This film passed under my SciFi radar so when I watched Equilibrium (2002) the other evening I had no idea what to expect. I had never heard of the director, Kurt Wimmer but the main cast was fairly recognisable with the likes of Christian Bale, Sean Bean and Emily Watson.
The film set ... Read review
A broad science fiction thriller in a classic vein,Equilibriumtakes a respectable stab at ... more
aFahrenheit 451-like cautionary fable. The story finds Earth's post-World War III humankind in a state of severe emotional repression; if no-one feels anything, n...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
A broad science fiction thriller in a classic vein,Equilibriumtakes a respectable stab at ... more
aFahrenheit 451-like cautionary fable. The story finds Earth's post-World War III humankind in a state of severe emotional repression; if no-one feels anything, n...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
In a future where freedom is outlawed outlaws will become heroes. A future where the ... more
world is at peace but emotions are gone; war is a distant memory and so is music art and poetry. Here emotion is illegal and feeling is a crime punishable by deat...
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In the futuristic world, a strict regime has eliminated war by suppressing emotions: ... more
books, art and music are strictly forbidden and feeling is a crime punishable by death. Cleric John Preston (Bale) is a top ranking government agent responsible for de...
A broad science fiction thriller in a classic vein,Equilibriumtakes a respectable stab at ... more
aFahrenheit 451-like cautionary fable. The story finds Earth's post-World War III humankind in a state of severe emotional repression; if no-one feels anything, no-one will be inspired by dark passions to attack their neighbours. Writer-director Kurt Wimmer's monochromatic,Metropolis-influenced cityscape provides an excellent backdrop to the heavy-handed mission of John Preston (Christian Bale), a top cop who busts "sense offenders" and crushes sentimental, sensual, and artistic relics from a bygone era. Predictably, Preston becomes intrigued by his victims and that which they die to cherish; he stops taking his mandatory, mood-flattening drug and is even aroused by a doomed prisoner (Emily Watson). Wimmer's wrongheaded martial arts/duelling guns motif is sheer silliness (a battle over a puppy doesn't help), butEquilibriumshould be seen for Bale's moving performance as a man shocked back to human feeling. --Tom Keogh
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Production Year: 2007 - Science Fiction - Director: Francis Lawrence - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Dash Mihok, Will Smith, Salli Richardson, Willow Smith
Advantages: Independent, entertaining, good to look at Disadvantages: Not the most original concept.
...radar so when I watched Equilibrium (2002) the other evening I had no idea what to expect. I had never heard of the director, Kurt Wimmer but the main cast was fairly recognisable with the likes of Christian Bale, Sean Bean and Emily Watson.
The film set in a post World War III world where in order to prevent another war the cause of war is punishable by death - that is to have and display emotion. The focus of the film is John Preston ... ...government law enforcers, deadly killing machine and summary executioner) with the very best intuitive mind -in other words he knows what you are thinking and knows if you are feeling - who begins to question the very law, government (a kind of post modern fascist dictatorship which uses elements of Kung Fu meditation and fighting in its rule and enforcement, which brainwashes and sedates the population and removes by wanton destruction anything ... more
This film passed under my SciFi radar so when I watched Equilibrium (2002) the other evening I had no idea what to expect. I had never heard of the director, Kurt Wimmer but the main cast was fairly recognisable with the likes of Christian Bale, Sean Bean and Emily Watson.
The film set in a post World War III world where in order to prevent another war the cause of war is punishable by death - that is to have and display emotion. The focus of the film is John Preston (Christian Bale) is an emotionless Grammaton Cleric (highest of the government law enforcers, deadly killing machine and summary executioner) with the very best intuitive mind -in other words he knows what you are thinking and knows if you are feeling - who begins to question the very law, government (a kind of post modern fascist dictatorship which uses elements of Kung Fu meditation and fighting in its rule and enforcement, which brainwashes and sedates the population and removes by wanton destruction anything which may stimulate an emotional response such as books, art, ornaments, animals) and society that he works to protect. Not very original then! But to be honest an unoriginal idea taken and done well is better than an original idea done badly and fortunately, this film is done very slickly indeed. There are elements of "Big Brother" (the Orwell version not the Channel 4 effort), the city panoramic and "downtown" shots seemed to have a whole mixture of sci-fi film influences and there is certainly a doffing of the cap to The Matrix but I care not. You are taken in by this world and the imagery of it. That's what a film is meant to do after all.
It takes a little while to get into the story as the film sets the scene. The one thing that you immediately notice is the use of (or lack of) colour. Everything is black and white with shades of grey. It is extremely austere looking with little light (except through slits and holes and very small windows). You see the uniforms - black and grey. You are introduced to the key concept of the film by a voice over which drifts into what you then realise is a public address by the governmental figure head known as Father. You see Grammaton Cleric at work and realise their awesome fighting abilities even in the face of multiple "assailants"/victims. In fact at this point I was about to ask where Neo was and was on the verge of turning over for the idea of another cross between a martial arts and shoot 'em up film didn't fill me with great enthusiasm. I decided to give it another 5 minutes and I am so glad I did. Yes it may have had a slow start but the rest of the film was great to watch to watch with many twists and turns.
The exposition is quite fascinating and chilling in part as you have a little breadcrumb trail as well as some massive sign posts to the plot which lead to the key moment when Preston's view of the world changes. The sets are simple and clean - again with the black and white colouring. It's all very postmodernist and the use of colour is very much trying to portray how it would feel if you had no emotion - everything is then right or wrong - black or white. You only have black or white cars. It even gets taken through to a black and white man working together. It provides little scope for stimulus and deviancy from the structure of life the government lays out for you. The scenes are shot with a grey tinge and so you almost imagine that in this world of black and white you can only see grey. And where there is colour, then you know that you are in the presence of a "sense" criminal. The scenes around them and the resistance have colour and light. And in the final sequences Preston wears white - almost like an avenging angel before all the colour comes back.
In the second part of the film you can see Preston's struggle with his duty and his feelings at first and how he begins to channel his feelings to bring down the system. And this is really what the film is examining - the concept is that emotion brings about anger and hate and can cause mood swings - it brings about instability. War and the cause of war is referred to frequently and the cause is seen to be man's feelings. The simple answer is therefore to remove the ability to feel/have emotions and World IV won't happen. Achieve a society of balance and man's future is assured. But how do you define an emotion? Are emotions all that bad and can a society really function without them? The film sets out to explore these quite philosophical questions and yet at the same time gives you the answers. The fact that the film is acted by humans means that you never quite feel the sense of lack of emotion. You cannot really see anyone who is truly emotionless - the clerics may be "emotionless" but they talk and discuss situations, they have ambition, they want to do well and so they must have thoughts/feelings about situations. That said they do show the difference between themselves in the drugged compliant state and without the drugs at the beginning of the film very well - it is subtle but there nonetheless. It does show how some emotions can lead to trouble/mistakes (certain martial arts teach that emotion can hinder performance) but it then shows how other emotions can be used for the betterment of society as a whole.
As well as studying emotion, the film examines government/institutional control and takes the best/worst examples of regime and institutionalisation available. The similarities to the nazi regime are striking, even down to the symbolism. News reel of Hitler and Stalin are often seen in the constant public addresses. The system also uses religious style titles for its core activities - the head is Father, his enforcers are clerics and his schooling of the young enforcers happens in the Monastery, and has a very medieval fire and brimstone approach to those who are outside of society's belief. Everything in society is controlled and what is not controlled is destroyed or condemned. Although what each of these stood and stand for are at completely different ends of the right and wrong scale, the concept of right and wrong, being within or without of the institution are what is being examined. What is outside of the institutions control is dangerous and unstable - a threat to society and must be removed. But rather than appealing to hearts and minds they just appeal to minds chemically. Yet a society that rests on mass tranquilisation is ultimately doomed to fail especially as the administration is not actually witnessed by a government official and relies on Big Brother" (or "Sister or Mother or Father or Husband or Wife or Son or Daughter or Neighbour) to report "sense" offenders. It may seem a little far fetched as a concept but perhaps this is also a dig at prozac society - afterall the drug is called prozium (coincidence that the two most popular antidepressants are prozac and valium!).
The acting is very measured. In fact the whole style of the film is measured. Nothing is there unless is serves a purpose either in exposition or as a sign post for later on in the film. Even the fight scenes are measured. The action is violent by the very definition of the word - there is blood and guns and killing - but the scenes are elegant. It isn't frenzied. It really is Kung Fu fighting with guns. There is very little temper losing and shouting.
The cast were excellent. They brought a kind of comic book style to the film without hamming it up. If you look at Christian Bale's performance in this and his performance in Batman Begins you can see the same sort of acting. Of course Preston is the focus of the film and there are very few scenes without him. The rest of the cast really are a supporting cast in the true sense. If you added up all the screen time for each of the other actors it may only add up to 15 minutes each but they do their job very well. Sean Bean plays Errol Partridge, Preston's first partner and you can sense he is troubled even as he first appears on screen but at the same time displays the calm almost serene countenance of a cleric. Emily Watson plays Mary O'Brien, a sense criminal who mocks the system and yet rather than rubbing the system's nose in it, is again calm in her portrayal. Other notable performances are from Angus McFayden, who plays Dupont, the liaison between Father and the clerics. You always feel that he never trusts anyone. And despite little time on screen Matthew Harbour, who play Preston's son gives, at times quite a creepy and chilling performance as only children can in a film such as this (after all one of the scariest institutions in Nazi Germany was the Hitler youth).
Overall I found the film entertaining and thought provoking. It may not have the franchise backing or the well known director but it would be a shame if it went unwatched. It does have flaws but these are forgivable for being good entertainment and I would recommend it.
Rated 15 1 hour 40 minutes long (approx. - longer with adverts)
Advantages: Dystopian epic with some great acting Disadvantages: Cliched unnecessary love story, too Orwellian
*Personal comments*
When it is an Orwellian tale, uplifting and self affirming? When it's not an Orwellian book at all, but a Kurt Wimmer film that wants to be. And that is my main problem with this film, because despite being a thoroughly good action film, and with some surprisingly wry comments on our society today, it still has too much of a vision stolen from other sources, for it to be accepted as a gem in its own right.
*Scene setting*
A ... ...of the future, dim and bleak and grey, where you are nothing more than a grey blur moving along in shapeless accord with the passing scenery. A small beep sounds and you raise a rather nifty injector and inject some golden liquid into your neck. "Now why would I do that?" you cry in disbelief. "I know drugs are wrong."
Ah but drugs aren't wrong here. *This* drug suppresses the emotions which spark humanity to war. The hatred, the anger, the violence, ...
AmberHall 03.05.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Equilibrium (DVD)
Advantages: All action feast Disadvantages: Far fetched ending.
...the dictatorship that is ruling Equilibrium with an iron fist?
Will he join the resistance and fight for whats right? Will he hide his emotion and continue to enforce the laws and commands that he now knows to be wrong? I'm not telling you, you will have to watch the film.
Equilibrium is one of those films that makes you think. Would a world devoid of emotion be worth living in? Is there any point in living if you are unable to feel, to love, to ... ...heavy? Wouldn't you rather live with the threat of war than give away all the things that make you the person you are,the things that make life so wonderful?
We are very quickly introduced to the cold, hard, killing machine that is John Preston. A man with no scruples, I mean come on, he kills his own partner, for reading a book. He is the sort of character that we all take an instant dislike to. Christian Bale is excellent in his portrayal of this ...
MandyMinx 15.08.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Equilibrium (DVD)
Advantages: Interesting topic, great acting, thought-provoking Disadvantages: Nothing I cant think of
Somehow I have managed to miss this film every time it has been shown on TV, but I finally remembered to put it in my Sky Planner so it came on automatically when it was shown on Film Four earlier this week. It has been a film that I have wanted to watch for quite a while, so I made sure that I watched it, no matter what else I had to miss in the process!
The film is completely intriguing to me. The ideas within it are completely fascinating, and ... ...experience in our lifetime. The film is set in the 21st century, although we are not given a specific year, and it takes place sometime after a World War III and Earth has we know it has changed unrecognisably so. We are told of a country that doesn't really exist, which is called Libria. This is the place that the film focuses on and where the film takes place. In a nutshell, the story of the movie is that feelings in humans have been eradicated, ...
mummy2harry 15.09.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Equilibrium (DVD)
Advantages: Intense gun sequences, Thought Provoking, Unrelenting Disadvantages: A few scenes overdone, Slightly unbelievable world created
...set in an unlikely society, Equilibrium challenges the boundaries of human existence and the reasoning of being afforded a vital emotion.
Picture the scene…..
…….the group of men talk to each other hastily in the derelict room, the fear in their voices painfully obvious as they hear the Clerics advancing stealthily in the background. Suddenly the lights go out and the door is kicked down, leaving a shimmering jagged bolt of light piercing the eerie ... ...not seen since the Matrix, Equilibrium dares not only to push the bar higher in high-octane fighting, but also without a huge amount of computer generated graphics which is admirable.
Christian Bale (previously in American Psycho) stars in this underrated and largely un-promoted gem of an action film, set in the future in an almost parallel universe and one, which has done away with the emotion of “feeling”. This in turn creates a dystopian society ...
srtom 21.07.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Equilibrium (DVD)
Advantages: Excellent acting, good script and emotional immersion. Disadvantages: Action scenes are short and sweet
...enjoyed it a great deal. Equilibrium is set in a fictional place called Libria. There is no crime, war or rape as a result of the emotion-numbing drug called Prozium. It represses all emotion and despite the good benefits, it sacrifices emotions such a love, kindness, friendship, sadness or guilt. Everyone in Libria takes the drug daily at the same time each day. When a Grammaton Cleric (Christian Bale), the highest position in law/order enforcement ... ...offence' i.e. feeling, misses his dose by accident, he begins to encounter minute feelings. The viewer follows the journey made by Preston, the Grammaton Cleric, through his ability to deal with his emotions. I won't say too much more as I may give plot points away - the journey is a very interesting and exciting one. For a film that bases its selling point on a city without emotion, it intrigued me that I felt so much attachment and emotion towards ...
Kenshiro 05.06.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Equilibrium (DVD)
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Advantages: Enjoyable action film Disadvantages: Very unoriginal
take, sadly it didn't really work but it was impressively like anime from the settings to the costumes to the way some of the characters looked and acted.
I've given the film three stars because although I have a few complaints with it I found it watchable enough and overall mediocre. I wouldn't watch it again and I definitely wouldn't buy it on DVD. I would, however, recommend it to anyone who enjoyed Resident Evil , Aeon Flux and Underworld . Fans of Equilibrium may find this to be just a slightly dumbed down version. Equilibrium had a great dystopian plot and rather good acting and you could sort of wringe a moral from it, Ultraviolet had al the same action etc but was just a little dryer.
Certificate
15 for violence and bad langauge
Trailer
http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/ultravio let/index.html ...
Much of the Earth's population has been destroyed by a Third World War and a new nation has emerged. Libria is ruled by The Father who forces all citizens to take a daily mind-altering drug called Prozia 2...
Release details
DVD Region
DVD
Studio(s)
MOMENTUM PICTURES; TECHNICOLOR DISTRIBUTION SERVICES
Release date
06/10/2003
No of Discs
1
Catalogue No
MP 240 D
Barcode
5060049140407
Screenwriter
Kurt Wimmer
Writer
Kurt Wimmer
Languages
Main Language
English
Technical information
Special Features
Commentary - 1. Kurt Wimmer - Director, 2. Lucas Foster - Director, Featurette - 1. FINDING EQUILIBRIUM, Trailers, TV Spots, JUMP TO FIGHT - scene selection, GUN KATA illustrative gallery
Professional reviews
Review
"...Some of it is conceptually inventive, and the action scenes are interesting..." (Entertainment Weekly, p.58, 16/05/2003)
"...Wimmer shows flair with his overheated visual style..." (Sight and Sound, p.35-6, 01/04/2003)
DVD Description
In a futuristic society where the government requires the people to stay tranquil and submissive by taking a psychological drug, people no longer have emotions. Because of this, there are no more wars. But when one of the enforcement agents realizes that maybe peaceful oblivion is not the answer, he thinks about overthrowing his oppressors.
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