Equilibrium (2002)
Starring: Dominic Purcell, Christian Bale, Sean Bean, Christian Kahrmann, John Keogh (I), Sean Pertwee, William Fichtner, Angus MacFadyen, David Barrash, Dirk Martens (I), Taye Diggs, Matthew Harbour, Maria Pia Calzone, Emily Siewert, Emily Watson
Director: Kurt Wimmer
Running Time: 107 minutes
US MPAA rating: N/AUK BBFC rating: 15
Action, Science Fiction, Thriller
Imagine a place with no feeling or warmth, a place where no-one laughs or smiles, a place where the people are cold-hearted and without emotion. Now stop thinking about Dundee and turn your attentions to the nation of Libria, the fictional location of the unoriginal piece of sci-fi tosh that is Equilibrium.
In this dark totalitarian land, emotions are against the law and, just to make sure nobody sneaks a fly grin, everyone's made to take a daily dosage of mood-killing drugs. 'Sense offenders' are tracked down and exterminated lickety-split by 'The Grammaton Cleric', a new arm of the law who'll more than probably bore such offenders to death should they run out of bullets.
Starring as the high-ranking law enforcer John Preston, Christian Bale effectively performs a spot-on impression of Keanu Reeves in The Matrix, right down to the long coat, FX-aided fighting skills and monotone drawl. When Preston misses his medication one day, he suddenly turns into the sensitive type and starts listening to Beethoven, re-arranging his desk ornaments and feeling a bit icky at the sight of blood. He even starts driving around with a puppy in the boot of his car, such is the complete and utter stupidity of this heap of nonsense.
The film borrows constantly from sci-fi classics of the past, but quite impressively fails to either build on or live up to any of them. We're supposed to side with Preston's struggle as he develops into a tender, loving 'new man' - yet he manages to make just enough time, between sniffing perfume from a red ribbon and lying on the pavement weeping, to slaughter his workmates and cut his partner's face off with a machete.
It's Got: Brian 'It's a puppet' Conley in an inexplicable cameo.
It Needs: To dump the preachy, perma-serious approach and inject some degree of originality.
Alternatives: The Matrix, 1984, Blade Runner, Soylent Green
Summary: Laughably bad sci-fi noir.
Review by Gary Panton
Review Date: 5th January 2003
External Links
Equilibrium at the IMDB
Comments9 Comments |
| you suck |
| Comment by:- Anonymous | | 23 August 2004 | ip: logged |
| You really really suck this movie is great... |
| Comment by:- Anonymous | | 05 September 2004 | ip: logged |
| you got problems if u don't like dis movie |
| Comment by:- Anonymous | | 26 September 2004 | ip: logged |
| You are a retard, the movie is pure class & word to your mother. |
| Comment by:- Anonymous | | 09 October 2004 | ip: logged |
| this movie is even better than the second part of Matrix. This movie is better than u wrote about it! |
| Comment by:- Anonymous | | 10 October 2004 | ip: logged |
| Although similarities exist between this feature and other films such as Farenheit 451 and The Matrix, I felt the film did a good job of showing a dark, possible future devoid of human interactions and emotions. The fact that this state of being is brought on by the Governmental issuance of a Prozaic-like drug, which placates everyone, and keeps their emotions in check, smacks of present-day. The Directing was very good, with some high-tech special effects that didn't get in the way of the story line. Makes you think - what if? Recommended for realistic Sci-Fi fans! |
| Comment by:- Anonymous | | 09 November 2004 | ip: logged |
| do people like that exist |
| Comment by:- Anonymous | | 18 November 2004 | ip: logged |
| damn, that movie is realy good ... u are a fool, people like that^**** me of! |
| Comment by:- Anonymous | | 06 December 2004 | ip: logged |
| After reading a few movie reviews on this site, I am already supremely confident that your writers are compiled from elitist critics of whom the general public so bitterly despises. Get off your high horses, films are made for different audiences, and your tastes are sorely too exclusive to influence movie-goers. |
| Comment by:- Anonymous | | 13 December 2004 | ip: logged |
