Equilibrium: A Review

Looking for a movie with high energy, nifty garb and soul searching that leads to a self awakening? No? Then how about keen martial arts choreography, cute kiddos and a pseudo fascist society with a Vulcan-esque penchant for suppressing emotion. Not that either, huh? Then how about a darn good movie? Gotcha!

When I first decided to watch this movie, I thought for sure it would be an iffy viewing. For some reason the "blurb" didn't rock me. Looking for distraction from my current reading pleasure, I figured it would be better than nothing. I settled in with the requisite popcorn, the bottle of water and my Nook. Yes, ereaders aren't only for reading anymore. I stream vids like a madwoman. At first, in the beginning I figured I'd selected a groaner and that I'd regret time wasted. As the story unfolded on the screen it drew me in and I knew I was wrong. Oh, well, it's happened a time or two before.

John Preston (Christian Bale) enforces the law of no emotion in the country of Libria. The Librian government has found a cure for violence -- chemical restraint of emotion. John, has a certain sixth sense which allows him to intuit unsuppressed emotion in his fellow citizens. Rather contradictory in an occupation in which he enforces the law against feeling, doncha think? Due to an accidental omission of his dose (emotion deadening chemical), he begins the journey of self awareness.

Sharing the cast with Christian Bale are: Dominic Purcell (Seamus), Sean Bean (Partridge), Taye Diggs (Brandt) and Sean Pertwee (Father). The story runs along a dystopian rail with a trainload of pluses to include excellent pyrotechnical effects, excellent martial arts choreography and superb cinematography. The icing on top of the cake are the performances each actor contributes. For piece de resistance -- the cherry in a bed of whipped cream - the costuming rocks like ... oh well. I won't mention the feel of a low budget film here, since it didn't detract from the enjoyment of the movie.

Get a quick nibble of the movie with one of these trailers. Or, just jump right in and enjoy the movie.

Own your own copy for the pleasure of watching the movie again and again. Blue Ray, DVD and VHS Tapes are available options for the movie.

Martial arts movies have evolved beyond the Asian stereotype. Now the setting can be as exotic or alien as one can imagine. Equilibrium is just such a martial arts movie in a dystopian, science-fiction setting. Not your typical movie of the fighting kind.

Bale's brand of martial arts in the movie marks him for the number one boy of, Father, figurehead of distopia. After all, not too many can walk into a room briefly lit by light from the doorway and then take out all the hidden breakers-of-the-law hidden in the room, can they?

Now, in comes a new partner after, John, ever dutifully dispatched his previous sidekick. This partner is the perfect compliment to the head-boy style of law enforcement. Not only is he a compliment, but also a contender for the roll of chief cook and bottle washer, John's job. He's not that ambitious, of course. I have been wrong on occasion, but then I've mentioned that above, so I won’t bore you with a rehash.

For me, it's man's best friend. That's the point of the story when we see that Bale has neared the end of his spiritual journey. The purpose for the journey is even more intriguing. Ever have your words, tools or weapons used against you? No spoilers here. You'll just have to watch the movie.

One thing I want to point your attention to in the movie is the things people stash away as they indulge in the vice of experiencing emotion. What would you stash away?

Do you prefer traditional martial arts movies presented in an asian setting? Or, do you like the genre in whatever backdrop it is set?

When I first encountered the concept of dystopia, I had to look it up. I figured it was a genre reflecting the typical bad day or something. You've heard of Utopia? Dystopia is Utopia but with a bad hangover. Both explore social and political practices, structures and elements. But the dystopic theme puts an "it's not gonna work" spin on the story. This is a world, country or city with its darker underbelly hanging out over its tuxedo'd beltline for all to see except themselves. If I were to point to another fave in this vein of writing, it would be "Blade Runner." Since I enjoy stretching the point a bit, you could say Serenity, and by extension Firefly, are also brothers under the skin of this genre. And in all of them, there's a hero who is instrumental in exposing that underbelly to the light of reality. I suppose a hub on dystopic heroes/heroines would be a good topic for a hub.

Here are a few more movies similar to Equilibrium:

Matrix

The Matrix Reloaded (2003)

The Matrix Revolutions (2003)

The Matrix Revisited (2001)

Batman Begins

Batman & Robin (1997)

Blade: Trinity

RoboCop (1987)

RoboCop 2 (1990)

Robocop 3 (1992)

RoboCop (2014)

Judge Dredd (1995)

Dredd (2012)

Elysium (2013)

The Transporter (2002)

Serenity (2005)

Hitman (2007)

Inception (2010)

Logan's Run (1976)

THX 1138 (1971)

Children of Men (2006)

Ultraviolet (2006)

Blade Runner (1982)

Aeon Flux (2005)

The Island (2005)

Elektra (2005)

Some of these may be more dystopian than similar or a stretch for either. I've employed a little known principle known as hubmaker's choice. This is heavily influenced by the practice of lensmaker's preference. Got one you think should be on the list. Sure, there's room for a few more. Tell us about it in a comment below.