Equilibrium - (9/10)

[The Delfonics]

http://i.imdb.com/Photos/Ss/0238380/586-R.jpg

Equilibrium- (9/10)
Info: (2002) R, Christian Bale, Taye Diggs, Emily Watson
Genre: Sci-Fi/Action
Comments: I read about this movie a week before it hit theaters. I saw something else during its opening week so I said Ill see it next week. Hmm I went to the theaters to see Equilibrium in its second week only to find that its gone! Im like what the hell?? I dont know what happened but the lame studios pulled this puppy from the theaters. Did they think it was too Matrix-like? This movie does feel a lot like the Matrix but if you can seperate the two, you will love this one! Christian Bale (most underrated actor today) plays a cleric (cop) who kills all those who feel emotions. In this world, the answer to war is taking away all emotions. However Bale's character begins to feel and needs to make a decision about what he is going to do. This movie takes you on a wild ride. The fight scenes in this movie are some of the best that I have ever seen!! I just saw the Matrix Reloaded a week ago and Im already over it! This movie totally outdoes the Matrix in action. It sorta even outdoes it in the story department. Thinking about a world that doesnt feel is scary. The story did feel overloaded and thats where I give the Matrix credit. The Matrix is a very deep series that explains a lot about its purpose. Equilibrium is just a quick little kick ass Sci Fi flick that barrows some of the eye candy from the Matrix. Christian Bale is amazing! I dont see why this guy isnt getting better roles! His role here actually felt like his role in American Psycho. He is good at being creepy. In the end I recommend this movie to anyone who like action flicks and even the Matrix. I love the Matrix series and I admit I may actually like this flick better than both of em. But I will seperate the two. The Matrix is still slowly becoming one of my favorite sci fi series of all time. Equilibrium is instantly one of my favorite single sci-fi flicks of all time.

Acting - 7/10 (Your typical sci-fi "everyones a hard ass" acting. Christian Bale is amazing again)
Violence/Gore - 6/10 (Bale lights up mofos left and right! The blood isnt abundant but the butt whoopin is.)
T&A - 0/10 - (N/A)

[RickySlade]

A great thriller that challenges your mind. What if....is the question asked most here. What If the world lived without feeling. There would be no war, no murder but we would lack any personal values. Christan Bale delivers an excellent performance. Taye Diggs is O.K. where Emily Watson just doesn't seem fitting. Some great special effects and great questions that need to be answered.

8/10

[Cronos]

An excellent Science Fiction flick that i enjoyed immensely. Great acting, escellent fights, some nice gore. what more could you want

9.5/10

[PorcheRacer]

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00005JLWN.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

http://us.ent4.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/movie_pix/miramax_films/equilibrium/christian_bale/equilibrium.jpg

http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/movie/gallery/1118792/Equilibrium-photo_01_hires.jpg


Equilibrium is a very cool sci-fi movie, that for some reason was dumped by Dimension Films. I have not seen ONE trailer or T.V. spot for it. If they had decided to market it then they would have had a hit on their hands. It has slick action, an interesting concept and a fast pace.

Christian Bale was very good in as Cleric John Preston. This man is cool, no doubt about it. He pretty much has to carry the movie and his progression throughout the movie was realistic. Taye Diggs was alright, he didn't show much emotion, but that's the point right? His performance just came off has a bit wooden. Emily Watson faired much better then Taye Diggs, I really felt for her character and she looked mighty fine althought that is just the cherry on top.

Now, let's talk about the cool action scenes. They are incredible, we get gunfights and some sword action and it all looks sweet. Some people say that the actions scenes were ripped off from The Matrix, I disagree. There is no bullet time or wire-fu, it's action style is unique. Also, the movie isn't completely action packed. It lets it's characters develop before it goes crazy with the fight scenes, so when the action starts you have something invested in the characters so it pays off big time.

Sometimes a movie will be dumped because it's a bad movie, this is not the case. Equilibrium is an original and underrated sci-fi movie that will be appreciated in years to come.

9/10

[DevilMonkey]

I loved the Matrix and loved the Matrix Reloaded more... You guys make this movie sound so good and it has Emily Watson in it.. What more should I say.. I'm gonna get this one!

[PorcheRacer]

You should see it Devil Monkey...

[Jim H]

I enjoyed this quite a bit. A rare blind DVD purchase I never regretted.

The commentary is excellent as well, one of the better ones I've listened to.

**VERY MINOR SPOILER**


One of my favorite tidbits: in the scene where Preston fights several people using the butts of his guns, they filmed the whole sequence in about 6 takes in less then half an hour. It's unbelievable how well it came across for that time frame (in a normal budget film, that scene would of taken over a day - even in Hong Kong, it likely would of take much longer), and I agree with Wimmer - Christian Bale must be a fantastic performer physically to do it that well that fast.

**END**

What's odd is that the DVD doesn't have a trailer for the actual film, just other movies. But two commentaries at least... Which is one of the best special features there is. Wimmer also hints at a possible special edition, with mention of a fair number of deleted scenes. I might pick that up if it comes out, I'd have to see how much extra there is.

The acting is great in the film, the action is some of the best I've seen in an American film, pretty darn good. Met or exceeded all my expectations. Not much better can be said then that. You have to wonder what Wimmer could do with a big budget and a longer shooting schedule, considering what he did here. This is the kind of movie I would do, action wise. I often ponder while watching mediocre action movies that I could do a better job, and this I somehow guess is exactly what Wimmer thought as a child. And he proved it right.

8/10.

[The Delfonics]

Originally posted by Jim H
Wimmer also hints at a possible special edition, with mention of a fair number of deleted scenes.

OMG that would be totally kick ass!

[SLAW]

Originally posted by The Delfonics
OMG that would be totally kick ass!

Nah, I don't think it's popular enough to warrant a SE. However, i would buy it in a heart beat. Great film! ;)

[The Delfonics]

Originally posted by SLAW
Nah, I don't think it's popular enough to warrant a SE. However, i would buy it in a heart beat. Great film! ;)

Ya, thats the sad part :( ,

[Buc_Nonsense]

Equilibrium was a terrific movie. Bale is an amazing actor. It was nice to see him in different type of role. He is usually the bad guy.
Gun Kata was sic! After watching this movie i cant believe it didnt get good reviews.

[The Delfonics]

Originally posted by Buc_Nonsense
Equilibrium was a terrific movie. Bale is an amazing actor. It was nice to see him in different type of role. He is usually the bad guy.
Gun Kata was sic! After watching this movie i cant believe it didnt get good reviews.

Ya, it suffered Salton Sea syndrome. Because it got compared to a popular movie released before it, less people saw it. (Like Salton Sea with Memento) Both films were great IMO esp. Equilibrium.

[Jim H]

Gun Kata was sic!

/me mumbles about slang.

I'd like to mention that, on video, Equilibrium is doing VERY well, much better then they expected. A special edition probably isn't likely, but it is a possibility at some point in the future, even if not a big one.

[Anonymooo]

Good GOD, did Equilibrium blow away my expectations.

From so many people saying that it looked like "The Matrix," I was expecting more bullet time, with Christian Bale running on walls... but instead, we get GUNKATA.

Yes, folks, GUNKATA.

Nothing to do with that crappy '80s martial arts movie GYMKATA. GUNKATA. A martial art that "uses the gun as a total weapon, each posture creating a maximum kill zone."

While totally useless in application(tried it out in airsoft today with a pair of Berettas), it sure as hell looks cool. And it gives a very stylized edge to what would have otherwise been a bland sci-fi actioner.

I'll say it one more time: GUNKATA! That's just fun to say. Gunkata gunkata gunkata.

8.5/10

[JCPhoenix]

Just saw Equilibrium a couple days ago...

I thought it was a great sci-fi movie, I wasn't completely blown away, but I definitely was entertained. 7/10

[Jim H]

(tried it out in airsoft today with a pair of Berettas)

Haw. Where do you play? Well, anyways, airsoft pistols are pretty darn innacurate compared to the real deal. I have a TM Tacmaster, that's the pistol I use. I'd like to get another one, ya know, go all John Woo like, but they're a little too pricey for my tastes.

But yeah, Gun Kata doesn't work in real life. They do teach the military to move in certain ways to minimize the chances of being shot though.

[Anonymooo]

KWC Beretta M92FS. Yes, I know, GENERIC as I said before, but damn, do they look cool. :D

I have those two gas guns, and a small variety of other spring pistols. We generally have whole wars of just spring pistols--and my other friend's spring shotgun. God, is airsoft a blast.

[Mike]

EQUILIBRIUM (2002)


Equilibrium is one terribly mean-spirited action movie. It's full of senseless and disturbing violence. Definitely one of the most mean-spirited movies I've seen in awhile. DAMN ME for liking it!

For awhile I found myself disgusted by this movie. It was uninteresting, extremely violent, and took itself so seriously that it could almost be laughable. Yet it's hard to laugh when countless innocent people and even more disturbingly----puppies, are being killed. Gee, how enjoyable :rolleyes:. This movie was just unbelievably cruel. But then I reluctantly started to get more and more interested as it went along, and the action towards the end was pretty damn cool. The violence wasn't as hard to take when it's the bad guys that are being killed, in fact, it's kind of fun to watch.

The acting was really bad for awhile, and then it didn't bother me as much after awhile. At first it was really hard not to notice. It seemed like the actors were reading right from the script. Especially in one scene early on with Bale's character talking to some other guy. That scene really stands out to me as being poorly acted. But then once I got more into the movie, I didn't notice it as much.

For awhile my rating for this movie was in the 3/10 range, but then I got more into it, despite some scenes being hard to watch. Even with the very cruel nature of the film, I ended up really "enjoying" (about as much as it can be enjoyed) it. I almost feel ashamed for ending up liking this movie, but I can't deny that I did, no matter how much I would like to.

Grade: 7/10 (B)

[The Delfonics]

Wow Mike, I cant believe you found this movie disturbing. I bet its your animal lover side and the dog scene got to you. Otherwise its a flash action flick. And they didnt kill the dog, he made it out nice and safe :) as for the others, they didnt show em :) If you wanna see a Christian Bale movie about revenge against people who hurt animals, I recommend All the Little Animals, heartwarming.

[Mike]

Originally posted by The Delfonics
Wow Mike, I cant believe you found this movie disturbing. I bet its your animal lover side and the dog scene got to you. Otherwise its a flash action flick. And they didnt kill the dog, he made it out nice and safe :) as for the others, they didnt show em :) If you wanna see a Christian Bale movie about revenge against people who hurt animals, I recommend All the Little Animals, heartwarming.

Yeah, it's mostly my animal lover side. I did get bothered by a lot of the non-stop killing of "innocent" people though. But then the scene with the puppy got to me even more. I know that they didn't show the dogs getting killed, but we could hear them and knowing it was going on bothered me. Plus, seeing that adorable puppy that they were supposed to kill really disturbed me. It was so fucking cute, and I didn't like how they were supposed to kill all of the animals. It didn't have to show much, my imagination filled in the blanks ;). As for All The Little Animals, that sounds good, if I can find it I think I will rent it. Thanks for the recommendation.

[PorcheRacer]

Originally posted by Mike
EQUILIBRIUM (2002)


Equilibrium is one terribly mean-spirited action movie. It's full of senseless and disturbing violence. Definitely one of the most mean-spirited movies I've seen in awhile. DAMN ME for liking it!

For awhile I found myself disgusted by this movie. It was uninteresting, extremely violent, and took itself so seriously that it could almost be laughable. Yet it's hard to laugh when countless innocent people and even more disturbingly----puppies, are being killed. Gee, how enjoyable :rolleyes:. This movie was just unbelievably cruel. But then I reluctantly started to get more and more interested as it went along, and the action towards the end was pretty damn cool. The violence wasn't as hard to take when it's the bad guys that are being killed, in fact, it's kind of fun to watch.

The acting was really bad for awhile, and then it didn't bother me as much after awhile. At first it was really hard not to notice. It seemed like the actors were reading right from the script. Especially in one scene early on with Bale's character talking to some other guy. That scene really stands out to me as being poorly acted. But then once I got more into the movie, I didn't notice it as much.

For awhile my rating for this movie was in the 3/10 range, but then I got more into it, despite some scenes being hard to watch. Even with the very cruel nature of the film, I ended up really "enjoying" (about as much as it can be enjoyed) it. I almost feel ashamed for ending up liking this movie, but I can't deny that I did, no matter how much I would like to.

Grade: 7/10 (B)

Glad you liked it Mike!

[SLAW]

Originally posted by Mike
EQUILIBRIUM (2002)


For awhile I found myself disgusted by this movie. It was uninteresting, extremely violent, and took itself so seriously that it could almost be laughable. Yet it's hard to laugh when countless innocent people and even more disturbingly----puppies, are being killed. Gee, how enjoyable :rolleyes:. This movie was just unbelievably cruel.

I just think it's funny that people like you that saw the movie assumed it all meant nothing. :D Yeah, absolutely senseless action.

So in other words: when you saw the innocent puppies and people killed, how did it make you feeeel? ;)

[Mike]

Originally posted by SLAW
I just think it's funny that people like you that saw the movie assumed it all meant nothing. :D Yeah, absolutely senseless action.

So in other words: when you saw the innocent puppies and people killed, how did it make you feeeel? ;)

The plot was just an excuse to show the senseless action. Sure, it made me feel, but so would a movie about someone murdering babies. It doesn't mean it's enjoyable. I didn't take the plot too seriously, and I don't think it all meant something GREAT and DEEP in the end. I just thought a lot of the violence was hard to find cool when it's countless innocent people (and some animals ;)) being killed. In something like The Matrix, the action was more "fun" and less hard to take. Some of the violence here didn't bother me, like in the end, but the earlier stuff did. It was almost like watching Schindler's List meets The Matrix or something. Other than that though, it did become a really interesting movie that I did like.

[EDsoulsurvive*]

an awesome movie to experience. To me watching Equilibrium for the first time was like discovering a big juicy secret that no one knows about. I still feel like that. Equilibrium is a moving (IMO) action film that was too good for its own good. Me thinks Dimension just got baffled by the fact that they actually had a good movie on there hands and crapped this thing out with Below (8/10). Anyway, I watched this with my friend who gave it a 7/10, told my dad about it and watched it with him. He was also blown away, a 10/10.

Needless to say, I loved this movie, it is a must-see for action fans. 9/10

[Scarface98.9]

I'm glad you "liked" the movie, Mike, although something seems a tad strange about your review. You mention how so many innocent people dying made you not like the action, and made you feel guilty, but didn't mind it in The Matrix? I find this strange since arguably, more innocents die in that movie than this one. The lobby scene has Neo and Trinity killing several probably-underpaid rent a cops after going through a metal detector, and they proceed to kill numerous guards for the rest of the building scenes. Additionally, untold numbers of people are killed in the Neo pursuit, and in the beginning when Trinity kills the out-of-their-league cops.

But in Equilibrium, Preston basically just kills unemotional, doggy-killing pricks, and for my money, you begin to root for him since the whole government system's made up of a bunch of scumbags. The only time when he kills good guys is at the beginning, and that can be excused because he hasn't gone through his "change" yet. BUT, I'm glad you liked it, despite the reservations

[SLAW]

Originally posted by Mike
The plot was just an excuse to show the senseless action. Sure, it made me feel, but so would a movie about someone murdering babies. It doesn't mean it's enjoyable. I didn't take the plot too seriously, and I don't think it all meant something GREAT and DEEP in the end. I just thought a lot of the violence was hard to find cool when it's countless innocent people (and some animals ;)) being killed. In something like The Matrix, the action was more "fun" and less hard to take. Some of the violence here didn't bother me, like in the end, but the earlier stuff did. It was almost like watching Schindler's List meets The Matrix or something. Other than that though, it did become a really interesting movie that I did like.

Scarface's post. The point is, the good guy was good. Paraphrasing what Bale described his character as on the DVD featurette, he isn't getting "off" on being violent, it's his only choice. If you could think of a better way for him to get out of that situation in "the Nether" with the officers, tell me. He (and your precious dog) would of been killed.

[Mike]

Originally posted by Scarface98.9
I'm glad you "liked" the movie, Mike, although something seems a tad strange about your review. You mention how so many innocent people dying made you not like the action, and made you feel guilty, but didn't mind it in The Matrix? I find this strange since arguably, more innocents die in that movie than this one. The lobby scene has Neo and Trinity killing several probably-underpaid rent a cops after going through a metal detector, and they proceed to kill numerous guards for the rest of the building scenes. Additionally, untold numbers of people are killed in the Neo pursuit, and in the beginning when Trinity kills the out-of-their-league cops.

But in Equilibrium, Preston basically just kills unemotional, doggy-killing pricks, and for my money, you begin to root for him since the whole government system's made up of a bunch of scumbags. The only time when he kills good guys is at the beginning, and that can be excused because he hasn't gone through his "change" yet. BUT, I'm glad you liked it, despite the reservations

It's been so long since I've seen The Matrix that I don't even remember all of the "innocent" people killed. However, in Equilibrium, the tone is more serious, and that's why I think it ended up bothering me more. But just so we're clear, I'm not talking about all of the unemotional bad guys, I'm talking about the people that weren't taking their "meds" to become unemotional. Those are the ones that I found hard to watch die. I could care less about the bad guys.


Originally posted by SLAW
Scarface's post. The point is, the good guy was good. Paraphrasing what Bale described his character as on the DVD featurette, he isn't getting "off" on being violent, it's his only choice. If you could think of a better way for him to get out of that situation in "the Nether" with the officers, tell me. He (and your precious dog) would of been killed.

Like I said in reply to Scareface, I'm not talking about the bad guys. I wasn't bothered one bit seeing them get killed. And the situation in "the Nether" with the guards didn't bother me at all. I didn't care when the bad guys were killed, it was actually fun to watch. They had it coming. I'm only talking about the "innocent" people.

[dh1989]

http://i.imdb.com/Photos/Ss/0238380/586-R.jpg

Synopsis: "In a fascist future where all forms of feeling are illegal, a man charged with enforcing the law rises to overthrow the system."

Equilibrium is a definitive sci-fi actioner. It mixes a great story, spectacular action, and solid acting and the final, winning mix is this film. It's exciting and smart. Every character feels right, and each serves an emotional purpose. Kurt Wimmer's a stylish filmmaker, as well. Overall, there's only one thing to say: Equilibrium has it all and it makes use of it all. An excellent film.

9/10

[Scarface98.9]

Originally posted by Mike
It's been so long since I've seen The Matrix that I don't even remember all of the "innocent" people killed. However, in Equilibrium, the tone is more serious, and that's why I think it ended up bothering me more. But just so we're clear, I'm not talking about all of the unemotional bad guys, I'm talking about the people that weren't taking their "meds" to become unemotional. Those are the ones that I found hard to watch die. I could care less about the bad guys.

Which innocent people are you referring to? The people at the beginning in the warehouse firing back at the cops? The rebels? I could see why then, although I still think The Matrix is a lot guiltyer at this crime than Equilibrium. This is kinda reminding me of that scene in Clerks where Randal is talking about all those innocent contractors dying in Return of the Jedi when the Death Star blow up

[Tuukka]

blim!

[Jim H]

Originally posted by Scarface98.9
Which innocent people are you referring to? The people at the beginning in the warehouse firing back at the cops? The rebels? I could see why then, although I still think The Matrix is a lot guiltyer at this crime than Equilibrium. This is kinda reminding me of that scene in Clerks where Randal is talking about all those innocent contractors dying in Return of the Jedi when the Death Star blow up

Lucas actually answered that thing, saying the guys making it were essentially bad guys. Funny, I bet Smith got a kick out of that.

[Mike]

Originally posted by Scarface98.9
Which innocent people are you referring to? The people at the beginning in the warehouse firing back at the cops? The rebels? I could see why then, although I still think The Matrix is a lot guiltyer at this crime than Equilibrium. This is kinda reminding me of that scene in Clerks where Randal is talking about all those innocent contractors dying in Return of the Jedi when the Death Star blow up

Yes, those are the "innocent" people I'm talking about. I don't remember The Matrix being as mean-spirited, and if it was, it just didn't rub me the wrong way like this one did. I still really liked this movie, but I found the action violence harder to take than in most movies. I just found it harsher here.

[Jim H]

Originally posted by Mike
Yes, those are the "innocent" people I'm talking about. I don't remember The Matrix being as mean-spirited, and if it was, it just didn't rub me the wrong way like this one did. I still really liked this movie, but I found the action violence harder to take than in most movies. I just found it harsher here.

Avoid Hard-Boiled like the plague.

[Scarface98.9]

Originally posted by Jim H
Lucas actually answered that thing, saying the guys making it were essentially bad guys. Funny, I bet Smith got a kick out of that.
Yea, I heard the commentary for AOTC where he answered it. So now the eternal question has been solved.

Avoid Hard-Boiled like the plague.

I have a feeling he would anyways since the movie requires subtitles. For an American counterpart with a lot of innocent deaths, that isn't as violence-glorifying as The Matrix, I'd recommend he stay away from Ronin

[PorcheRacer]

Originally posted by Scarface98.9
I have a feeling he would anyways since the movie requires subtitles. For an American counterpart with a lot of innocent deaths, that isn't as violence-glorifying as The Matrix, I'd recommend he stay away from Ronin

To Mike's credit, he actually doesn't mind subtitled movies these days.

[Jim H]

Originally posted by Scarface98.9
Yea, I heard the commentary for AOTC where he answered it. So now the eternal question has been solved.



I have a feeling he would anyways since the movie requires subtitles. For an American counterpart with a lot of innocent deaths, that isn't as violence-glorifying as The Matrix, I'd recommend he stay away from Ronin

The dub is so funny it's worth seeing on its own. Chow Yun-fat sounds like John Wayne.

[codese7en]

i can't believe this movie didn't get a lot of publicity. it seemed like a possible box office hit.

[Golden Badtz]

EQUILIBRIUM - 2003
Christian Bale - Taye Diggs - Emily Watson

OK, so here's the deal, we have a great movie, great action sequences, no bullet time however but on so many levels superior to all the CGI/stuntmen action sequences from The Matrix, great actors but this film didn't get any credit.

We were reading 1984 in English class followed by the 1984 film, so I went online for my research about the film/book and found an article about Equilibrium as a movie with the Big Brother twist attached to it.
I then searched for the trailer, saw it and found it pretty amusing, decided to see it in theatres, but the thing is that, I never got to see it, I missed it, I didn't even know it already was out until like 2 weeks ago when I went to the video store to rent 28 Days Later and there I saw the movie.
My reaction was like "wtf??" so I went on IMDB, the movie had a score of 7.9/10 and on rt.com is had 30%.
So, who was right? I ripped to movie off iMesh and watched it yesterday.

I have to say that the film was great music, a good score that goes well with the context. The CGI for Liberia is actually AWFULL, its fun to watch but it's too CGIish. Sean Bean wasn't got a big role, however for Bale, after Empire Of The Sun and Equilibrium I started to really like the guy (fingers crossed for it to go well on the Batman 5 set), Diggs, I always loved the guy especially after Go.

The story is OK, it's got its limits, it doesn't go off too unrealistic or too realistic. The fights scenes on so many levels are cooler than the ones in The Matrix, I mean that fight when Preston frees the puppy, and it was brilliant.

The fight are really the film's strongest scenes, the end is wonderfully crafted, this movie is comparable to John Carpenter's The Thing, they both bombed at the box office but will both be appreciated in the future.

My score for Equilibrium is 8/10

[Scarface98.9]

Originally posted by PorcheRacer
To Mike's credit, he actually doesn't mind subtitled movies these days.
That's good. Although if Equilibrium made him squirm when innocents were mowed down, he'd have a heart attack during Hard Boiled. I finally saw it yesterday, and saw why it was so notoriously gory

[LedFloyd]

I didn't love Equilibrium, but I did think it was a briskly paced, emotionally satisfying sci-fi shootemup that suffered from the lack of originality. IMO, it steals (or borrows) from several other similar flicks before it. I still give it a 7/10.

[Jim H]

Originally posted by Scarface98.9
That's good. Although if Equilibrium made him squirm when innocents were mowed down, he'd have a heart attack during Hard Boiled. I finally saw it yesterday, and saw why it was so notoriously gory

Yeah, Anthony Wong's attitude: if you get in my way, I kill you. LITERALLY. I mean, people in wheelchairs - WTF?

[Sinncere]

Equilibrium (2002)

Christian Bale - John Preston
Emily Watson - Mary O'Brien
Taye Diggs - Brandt
Sean Bean - Partridge
William Fichtner - Jurgen

Written and Directed by Kurt Wimmer



Synopsis:

After surviving 3 World Wars, mankind has found a method to suppress all human emotions through a developed drug taken in regular intervals, thus inhibiting imbalance in the spectrum of human emotions, which has been proven to play an important role in civil and global conflicts - "man's inhumanity to man."

John Preston is a Tetra-Grammaton Cleric, the highest of the Grammaton echelons whose sole purpose is to maintain the harmonious and peaceful existence of Libria and eradicate the resistance of its system. A poster-boy for "Father's" Grammaton Clergy, Preston is a clock-work servant of the system until a string of events trigger "feelings" inside him.



Sinncere's review:

Gun-kata!

Ok, first of all, I want to pitch my 2 cents in terms of an attempt at marketing this gem of a B-movie (yes, I firmly believe that this falls in that genre). If I remember correctly, there's a quote on the front of the box from another reviewer claiming that with this movie you can "forget about The Matrix!" See, I would agree that if any movie were to be mentioned in the same breath with the 1st Matrix that it is a compliment, especially if the former "surpasses" the latter (note: "more fun..."). However in this case, I feel it's more detrimental than beneficial. Though the 1st "Matrix" did not have as big of a budget as its sequels, it had substantially more resources than the production of "Equilibrium." "Equilibrium" runs a parallel path movie-wise as "The Matrix" did, but because of their technical differences, their roads are miles apart. I guess it's easy to compare the two, seeing as "The Matrix" was a suprise blockbuster without hype, and "Equilibrium" I consider a sleeper hit in the B-movie world. So I think that both movies tread the line that divides the two classes.

The two movies do have significant similarities in that casting have assembled a solid ensemble of actors, and the writer(s)/director(s) successfully infused intricate plot with dynamic themes. Whereas "The Matrix" infused philosophies in consciousness/reality with exciting martial arts, "Equilibrium" meshed philosophies in regards to human emotions with a "new" style of action. (note: Writer/Director Kurt Wimmer developed the concept for "gun-kata," a technique learned by the Grammaton Clerics for using firearms.)

In short, ignore the comparisons to the classic "Matrix" (Yes! It's a classic! It's futile to refute!) and watch this movie with a fresh slate.

Now, on with the movie review.



Sinncere's review: (really!)

"Brave New World." Sound familiar? If it does, then you've just grasped a significant context of what "Equilibrium" is about. Now infuse that with said "dynamic" action-theme and what do you get?

A kick-ass action sci-fi flick with imagination!

This movie is perfectly balanced in terms "extensiveness" for both the philosphical side of the story, and the action scenes of the movie. To elaborate, the action sequences are intense in their own respect that they are enough (if not more than) to justify the lengths and depths of the dialogue-scenes. For a B-movie, the CGI is ambitious but were used mostly for the cityscape of the metropolis more than anything else (The director knew well enough to use budgetary constraints to his advantage). The emotional theme of the story is not as difficult to understand or relate in comparison with consciousness or logical-themed plots. Since emotion cannot be measured and is not a knowledge exclusive to "in-tuned" viewers, connection is achieved through "feeling" more than "understanding." Bluntly put, unless you're a robot, you shouldn't have a hard time understanding what the writer is trying to convey.

The actors. Well, what can I say? A list of accomplished actors in a B-movie reminds movie-nuts like me that there is still a circle of thespians that believes in making a movie based on its creativity instead of its purse. Christian Bale (American Psycho, Reign of Fire), Emily Watson (Punch-Drunk Love, Red Dragon), Taye Diggs (Way of the Gun, How Stella Got Her Groove Back), and Sean Bean (Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring) are just some of the actors involved in this sleeper project. Bale shows his versatility by playing a demented homicidal maniac in "American Psycho," a role which definitely needed portrayal of various human emotions, to a highly-trained and lethal Tetra-Grammaton Cleric devoid of emotion in this movie. When the time came that his character "re-discovers" the act of feeling, how convenient for the director to have Bale successfully show the transition. Most of the characters played by the other actors/actresses merely provided emotional "fountains" for Bale's character to drink from. This whole movie is centered on Bale's character, John Preston. I tip my hat to the supporting actors/actresses though. With what little they did they provided substantial essence to Preston's story.

Now to my favorite aspect of the film: the action! Kurt Wimmer must've felt like a kid that was handed a key to a warehouse filled with blank canvas and access to all the creative tools he can get. This movie does not revolutionize the action genre, but pioneers a respectable and entertaining new form of action. We all know that firearms are lethal weapons as shown in various cinematic gunfights. "Equilibrium," however, side steps to a different platform and improvises the concept of "gunfights." What do I mean? Mix one-part martial arts to one part gunfights and what do you get?

Gun-kata.

Scenes exploiting this creative development of Wimmer himself are fun to watch and will most likely guarantee a tranced reaction from you, complimented by the occasional "whoa!" Want to see a "sword-fight" with guns? Watch this movie. Particularly the sequence between Preston and Dupont.

All in all, I've come to a revelation that the best thing about a B-movie is this: whenever a feeble attempt surfaces, it's forgivable, considering it's a B-movie. But any successful attempt to astound is compounded by the fact that, hey, it's a B-movie! Equilibrium is a fun movie to watch that serves a healthy platter for both action maniacs and story-driven movie aficionados.

But oh, I'd salivate at the thought of adapting this movie in the big-budget genre.

Gun-kata!



Sinncere's favorite sequence:

It's so obvious how much I adore practically every action sequence in this movie (kick-ass!!). But for my money, I'm choosing the flashback sequence involving Preston and his wife (it's the only one).

That sequence was syrupy-slick.



© Dennis Dumapias

[bigred760]

This is a good sci-fi movie, but not great. The movie's a bit slow and redundant in some parts, but the action and Christian Bale make up for a lot of it. The final action scenes are really cool but the action scenes are few and far between. Most of the time it's Christian Bale going through the crisis of wanting to learn more about feelings in a futuristic society that has outlawed them. Bale is good, like I said, but some of the scenes are a bit redudant. Good action scenes, good story but not enough development.

7/10

[Dragonz4eva]

I really liked this film not sure why really liked the story and how it was told and yes it was little like matrix in the style that is was made but hey why not the first film was good! i neva got to see this movie in the vinema as it was gone b4 got chance but bought it on dvd and really liked it, its good a good style to it! well thats wat i think anyway ! :rolleyes: