destroyed, but is killed instead.

For some reason, Alan Moore's name was left off of the credits, giving the name of the writer of the graphic novel as David Lloyd, who did indeed help Moore write the book. Some of you might recognize Moore's name from other not-so-great movie adaptations of graphic novels. He is the man responsible for books such as From Hell, which starred Johnny Depp; League of Extrordinary Gentleman starring Sean Connery, and Constantine, starring Keanu Reeves.

While the movie may not be the exact replica of the book, it is still a spectacular movie. Many modern issues are dealt with throughout the film, and Natalie Portman delivers a wonderful performance. The action sequences are enough to leave you excited, and the special effects are superb as well. If you want to check out more about the movie before shelling out the money to go see it, check out the offical website at http://vforvendetta.warnerbros.com.

Check it out. You'll be glad you did. And don't forget to "remember, remember the 5th of November."