Equilibrium | Christian Bale, David Barrash | An Entertaining Adrenaline Ride

Equilibrium | Christian Bale, David Barrash | Simply put, this is a good movie!

DVDs:

Equilibrium

	Equilibrium Christian Bale, David Barrash Dimension, 2003 average customer review:based on 554 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

An Entertaining Adrenaline Ride

OK, we've seen this type of movie before. The oppressive future governments ruling with violence and without remorse fighting against rebels wanting to be free. Equilibrium does this style of movie so much better. How? I hear you ask. With the help of Christian Bale. My review will be in three different stages. They are the story, the characters (or character) and the review which is just my opinion on the whole thing.

The Story: In the beginning of the 21st century, World War Three ravages the Earth and almost obliterates mankind. The few survivors realise that a fourth world war would mean the end of mankind once and for all. The world is taken over by "The Father" and his Tetragrammaton government. The father believes that the cause for WW3 was human feeling and in order to prevent that it must be eradicated. They have created "prozium" which is a medication that prevents feeling. But they must also locate and destroy every piece of art, music and other such items that would cause a human to feel. John Preston is a high ranking Grammaton Cleric and is on the front line when bringing "sense offenders" to justice. The only problem is that one day when accidentally smashing one of his prozium injections, he starts to feel. Feeling is the only thing that makes us human and Preston seeks to destroy the government that is destroying basic humanity.

The Character: John Preston is played by Christian Bale, and I must say the character is portrayed superbly. John Preston is a man who has no emotion and is dedicated to the cause of the Grammaton. He's so dedicated that he even allowed his wife to be executed for being a "sense offender." Preston also executed his partner and friend for being a "sense offender." This goes to show you the ruthlessness of Preston when he believes in his cause. The interesting part of him, however, is when he goes through the transformation of being completely emotionless to feeling things for the very first time.
He begins to dream of his wife, he begins to seek out art and music in the pursuit of emotional stimulation. Seeing him develop and seeing Bale pull it off is what makes this film tremendous.

The Review: When I first started watching this film I thought it would just bore the life out of me and I almost switched it off about 10 minutes in. This is simply due to it starting off as completely emotionless, sure the action's cool but without character emotion you're not getting much more than the odd gun fight. The film truly comes alive with the transformation of Christian Bales character. His acting ability really shines when he has to display a character experiencing emotions for the very first time.
The film is dark and at times haunting at us being reminded that such a totalitarian government could come to fruition in the near future. Until that time comes we have this film to tide us over. The action scenes are really intense and something this film holds unique to what has become quite a cliché sub genre. The supporting cast also do their job in holding their own with such a talented actor.
It's an enjoyable movie all round and I think everyone will enjoy it. It takes a while to get started but once it does it becomes something very special.

for more information click here

Simply put, this is a good movie!

Equilibrium is a science-fiction movie about a universally-used drug that squelches emotions and the terminator-type character who stops taking it. Though, the story seems simple enough, Christian Bale (from Batman Begins) does some spectacular acting in this one and you can't help but hold your breath or cheer him on as the hero begins to realize what he has been fighting against all of his life. The graphics and score are also very nice, and help to carry the movie smoothly from one scene to the next, making this an enjoyable film even for those who think little of sci-fi movies to begin with (like I do). Simply put, this is a good movie!

for more information click here

Great film

I hadn't even heard of this movie until I saw the V.A.S.T. video on YouTube for the movie. I was amazed and have to buy it.

The film is good, very different indeed...definitely a Christian Bale sort of movie. I highly recommend it - the gun fights are crazy! Not only that, but the story line is great too.

An Amusing Mixture of Styles and Stories

One of the previous reviewers wonders how this got by him (and by a lot of us). Box Office Mojo says that the film's widest release was 301 theaters, and that it took in about $5.4 million world-wide, so it didn't get a lot of exposure. I doubt that it returned the investiment either (though IMDB trivia says otherwise).

This is a workmanlike film, with everybody involved giving it their best shot (with the exception of the music which sounds to me like bits left over from 1996's Broken Arrow). The script is a genetic stew of chunks of The Matrix, 1984, Blade Runner, Fist of the North Star, and a parade of B and C films where the hero starts out as one of the trusted bad guys and gradually turns to the Resistance or the Revolution or a sexy Replicant, maybe.

Apparently, World War III erupted early in the 21st century. This film was released in February, 2003, according to IMDB, so I guess there's still time for things to happen in the early 21st century. Think 'Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome' where the MC guy says '...killing got to warring, and that was almost the end of us all.' In this world vision, negative emotion is deemed the plague that must be eliminated. The survivors all take 'Prozium' which suppresses emtion both negative and positive. As the man from Missouri said, 'That's a tough cob.' Bale is John Preston,a Cleric, one of the quasi-religious police who ferret out and take down people who insist on having feelings, which seem to be associated with old paintings and rooms full of 20th century bric-a-brac. His first partner (Sean Bean) goes over to the light side early on (think Agent D from 'Men in Black'), and Preston winds up with a new partner, the openly devious and suspicious Brandt (Taye Diggs). Much action ensues, as Preston stops taking his Prozium (didn't Richard Corben do a graphic story where everyone took a brain pill and a bod pill?).

If you're a devotee of these post-apocalytic action things, you will probably find this film interesting. There are some well-stage fight scenes, particularly toward the end as Preston fights someone who has had the same training as himself. Equilibrium is not going to make you forget The Matrix, though, certainly not the first of the trilogy (Matrix II and III are forgetable without any outside help).

If you've read Robert Heinlein's "If This Goes On--" (aka Revolt in 2100), Equilibrium will seem very familiar to you. Most of the forward momentum in this film is quite predictable, but I have to admit I wound up rooting for the 'sense offenders' rather than the anti-feeling Clerics (though the film cheats, allowing the supposed cold-natured anti-feelers to get happy, upset and even angry).

Christian Bale and Taye Diggs are more than serviceable, and look for a nice performance by Angus MacFadyen (Robert the Bruce from Braveheart). Plus, I'm still getting over Emily Watson's eyes!

If it sounds like I'm trying to have it both ways, I am. It's really a forgettable film for the general audience, but for sci-fi devotees it should not be missed.

for more information click here

More borrowed elements than I can name, but still a decent action flick

I enjoyed this film, but make no mistake - it is a popcorn film, so take it for what it's worth.

Not even being an avid film or literary buff, I could name half a dozen other films or books this movie borrows from - the action (the Matrix), premise of thought police (Orwell's "1984"), mood control (Dick's "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep") and even the final scene (Fight Club).

The biggest problem for me is the premise itself as I found it somewhat difficult to believe - the idea that to eliminate the threat of war, society has been reduced to the point where they all consciously (though under law) sedate themselves, lest they "feel", which is punishable by death with no due process or trial. I had a difficult time taking scenes seriously where cops are raiding warehouses where stereotypical thugs are moving illegal goods such as...paintings? Lamps? Trinkets? I guess Wimmer needed some physical representation for people being guilty of "feeling", but these types of notions just seemed like reaching for straws.

Being such a far-fetched reality is problematic is more ways than just the suspension of disbelief of the viewer - it also makes it nearly impossible for the actors to remain true to the premise. There are times when the authoritative figures themselves show emotions of happiness, satisfaction, or anger. It really seems more like a drug that eliminates all GOOD feelings, not ALL feelings. This is also consistent with how the law is upheld.

I felt the above problems could be solved in one of two ways:

1. Set in an obviously DISTANT future. This is how the Matrix sells the idea of us being "batteries" in a completely dystopia earth. Yes, Equilibrium is clearly set in the future, but there is little to suggest that it isn't near future. There's really no futuristic technology, so again, the idea of "feeling" being illegal (something that makes up our very essence) is just too far fetched for most viewers.

2. The other means of fixing it would be to have set the entire thing on an alien planet with an alien race. In my opinion, this would have been the best setting as it takes away from our innate rejection of such a premise and ultimately, a more original idea.

Even given the above complaints, the film has great production value. Wimmer does a nice job of putting you in this world. I felt the pacing was good and it was as well acted as one could hope under the film's premise. There were moments that did their job, such as several "crossroads" scenes, where Bale's character is put on the spot, between a rock and a hard place and you hold your breath wondering what he'll do.

In the end, if you're looking for a decent sci-fi futuristic action flick, this is certainly worth a viewing. If you're a film stickler and bent on original content, or something overly cerebral, it's probably a pass.

for more information click here