Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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49 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
More Gattaca than the Matrix, 14 Oct 2006
I caught this film by accident on Filmfour a while back, and never got round to seeing the end. As the film had grabbed me somewhat, I bought it.
Comparisons with The Matrix are a little unfair - apart from the fight scenes and the long-black coats, the films are completely different. In fact, I believe the film could have benefitted from a more Matrix-comparison-free marketing drive. I overlooked this one so many times in the video store because it looked like it was a cheap stright-to-rental rip-off of the Matrix, but I couldn't have been more wrong.
In terms of mood, pacing and general 'look' the film has a lot of similarities with Gattaca: another film set in a dystopian future where biochemical solutions erase the flaws inherent in the human condition and individuals find themselves pitted against these 'dehumanising' forces.
Again, like Gattaca, the film looks utterly stunning. Every shot is beautifully composed with careful attention to geometric detail.
Elements of Nineteen Eighty Four sit quietly in the background in the form of the patriarchal totalitarian leader of the society, 'Father', and his periodic addresses to the general public on giant wallscreens.
The fight scenes are very Matrixy though. The film has an odd choice of combat: the curious device of a 'Gun Kata' which is a sort of martial art for people with shooters that spring out from their sleeves. It's not overdone to the point of silliness though, and kind of works in an odd way.
I'm not a big fan of action/shooty films, but this one was really artful.
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A brave experiment in filmmaking...., 25 Jul 2003
By A Customer
What I found amazing about Equilibrium was the fact that although the subject matter was not unsimilar to these films (near future setting, elite orginization, with corruption in the ranks etc.) the director had achieved a believeable,dynamic,intruiging alternate reality, with possibly half the budget of other movies from its genre.
Christian Bale was well cast in the lead rolem, with his cold expression, and "chiseled" features relaying the sterile feel of the film. I felt Emily Watson was a little under used,having only brief scenes, it was hard to identify with her character but was still none the less a worth inclusion.For all the re-hashed ideas,Equilibrium also generated its fair share of new concepts, most noteably the "Gun-Fu" fight scenes proving a refreshing change on the (done to death!) Bullet-Time/Wire Fliers that we now see in every second film we watch,also worth a mention is the interesting spin Equilibrium takes on the classic,all exploding,all shooting good VS. evil finale,without giving it away, it is probably more memorable than the majority of most recent films! Because this film is yet to be released in Australia,I ordered it knowing almost nothing about it, Now that I have seen it,it will remain a crucial part of my DVD collection, I hope this review will encourage other buyers to live like the "Resistance" and do the same!
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30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fahrenheit 451 meets the Matrix, 13 Oct 2003
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Although the cinema trailers lead you to think this a Matrix type film, it is not really.
This film takes a dystopian culture, not unlike that in Fahranheit 451 - but takes it further. Emotions are outlawed not books. To avoid a 4th World War and reduce crime, all feelings are outlawed and the use of an emotionally suppressive drug is mandatory.
A quasi-religious order of emotion police, the clerics, enforce the law but destroying anything that can induce feelings i.e. all objects of art, personal possessions like perfume, etc. and all offenders are shot.
Like Fahrenheit 451, our central character, the cold and ruthless cleric Preston, becomes curious about emotion after accidentally missing his morning dose of the drug (they should have put it in the water!). Also like 451, there is an underground movement that he gets involved with.
Although the action scenes are a bit reminiscent of the Matrix, it's more a first impression than the actual reality. There is something of the Matrix look of our cleric with guns blazing in the midst of large numbers of opponents. But the way the fights are filmed is different. To my mind they bear more relation to realism, not least because they are shorter and nastier.
I particularly liked the close quarters, wing-chung style of fight, with pistols, at the end - never seen anything like that before.This is a grown up film, with a clever, if not totally original, plotline. The acting is very good. Interesting to note that Sean Bean fails once again to live to the credits. The man is jinxed. There are a couple of problems with the film, however. It is a little slow in the first half but the main offence is the emotions shown by those who should possess none. There seems to be to much anger and pride by the chief protagonists and this flows against the main theme. The director does explain this in the "Extras" - that with zero emotion you have nothing but zombies which makes for a lousy film, but it should have been toned down from what we got in the finished film. Still, worth watching - a good piece of entertainment.
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