Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | August 30, 2005 | | Summary | Huh? Did we watch the same movie? | Content
 | OK, I read a bunch of the reviews out of curiosity, while I was at the web site to buy the movie after my daughter sat me down and made me watch it. I am happy to see that so many reviewers liked the film. However, even in reading the positive reviews, I am often left wondering whether we both saw the same movie.
First, Equilibrium bears only a superficial resemblance to the Matrix, mostly, I suspect, because the Gun Kata sequences bear a superficial resemblance to the fight scenes in the Matrix. However, 1) the Matrix takes place in a "cyber-dimension" if you will. Neo can do extraordianry things because with the right programming anything is possible in a world where the laws of physics are just a series of zeros and ones. The fight scenes in Equilibrium, although extraordinary, supposedly take place in the real world without time dilation or other tricks, as someone else said, without the cheat codes on. More importantly 2) Matrix is a man against machine story more similar to Terminator (although stated vastly differently) than to the distopian universe of Equilibrium. In Matrix, the great danger comes from outside of humanity, from the machines. In Equilibrium, the danger is in humanity, in the struggle between the individual and the collective. Matrix is frightening, but only like, let's say, a vampire story is frightening. I can't bring myself to stay up nights worrying that my computer is going to turn on me, any more than I worry about werwolves. Distopia I understand, and, yes, I fear it very much. I doubt it will ever appear as portrayed in this film, but all the elements are there, and have appeared over and over again in the collectivist distopias of the real world, from the Soviet "worker's state" to the Third Reich. A matter of degree perhaps, but not much of a stretch. Thus, Equilibrium frightens me far, far more than the Matrix ever could, because it is possible. More trivially, 3) the fashion statements in the two films are not the same, although they use the same color scheme. In case nobody noticed, the clerics in Equilibrium dressed like priests. Which is why they are called clerics and are trained in a place called the monastery. The dictatorship in Equilibrium has obviously borrowed a lot of religious imagery from before the war. Note that I do not believe that the use of this imagery makes this an anti-religious film. There is nothing of christianity here except for the vestments, any more than the evil dictatorship is Khabalist because it calls itself the Tetragrammaton (which is YHWH, the unspoken name of God). I suspect "Father" made use of these symbols because they still had power, and their origin has been lost by the time of the movie. In any event, back to the point, the two movies do not remotely have the same dress code.
(If it makes any difference, I like the Matrix, but found its sequels, hmm, stupid is probably the right word. Between the first Matrix movie and Equilibrium, while the comparison is a bit like apples to oranges, I would take Equilibrium hands down.)
I also do not understand the constant comparisons to 1984. (OK, maybe I do. They are both distopias, and they both feature a Leader (Father, Big Brother) who seems to be electronically everywhere. So there are similarities) However, if there is one previous distopia to which Equilibrium can justly be compared, it is Bradbury's classic Fahrenheit 451. In both, the oppressor state targets specific cultural attributes and artifacts as much or more than the actual enemies of the state, believing that these objects in and of themselves are a threat. Thus books and puppy dogs are both in danger. More importantly, in Fahrenheit 451, and in Equilibrium, the dogs have their day. The state is unable to eliminate the threat, and, in the end, the oppressed outlast it and survive, though in slightly different ways. One must remember that 1984, brilliant as it was, had no remotely happy ending. It was, to paraphrase Orwell, a boot planted on the human face, FOREVER. That's what Orwell was warning us about, and why he is important. 1984 is a cautionary tale. Bradbury, and Equilibrium, choose to emphasize the resiliance of the human spirit even under grinding oppression. Despite the clerics, despite all the armed police, a resistance flourishes in the world of Equilibrium.
Of course Equilibrium is like other tales in its genre. Big deal. There ain't much new under the sun, as Solomon might say. I found it told in a startling, and very emotional, new way.
I generally am not interested in the names of actors. After seeing the movie, I still could not have told you it had Christian Bale and Sean Bean in it. When I was told it did, I could look back and say, yeah, that's Boromir and that's the guy from Reign of Fire, so it must be true. I still don't care. Whoever they were, they did a good job.
The fight scenes were impressive, but I've seen better. They were definitely novel. Gun and martial art deserve to be more closely related than they are always portrayed. But martial arts sequences are only props to a film. They can be as impressive as one likes, but without a plot I might as well go watch my son at the dojo. In this case, I liked the plot.
Or maybe that's the wrong word. I FELT the plot, which, I suppose, makes me a Sense Offender. I'm not even sure I can watch the thing again, because of the deep emotion it produces in me. I would be too apt to cry in frustration or scream in rage. That's what makes a great movie.
In conclusion, I can only say that the silliest scene was when Preston shot out a whole row of computer monitors and thus managed to "turn off" the presence of Father and begin the revolution. (As a computer tech, I am all too familiar with folks who think the computer is the monitor, and that box under the desk is merely the hard drive, but I didn't expect to see that in a movie. Of course, maybe in this world they did build the brains of the box right behind the screen. Who knows?) The best scene was immediately thereafter when you see Preston smiling and bloody. It is truly a s**t-eating grin. He FELT that one, alright. Oh, yeah. And so did I. |
| Rating | | | Date | August 29, 2005 | | Summary | Lacks originality, but strong performances | Content
| I actually saw this film at the theatre the day it came out. I hadn't heard anything about it and sat down with absolutely no preconceptions. Sometimes this scenario turns out to be a real treat, but this time, I walked away from the theatre disappointed and morose.
Some reviewers have mentioned that this film "borrows" from a lot of existing sci-fi material. Unfortunately, that's what "Equillibrium" feels like: a pastiche of overused ideas. "Fahrenheit 451," "The Matrix," martial arts movies, "TXH 1138," "1984," "Brave New World," etc. These are just the first few "homages" that spring to mind; there are plenty more in there. The end result of cobbling all these ideas together is the movie feels like it tries too hard. I cringed at the description and execution of Gun Kata - it's a perfect example of what's wrong with this film.
However, I agree with all the other reviewers that Bale is outstanding, as is most of the rest of the cast. Still, strong performances do not make a great movie. I'm giving it two stars because it did have its moments, but as a whole, it's not worth it. |
| Rating | | | Date | August 28, 2005 | | Summary | The Beauty of Art. | Content
| After telling a friend about Ray Bradbury's FARENHEIT 451, my friend told me about the movie EQUILIBRIUM and suggested that I see it. Upon this recommendation, I watched the movie and was not disappointed.
EQUILIBRIUM is a movie that takes place in the not-so-distant future. After years of war that have wracked and scarred the planet, a new government has taken control and from all appearances things seem at peace. The new government keeps order because all forms of Art: paintings, music, literature, etc; have been outlawed and made illegal. To ensure that no Art is produced, a group of specially trained officers known as Grammaton Clerics are trained to find hidden Art, destroy it, and kill those who produce it. Needless to say, an underground rebellion rises up to fight against the oppression. The resistance finds their hero in the most famous of the Clerics, John Preston (Christian Bale). Preston was forced to kill his partner, Partridge, when Partridge refused to turn in a book of poetry that had been confiscated. Through reading those poems, Preston, like a futuristic Apostle Paul, begins to realize the oppression that he has had a help in creating and seeks to set things right.
EQUILIBRIUM borrows many elements from the best of sci-fi. The dystopian society reminds one of George Orwell's 1984 or Ray Bradbury's FARENHEIT 451. Preston is in many ways a conglomeration of the firemen in FARENHEIT 451 and Harrison Bergeron from Kurt Vonnegut's famous story. The "Gun Kata" martial art that is introduced in the film reminds one of fighting scenes in THE MATRIX. However, despite all the similarities, EQUILIBRIUM does an excellent job of incorporating this various sci-fi themes and molding them together into something that is original.
It's hard to believe that the film went unnoticed in theatres. The movie has some great acting, good special effects, and great plot and character development. It's a sci-fi movie worth watching. |
| Rating | | | Date | August 20, 2005 | | Summary | "Better than the matrix!" -Review on box- | Content
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1984, The Matrix, Clockwork Orange; these movie are set in the future.
Equilibrium is a movie about the future.
Set after the third world war, the people in charge decide that the reason man has fallen is
emotion. They create a drug called prozium, something we would relate to Prozac, or something that creates a calm euphoric state. Basicaly, no one knows true joy or hate, or has experienced any extreme emotion.
Christian Bale plays a Grammaton Cleric, a defender against 'sense crimes'. The goverment employs an army of well armed guards, and the ultimate fighter, the cleric. We start off seeing two clerics raiding a sense offender hide out. Christian and his partner, Sean ? (who plays Boramir in Lord of The Rings, and 006 in Goldeneye), head in, and Christian shows us in one of my favorite cinematic techniques I've seen, The gun kata. More on that later. After the action scene, his partner asks why they have to be so cruel and heartless. This tips him off: He is a sense criminal.
Later, he must face his partner. This tears him apart, but the affect of the prozium keeps him from feeling it, same as his wifes murder. One morning, he skips his dose. His son, who is training to be a cleric, notices. We assume he is an enemy to his very feeling, just like everyone else around him. So begins his journey to emotional fulfillment, or at least stability, in this world of no highs or lows. It's one of my favorites, and so is Bale, who is a really good actor.
The picture quality is decent in most scenes, but in comparison to the cg, they look fuzzy like all good sci fi action adventures (namely the matrix... why does it always get compared there?). The sound is great, with sweeping orcheastral scores and techno beats, and the bizarre mix of both.
The action is so amazing. With attention to all weapon styles, choreography, and visual effects the director has pieced together something cool and stylish. He mentions his influences in his commentary, everything from Christian holding his sword underhand like Zatoichi, and the Gun Kata being created as a response to movie where guns are in a seperate category from martial arts. So, now they ARE the martial art, and are influenced by all kinds of weapon arts. Fast paced, hardly cheesed or hollywood, all the actors are athletic in their own respects.
For special effects, theres a featurette, that despite being a few minutes long covers all the asskissing and talking about the tough parts, and how they trained... You've seen it before. Next,
there are two commentary tracks: one of the director, and one of him and the producer. The director's commentary is insighful into why he thought the movie didn't do so well, the parts he likes, he doesn't, budget problems, etc. The one with the producer is more about the script, how the film came together, and even more about techniques and budget solutions. I kind of like this, he no Rob Rodriguez or anything, but it's pretty cool to hear their opinions and all the little insights.
There are a few trailers, but nothing too exciting. It kills me to not give it a five. But, overall, the story gets a 4, the quality a 4, but the disc gets a 2 1/2 for no originality or cool features, just a good commentary track(s). Overall, a solid 4, for a movie you'll love and maybe even come back to.
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| Rating | | | Date | August 11, 2005 | | Summary | Excellent Film Easily Outdoes The Matrix Sequels | Content
| This film is fueled with Orwellian ideas and action scenes that make Keanu Reeves weep. A very intriguing take on a totalitarian government forcing it's citizens to supress their emotions. Christian Bale is impressive in this movie as he usually is. This movie didn't get a lot of press but it is well worth a watch. This movie is a surprise gem. |
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