His full-face disguise recalls the ski masks of the Italian Red Brigades; his slashing trademark is a recognizable permutation on the anarchist "A". This empty signifier argues for terror as a semiotician might—an attack on symbols[.][…]
With his mocking fixed grin, V as a political superhero plays Joker to his own Batman.
— J. Hoberman: Film After Film (Or, What Became of 21st Century Cinema?) (2012)
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.