Equilibrium is yet another entry in Christian Bale's film canon that was either direct to dvd or limited theatrical release that many of us slept on, and shouldn't have.
Equilibrium was released direct to dvd in 2002 amongst the Matrix explosion and fanaticism. Because of this fervor and the similar themes and action both films share, I believe the film was green lighted but when produced the distributor probably guessed it would die at the box office for the same reasons it was green lighted in the first place.
This particular vision of the future sees the human race controlled by a pharmaceutical substance that removes our emotions. Because of this lack of emotional awareness there is no violence, hatred, war, but there is also no love or joy. Christian Bale plays an enforcer of this rule, employed to destroy all resistance to the new rule, including burning books and any work of art as well as killing any dissenters. He misses a dose of the anti-emotion drug and starts to feel and realizes he has been wrong all along and fights alongside the resistance.
The film has similar themes, though handled differently as well as highly choreographed fight scenes, once again handled differently. Having given the film five years to view it after it's initial release allows me to objectively view the film, rather then directly compare it to The Matrix. My verdict? Pretty dang good. I personally appreciate any Orwellian sci-fi references because I personally believe that big government totalitarianism spells doom for freedom of expression. Equilibrium is right up my alley. My only complaint is that some of the action sequences are sloppily choreographed which makes them seem comical rather then dramatic or fun. I could have done completely without the action in fact and I believe the film would have stood up better.
In the end the film's biggest downfall is being released at the wrong time. This film would have been a huge hit today and any Matrix comparisons would be just plain silly.
Overall - 7/10
Equilibrium was released direct to dvd in 2002 amongst the Matrix explosion and fanaticism. Because of this fervor and the similar themes and action both films share, I believe the film was green lighted but when produced the distributor probably guessed it would die at the box office for the same reasons it was green lighted in the first place.
This particular vision of the future sees the human race controlled by a pharmaceutical substance that removes our emotions. Because of this lack of emotional awareness there is no violence, hatred, war, but there is also no love or joy. Christian Bale plays an enforcer of this rule, employed to destroy all resistance to the new rule, including burning books and any work of art as well as killing any dissenters. He misses a dose of the anti-emotion drug and starts to feel and realizes he has been wrong all along and fights alongside the resistance.
The film has similar themes, though handled differently as well as highly choreographed fight scenes, once again handled differently. Having given the film five years to view it after it's initial release allows me to objectively view the film, rather then directly compare it to The Matrix. My verdict? Pretty dang good. I personally appreciate any Orwellian sci-fi references because I personally believe that big government totalitarianism spells doom for freedom of expression. Equilibrium is right up my alley. My only complaint is that some of the action sequences are sloppily choreographed which makes them seem comical rather then dramatic or fun. I could have done completely without the action in fact and I believe the film would have stood up better.
In the end the film's biggest downfall is being released at the wrong time. This film would have been a huge hit today and any Matrix comparisons would be just plain silly.
Overall - 7/10
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