Equilibrium

Finally got around to seeing this last week. Due to its high IMDb rating and some strong reviews I went in expecting a Sci-Fi film that had some strong political messages and social critiques, high-end special effects, a solid cast, great actions scenes, and a solid story to support the nature of the film. I got two and a half of the five. The political messages and social critiques were fairly strong, but at times they came on a little too strong, as if they were attempting to convince the viewer "Now this is really bad... see, see? They even kill puppies!" The premise is fairly interesting: dealing with the absence of emotion and how it would affect the populace. Unfortunately, I saw it as unbelievable. In a Sci-Fi film you can forgive a lot of unbelievability as long as something in reality supports it. For instance, outlandish technology can be balanced by a solid and/or original plot, a ridiculous plot balanced by relatable and familiar characters, and so on. Equilibrium didn't ... Read more

im glad i wasnt the only one who saw the influences from many great writers in this movie. this movie didnt make me jump up and shout, it didnt complete my life, it wasnt the best thing to ever happen to me. it did as it intended to do, told a story of a grim future. almost a future-shock film not unlke stanley kubrick's a clockwork orange, just without the accents and derby hats. as for the naysayers, could you have written this good of a movie around guns and a puppy? i think not. haha

Equilibrium is a cross between George Orwell's 1984 and the Matrix. This sounds awesome, I know - sadly, it wasn't quite that good. The storyline is this - in an effort to eliminate war, all human emotion is banned by an all powerful government. Everyone is medicated, art and music banned, and a super race of law enforcement is trained to eliminate the resistance. (Again, this is sounding really good, but it's not that good.) Where the movie fails is in too much Matrix copying. The special effect heavy fight scenes were pulled right from the Matrix, and even though I enjoy a good rip off from time to time, this was over the top. And as good as the story sounds, it was told too bluntly. There wasn't a lot of complexity here. Not a bad movie, but not a good one.

was this film some sort of joke? it was crap the fighting mad me laugh, the whole setup was stupid. dont see this please do yourself a favour!!

The main character ruled them all. He killed like 50 people over a puppy, if thats not awesome I don't know what is. His Gunfu was strong.

To say that Equilibrium was under-marketed is an understatement and then some. This film is above and beyond the best of the countless attempts to paint a picture of a nightmarish, fascist future hell. It borrows from a variety of sources, but still manages to throw all of its influences into a work that is truly greater than the sum of its parts. The Prozium is a modernized version of the Soma from Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World," the burning of all art is reminiscent of "Fahrenheit 451," and the constant fear of being reported to the authorities for feeling is taken directly from George Orwell's "1984." But perhaps the best way to describe Equilibrium is to mix "Brave New World," "1984," and "Fahrenheit 451" with "Bladerunner" and "The Matrix." But still, Equilibrium manages to make all these elements its own, making this film a must see. Besides, Christian Bale is the man. "American Psycho," anyone?

This was sadly a very under-marketed movie, kind of like a little-known secret. If you like movies in the genre of "The Matrix", this may interest you. (Likewise, if you didn't like "Matrix", chances are, this isn't for you). It has a very surreal feel to it, and its concepts and philosophical background is quite interesting. It's a very interesting (and exaggerated--this is a Sci-Fi movie, please remember that) commentary on some pharmaceutical drugs on the market. Oh, and the fight scenes are choreographed beautifully, but are kind of brief. They also seemed to have a few scenes ripped straight from the Matrix (if you watch it, you'll know what I'm talking about). May be worth renting if you enjoy the Matrix.

My husband saw this, and when I asked how he liked it, he shrugged. I think that counts as a '3'.