John Hurt plays the totalitarian dictator High Chancellor Adam Sutler, appearing primarily as a giant face on a screen. This directly flips his famous role in the film adaptation of Orwell's 1984, where he played the suppressed protagonist Winston Smith.
Episode #16
V for Vendetta
V for Vendetta (2006) • Directed by James McTeigue
Published 14 October 2026
Grab your Guy Fawkes mask as the Four Takes team dive into *V for Vendetta* (2006)! From revolutionary uprisings and V’s legendary monologues to Natalie Portman’s performance and an unexpected obsession with egg on toast, chaos reigns. The team debate the film’s unsettling relevance today, David embraces his inner anarchist, and Adam struggles with endless close-ups. Expect laughs, tangents and explosive opinions before the next film, *Dredd* (2012)!
8.6/10
Four Takes Score
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About the Movie
V for Vendetta
2006Directed by James McTeigue132 mins
ActionThrillerScience Fiction
In a world in which Great Britain has become a fascist state, a masked vigilante known only as “V” conducts guerrilla warfare against the oppressive British government. When V rescues a young woman from the secret police, he finds in her an ally with whom he can continue his fight to free the people of Britain.
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Episode Notes
From the Episode
Grab your Guy Fawkes mask and brace yourselves for revolution as the team tackle the 2006 dystopian thriller V for Vendetta!
Before getting swept up in anti-establishment uprisings, the team warm up with some classic tangents, covering everything from fast-paced Resident Evil movies and Lovecraftian horror to binge-watching The Blacklist and Shrinking.
When they finally pivot to fascist Britain, things get delightfully chaotic as the team dissect V's tongue-twisting monologues, John Hurt's massive face on a screen, and the surprisingly recurring motif of egg-on-toast breakfasts.
Along the way, the team dig into Guy Fawkes history, debate whether the movie is a bit too accurate as a blueprint for modern society, and marvel at Natalie Portman's fear-cleansing rooftop breakdown.
David fully embraces his inner anarchist during the grand, Tchaikovsky-fueled finale, though he remains cheekily disappointed that the crew blew up a scale model rather than actual Parliament. Meanwhile, Adam suffers through an overdose of tight camera close-ups.
Finally, the team hand out their official ratings and lock in their next movie night pick: 2012's Dredd. Will society survive long enough for the next review? Tune in to find out!
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Did You Know?
Movie Trivia
V's title is not an initial for a real name, but stands for the Roman numeral 'V' (5). It refers to room number five, where he was incarcerated as Subject 5 inside a government biological research lab.
The iconic mask is a stylised representation of Guy Fawkes based on 17th-century cavalier fashions. The film's depiction helped popularise the mask globally, leading the real-world hacker collective Anonymous to adopt it as their emblem.
When Eevee stands on the rooftop in the pouring rain with her arms outstretched after realising she is free from fear, the shot deliberately mirrors Tim Robbins' iconic escape scene in The Shawshank Redemption.
The grand finale featuring the destruction of Parliament is choreographed to Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture. To achieve the dramatic explosion, the filmmakers shot a physical scale model rather than destroying a real building, before transitioning to a track by The Rolling Stones over the end credits.
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