Review of Equilibrium (2002) by Caesar M — 12 Apr 2013

Equilibrium is one of those films with a huge cult following I never got around to seeing for quite some time until recently wanting to checkout Christian Bale pre-Batman filmography. Needless to say I'm in the small minority that has different feelings towards such a well like movie. I believe Equilibrium is an alright if dumb sci-fi actioner.

Equilibrium is set in a Fascist future where all forms of feeling are illegal, a man in charge of enforcing the law rises to overthrow the system. To this call this unoriginal is putting it's lightly. It's very derivative of other sci-fi with not so subtle symbolism. It's not a very complicated plot to follow yet we get plot points ram into our head. Also it appears the writers can't stick to the rules they set in their world. Apparently in the future no one is allow feel emotions (including love) meaning no relationship, yet our protagonist is married and has kids. Oh can't forget the cheap trick of a using a dog to make us root for our hero. Since the writers clearly have no idea how to play by their own rules expect some plot holes. One very common one is our hero being very emotional in his actions yet no one ever being suspicious and emotional response from his co workers. As for the plot twists their obvious and incredibly infuriating when given four in ten minutes. The only saving grace for this film is the pacing moving things fast and including a decent amount of action sequences. It is very dumb, but not entirely without some fun. It has plenty of action, a good pace, and a interesting premise even if the execution is not as good as it could have been.

Now inspite of my ranting on the dumb plot I actually did find some enjoyment from this. Christian Bale is great in the leading role. He's allow to be both cold in his portrayal and sympathetic in how he approach feelings for the first time. He gives his mostly unexplored character more depths on his balancing take of the protagonist. The supporting cast though inconsistent in how their character should act in the world are credible. Not of them will leave much of an impression due to poor writing. The action scenes I've heard plenty good things about the action scenes and I thought they were ridiculous. Apparently this film made "Gun Fu" popular among viewers. Don't want to put this movie more down than I already did, but John Woo's "The Killer", and "Hard Boiled" are better examples of magnificent and complex gunplay know as "Gun Fu". The gunplay here is fun but for the wrong reason. Our introduction to Bale's "Gun Fu" is in a dark where he makes "swoosh" sounds when he moves his arms. The other action scenes are unintentionally funny. My favorite include Bale pistol whipping six gunmen surrounding him with a overly dramatic score in slow motion with the gunmen still miss shooting a target in front of them. The climax is anti climactic with the nemesis being easily defeated and the final "Gun Fu" fight not delivering on worthy finale. The choreography for this action scene look great on camera, though our hero is invincible to generate enough excitement.

Equilibrium is one dumb, derivative sci-fi flick that is not without it moments of entertainment. It's in the middle ground when it comes to sci-fi entertainment. Not on the intellectual level of "The Matrix", but also don't as idiotic as the plot hole driven "Prometheus".