Has anyone watched Equilibrium?

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NocturnalPS

NocturnalPS

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XRaptor529
Equilibrium. Pretty cool flick. It has some very cool gun fighting scenes. Not regular gun fighting scenes but what i think is the first real gun fighting scene ive seen. Anyways just wanted to konw if anyone else have seen this movie. If not go check it out.
 
Please don't waste your money on this film. I made the mistake and bought the DVD.

While the gun fights were well done, and the end fight scene was very nicely coreographed, the movie itself was terrible.

What really irittated me was the theory behind the story had excellent potential and was killed by the attempt to make it a thought provoking movie.

The fuure of mankind was saved by the elimination of emotions. Yet a few people dare to dream outside the laws. To bring these gun toting criminals to justice, the "Clerics" are created. Basing their fighting style on extensive research into gun battles and for maximizing defense and offense while engaged with multiple armed opponents.

So much potential, and the movie bombed because the director and actors couldn't do the job.

AO
 
yeh i have seen this, not sure what to think about it, fight scene at the end very good but the rest hmmm not sure....a weird one.
 
i loved it. good to see something very similar to the matrix but completely different. not seen the new matrix but it will have its work cut out to be better than eq.
 
I have to bump this back up, as there are new developments.

I've rewatched this a few times, and have to say, that I was a bit harsh in my previous review. I still stand by the basis of it, as the premise of the movie was excellent, and the idea behind it was fantastic. Unfortunately, the final outcome lacked considerably.

Now for the new developments.

Christian Bale (the main actor) is going to play Bruce Wayne in "Batman Begins"

Which, I think, he'll do an excellent job at.

AO
 
I intend to catch it on Sky this weekend. I'll give it a "Famine's Review"... :D
 
I havent seen it and im not going to bother , unless i borrow it or its on tv, Christian Bale is a v-good actor and he should do well in the new batman movie, he was good in American phsyco. as for the fighting i herd that the director developed the new style of fighting with guns just for the film and he called it gun-catta.
 
I saw it, but only because I thought it would help me in chemistry :( It didn't. It wasn't even ABOUT chemistry. :lol: Just kidding, would I really waste my time VOLUNTARILY watching a chem movie? Hell No. Anyway the movie wasn't too bad but I agree with Duke.
 
i watched this movie on tv last week and, for the most part, i thought it was really good.I thought christian Bale did a really good job portraying a cleric.I thought the last fight scene was a little short but it was cool when he chopped the front off of taye diggsf ace.
 
Not great. The fight scenes were lame matrix ripoffs with no real motivation behind why the lead guy is so awesome. Props for the end fight scene which was decent though.

Basically I thought they had a good idea, and some good acting, but didn't really make it run.

All-in-all, not good enough to recommend.
 
danoff
The fight scenes were lame matrix ripoffs
Click to expand...

Not quite true...

Though The Matrix came out first it certainly wasn't filmed first, and it wasn't the film held back because the studio saw a cash cow...

Plus there were no wires anywhere in Equilibrium.
 
I thought Bale was excellent in this, as he is in everything he's been in. He's a brilliant actor and, in my opinion, at least as good as Michael Keaton at playing the caped crusader.

I'll admit this movie has several flaws, but the fight scenes and gun battles are pretty exhilerating, and there are enough of them to carry you through the movie without too many lulls.

One thing I will never understand is Taye Diggs' acting. His character is supposed to be a Cleric like Bale's character, and he's not supposed to feel any emotions. Yet several times throughout the movie, most noticeably when he brings Bale into custody, he exhibits happiness, anger, and other emotions.

Though I will admit that it is hard to fathom someone with absolutely no emotions...
 
Anderton Prime
One thing I will never understand is Taye Diggs' acting. His character is supposed to be a Cleric like Bale's character, and he's not supposed to feel any emotions. Yet several times throughout the movie, most noticeably when he brings Bale into custody, he exhibits happiness, anger, and other emotions.
Click to expand...

I agree entirely.


*Universe ends*
 
Famine
Not quite true...

Though The Matrix came out first it certainly wasn't filmed first, and it wasn't the film held back because the studio saw a cash cow...

Plus there were no wires anywhere in Equilibrium.
Click to expand...

Are you telling me that the matrix ripped off equilibrium?? Those are some pretty strong words. That might just be enough to get me to do some research.

One thing I will never understand is Taye Diggs' acting. His character is supposed to be a Cleric like Bale's character, and he's not supposed to feel any emotions. Yet several times throughout the movie, most noticeably when he brings Bale into custody, he exhibits happiness, anger, and other emotions.

Though I will admit that it is hard to fathom someone with absolutely no emotions...
Click to expand...

They failed, completely, to capture humanity with no emotion. They didn't investigate what seemed to be a theme (though I may be giving the writers too much credit with this) that a lack of emotions leads to immoral behavior.

Taye Diggs was extremely emotional - from his very first scene where he explains to Bale that he's "proud" to be working with him - that he's in a position of prestige.

Plus, what's with the twist on a twist on a twist at the end? Very lame.
 
Famine
*Universe ends*
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I was gonna say. :lol:

I can't find this movie anywhere! :grumpy: I guess I'm going to have to find a used one on the internet, or wait until I join online DVD rentals.
 
I still don't find much that "ripped off" the Matrix trilogy in Equilibrium...

What do you mean by the "twist on a twist on a twist" at the end?
 
Anderton Prime
I still don't find much that "ripped off" the Matrix trilogy in Equilibrium...

What do you mean by the "twist on a twist on a twist" at the end?
Click to expand...


What about the gun battle leading up to the final swordfight? Was that not essentially the lobby scene in the matrix? I half expected to see Bale doing a cartwheel and shooting one-handed upsidown. I'm not sure the action scenes could have had much more of a matrix feel. A 360 degree camera rotation would have helped though.

What I mean by "twist on a twist on a twist" is:

His prints are on the gun
No, HIS prints are on the gun
Wait, you were using me the whole time
Wait, you mean you're the guy in charge

It got a little silly.
 
He was being played the whole time by Father and Taye Diggs' character, who suspected him of sense offence from the beginning. The gun switch was something Bale's character did to try and remain under the radar and burn the one person who could endanger him (Diggs). I thought it was only minutely confusing, but I've never heard anyone else taking issue with that particular point.
 
I totally give this movie a "Worth Watching" rating. It had entertainment value, and last I checked, meets the purpose of watching and that is entertainment. :)
 
I saw this at the cinema when it was released. Enjoyed the fight scenes a lot, rest was a bit "meh". They ripped off 1984 more than the Matrix :joke: :p
 
danoff
http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hp&cf=prev&id=1808404877&intl=us

Production started on this movie on September 19th, 2000 in Europe, with locations including Berlin, and wrapped later that year.

...that would be after the matrix was released in theaters.
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The two scripts were tabled at roughly the same time. Matrix was signed off first and, because they didn't want two similarly-themed movies playing at the same time, Equilibrium was held back until after Matrix was released.

Neither film ripped the other off - just Equilibrium wasn't allowed to proceed until after Matrix was released. It probably helped Equilibrium's audience figures a little too.


The thing with Brandt and DuPont is, overall, confusing. They are both clearly "sense-offenders", but Preston's talent is knowing what sense-offenders are sensing before they offend. That he can't detect it in his children - or wife (either of them... Watch closely... :D ) - is less surprising. But he can't detect Brandt and DuPont's sense-offences, even though Brandt's are on a plate, and DuPont's - "Are you playing with me, cleric?!" - are even less well-hidden. But they can detect his even before he's off his Prozium - they wanted to infiltrate the Resistance and needed an authentic sense-offender to do it - they had to use someone capable of feeling who didn't know it yet (presumably the root of Preston's talent?).

So he can detect sense-offenders without them knowing they are, but can't spot Brandt and DuPont, but they can detect him even though he isn't.
 
Famine
The two scripts were tabled at roughly the same time. Matrix was signed off first and, because they didn't want two similarly-themed movies playing at the same time, Equilibrium was held back until after Matrix was released.

Neither film ripped the other off - just Equilibrium wasn't allowed to proceed until after Matrix was released. It probably helped Equilibrium's audience figures a little too.
Click to expand...

Neither film ripped off the other's plot. I've got no argument there. The fight scenes in Equilibrium were clearly stolen from the matrix though. When the script was finished being written wouldn't have much bearing on that - as it all happens in production.
 
Saw it very recently - but since danish TV dubbed it "Cubic", I didn't know we were talking about the same movie..

So yes, I've seen it.. I don't think I've wasted an hour and 40 minutes of my life, but I'm not saying I couldn't have spent them better either...
 
It's possible that Wimmer just wanted to show what could be done in a pillared room with armed guards with no wires or bullet-time, to show off his "Gun-fu", as a nod to The Matrix and a V-salute to expensive cinematographic techniques.

Dunno.


I should add that I didn't much care for it, first time I watched it. It grew on me though.
 

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