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Equilibrium (2002)

Posted By: Someonelse
Date: 16 Jun 2011 12:17:34
Equilibrium (2002)

Equilibrium (2002)
1080p BluRay Rip | MKV | 1920 x 820 | DTS 5.1 @ 1510 Kbps | 01:47:02 | 15,03 Gb
Lang: English + 2 Commentary tracks | Subs: English, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Russian, Spanish, Swedish
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi | USA

A man who dares to feel finds his life in danger in this cautionary science fiction drama. In the future, after a Third World War has decimated much of the Earth's population, a new nation known as Libria rises up under the unquestioned leadership of Dupont (Angus MacFadyen). Believing human emotions and their expression were to blame for the failings of past societies, The Father has decreed that all citizens must take a daily dose of Prozia II, a drug which levels out the emotional landscape, and that all forms of creative expression are against the law; violating either regulation can be punished by death. John Preston (Christian Bale) is a Grammaton, an elite law enforcement officer who tracks down and punishes "sense offenders." One day, Preston accidentally fails to take his Prozia II, and for the first time begins experiencing emotions himself. Preston becomes aware of an underground of rebels who refuse to take their medication and have embraced art and literature, and he finds himself becoming infatuated with one of their number, Mary O'Brian (Emily Watson).

Equilibrium is the second feature-length directorial effort from Kurt Wimmer, whose screenwriting credits include The Thomas Crown Affair and Sphere.

IMDB

I went in to see "Equilibrium" with no knowledge of the movie other than a two line synopsis from a local newspaper and the movie poster in the theater lobby. As usual, I was practicing my theory of "lowered expectations." I expect a movie to be horribly awful ahead of time, so I can not be disappointed. I was not disappointed. At the end of the film I could not sit still in my seat. I felt the urge to go out into the world and proclaim the utter awesomeness of "Equilibrium." Such words as "Sweet," "Crazy," and "Righteous" sprang forth from my lips in rapid succession when I talked about the movie with my friends. Not since the "Fellowship of the Ring" have I desired to sing a movie's praises. And I mean literally SING. "Equilibrium" could, and should, be the sleeper hit of the year. The film's action sequences stir up the blood and pump the adrenaline as if you were riding a roller-coaster. The art style, while minimalistic, and thus maybe confused for low-budget by some, is actually quite successful in portraying a totalitarian and emotionless society. The acting is excellent as well, and quite possibly the best I have seen in an action film in long time. While the nay-sayers will say that the film is too unoriginal, borrowing elements of its story and premise from "Fahrenheit 451" and "Brave New World," these complaints can be disregarded as the movie adds enough of its own style and story to make the comparisons plausible in basic premise only. In the end, like any movie, "Equilibrium" is meant as entertainment. And entertain it does. It does it so very well. It mixes action and with substantial plot and original style to make an excellent whole. Go see it. Go see it twice. Go see "Equilibrium," Cleric.
IMDB Reviewer,
376 of 475 people found this review helpful.
Equilibrium (2002)

For action movie fans, it's rare to find a film that has anything on it's mind other than trying to out-explode the biggest and latest brainless romp in the theaters. With director Kurt Wimmer's Equilibrium, audiences were given a little more to chew on, deliberately echoing Orwell's 1984, with touches of Brave New World and Fahrenheit 451 just to be safe. While some scoured at the heavy-handedness of the science fiction material and the lack of originality in the ideas, those who stayed were treated to one of the freshest films in a now-tired genre. By inventing a fighting technique known as "Gun-Kata," the filmmakers created an excuse for filmgoers to buy into some of the most stylish, fun, and kinetic gun battles this side of Hong Kong cinema. Far too easily compared with The Matrix, this low-budgeter relies on virtually no wire-work and instead turns the focus onto the play of light, well-staged choreography, and fierce editing as its main filmmaking allies. It's surprising then that some of the film's best moments are the most quiet ones. Christian Bale's awakening to the senses he's been taught and bred to ignore is note-perfect and the most memorable of the film. With equally strong performances from the rest of the cast and gorgeous art design surrounding them, Equilibrium deserved more of a chance than its studio, Dimension, originally gave it upon release. And while the ideas it embraced admittedly weren't the most original, they are timeless and strong enough to be reexamined and interpreted every so often by artists such as these. Exciting, beautiful, and filled with probably more intelligence than it should have, Equilibrium is the thing that cult classics are made of.
Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi
Equilibrium (2002)

"In the first years of the 21st century, a third World War broke out. Those of us who survived knew mankind could never survive a fourth; that our own volatile natures could simply no longer be risked. So we have created a new arm of the law: The Grammaton Cleric, whose sole task it is to seek out and eradicate the true source of man's inhumanity to man - his ability to feel." First Lines…Dupont.

Welcome to the dystopic future, where all of man's problems have been solved by the elimination of the root cause of all human conflict; emotion. The populace is modulated by Prozium, which eliminates the banes of anger, sorrow, lust and joy. While chemical restraint is the first line of defense, the second is the elimination of all that might elicit an emotional response; art, music, literature, pets.

Equilibrium (2002)

John Preston (Christian Bale) is one of the top ranked Grammaton Clerics, skilled in Gun Kata, and at detecting emotional responses, perhaps even predicting them. His partner, Partridge (Sean Bean) falls to the seduction of sensation, and it is Preston who brings him down, dispassionately. That is the way he handled his wife's arrest and execution for Sense Crime. However, a single missed dose and Preston begins to see the world in a new way.

That is not when he fell from grace; no, it was when he did not take the next dose as a conscious decision. Now he is in an interesting position, a keeper of the social order, breaking their primary law, surrounded by people who are trained to detect what he is doing. In the course of his duties, he captures Mary O'Brian (Emily Watson), a woman of deep passions, with an extensive collection of forbidden articles. He finds her…compelling.

Equilibrium (2002)

As he searches deeper into the underground, he is more and more seduced by the forbidden emotions. And at the same time, he finds himself in the same unenviable position that he placed Partridge in; his new partner, Brandt (Taye Diggs) is beginning to look at him with a professional eye.

As I was watching this, I was struck with the liberal and deliberate theft from other works. You can see great themes from 1984, Brave New World and Fahrenheit 451. The action is stolen from a John Woo flick. Even real world history his used; the symbol of Libria, a cross of ‘T's is visually reminiscent of the swastika, made from the truncated cross of Brave New World's T for Henry Ford's Model T.

Equilibrium (2002)

The contrast between the world of white, black and grey that the new world order has adopted, with minimalist lines contrasts sharply with the floral patterns and artistic clutter of the Underground's repositories, that resemble nothing so much as a flea market.

At first, I was off put by these tricks and devices that have been used before, but then I was reminded of another Sci Fi favorite where Mr. Data, the Android crew man of the Enterprise , was pursuing his career as a musician. Replicating every nuance of classic performances, it was questionable if he was actually creating art. But in choosing whose bow technique and whose tonal control and tempo he copied, and by mixing and matching disparate styles, he created something new, even while copying the works of others.

Equilibrium (2002)

That is what we have here. This is an action movie. At a body count of 236, 118 of them dead by Preston 's hand, he has the third highest personal body count in movie history. And yet, there is a good deal of thought, philosophy and dire warning hiding in the subtext of this movie. And it does it underhanded in the background, avoiding preaching, and being more effective thereby.

This combination of extreme violence, slick production, intelligent plot and excellent acting (Bale is an excellent emotional minimalist) makes this an excellent movie. Severely underappreciated, I recommend it as a film, and a cautionary tale.
Epinions.com
Equilibrium (2002)

Commentary tracks:
#1 - Commentary Track with Director Kurt Wimmer
#2 - Commentary Track with Director Kurt Wimmer and Producer Lucas Foster
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