"To feel! 'Cause you have never done it, you can never know it. But it's as vital as breath and without it, without love, without anger, without sorrow, breath is just a clock...ticking." -- Mary   

It looks like I just found my favorite ditty of 2003 thus far-- yes, I said 2003 since Dimension Films chose not to give this gem a major North American theatrical slot last year (it was released in limited theaters) and dumped it on DVD this year instead. What’s going on with Dimension Films anyways? Are they that strapped for cash? Like seriously? They wear their “sausage factory” attitude on their sleeves more so than usual of late. Will every movie they distribute “wide” HAVE to be a target audience-inclined product as opposed to an actual layered and challenging cinematic entry? With their double-diss of "Below" and "Equilibrium", it sure seems like it. Boo this studio….BOOOOO!!

Now let's talk "Equilibrium"! To put it bluntly, echoing the subject matter of this film made me feel deeply on various levels through its many elements. It stirred bubbles within me as a character study, it gave me ultimate shootout fanboy rushes through its kinetic and violent action scenes and had me using the old noggin through its social commentary as well. The film’s core, which was Christian Bale’s character of Preston, was the main hook to this tale for me. I was totally imbued in Preston’s gradual awakening to the sensory world around him and to his coming to grips with his past actions. The flick put out some genuinely poignant scenes that not only had me riveted to the screen, but also had tears build up in my sockets (all about that dog bit).

The film also sported gripping subplots, which tied in perfectly with what Preston was going through and that upped the emotional impact of the film. The one involving Emily Watson (O'Brien) was easily the side story that affected me the most. Another plus was that the film explored its main theme (feelings versus a fascist society) without ever force-feeding it to me. Since the narrative used this one man's particular trek to evoke its deeper questions, it made the substance go down much smoother due to its introspective nature within the larger scope of the film.

And then there was the fight scenes...this film is actually not an all-out action fest, but when the physical goodies arose, they hit even harder since I had so much invested in the story and the lead character. I was feeling it hardcore! I can’t count how many times I suddenly jerked up on the edge of my couch, mouth agape, totally blown away by the tight mayhem before me. I’ve heard many compare the action scenes here to ones found in "The Matrix", but I beg to differ. Sure, there’s an insane shootout that took place in a corridor much like in "The Matrix" but apart from that, there’s no bullet time here, no wire work and the tight, Kata-like choreographies were totally different in tone than the ones found in aforementioned film.

Actually, "Equilibrium" delivered some of its physical happenings in quite the unique fashion with the “guns” used as extensions of one’s fists in the hand-to-hand combats being the fresher of the lot. I also mucho grooved on the ballet/Zen-like way in which Preston disposed of his foes-- it made for quite an entrancing, slaughter-heavy, yet poetic show. Props go out to Christian Bale for selling the rumbling like a freaking champ. He must have trained like a bastard to get those down pat or he just must be THAT good! Good for you dude! Keep them coming.   

On slight negative notes, the film did thread the same thematic ground for a bit too long during the middle section, but Bale’s kickass show made it worth watching. I also found that Taye Digs smiled a bit too much for a dude who was not supposed to feel anything, but again that was very minor. On a graver note, some of the subplots were not always fully emphasized upon (the kids come to mind) therefore lessening the impact they should’ve had. Lastly, although I grooved on the setting’s sterile, Nazi-like set designs, the film’s coin didn’t always match its ambitions. Some of the matte paintings were very obvious.

The original title of this film was to be "Librium." It was later changed to "Equilibrium."

The film’s shoot lasted 54 days and the budget was 20 Million clams.

Kurt Wimmer also wrote the screenplay for this film.

Kurt Wimmer wrote "The Recruit" and "The Thomas Crown Affair" remake screenplay. He also directed some of the Brain Bosworth actionner “One Man’s Justice” (he was replaced halfway through shooting).