25 book adaptations that surprisingly lived up to the books they’re based on

V for Vendetta

The 2005 film V for Vendetta is a cult classic, but it originated as a serial comic that was eventually turned into a graphic novel. Written by Alan Moore and illustrated by David Lloyd, the story follows an anarchist called V as he attempts to rid a futuristic England of fascism by enacting revenge on the system’s leaders and perpetrators. It also tells the story of his run-in with a girl named Evey, someone he eventually converts to his cause—even if it’s done using questionable and forceful means.

Though the book and film versions of V for Vendetta center on similar themes—both criticizing an authoritarian style of governing and taking a Marxist approach to the power of the masses—the movie adaptation certainly feels more modern than the graphic novel it was based on. This doesn’t necessarily make the film better or worse than the book, but it does allow it to stand on its own.

Both the book and film also emphasize the importance of the media when it comes to politics, demonstrating how controlling the information that people receive is in itself a means of oppression. The movie tackles this theme as impressively as the book does, highlighting how important it is to question your source of news—particularly when it’s affiliated with a certain political party or leader.

The film does make some changes to the characters, making V slightly more likable than he is in Moore’s story and altering Evey’s history a bit. All in all, the changes made for the onscreen version of the story don’t make it any better or worse than the original—if anything, they simply make V for Vendetta easier to relate to in a more modern time period.