xkamelx
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Post by xkamelx on Aug 27, 2006 10:56:04 GMT -5
I really love this movie. I can't believe I've forgotten to make a thread for it here. Christian Bale did an excellent job in this movie.
Equilibrium takes place in a futuristic society where emotions are outlawed. To ensure people conform to "father's" way, citizens are required to periodically inject themselves with an emotion dampening drug. Sense offenders, when caught, are quickly terminated. Of course, there is a resistance trying to fight this evil regime. An elite force of individuals, referred to as clerics, lead the fight to eradicate this society of sense offenders and the resistance. The movie follows the best of these clerics as he ruthlessly terminates sense offenders, but then something happens. He starts to experience emotions for himself. As he discovers his emotions, he struggles to keep them hidden, but it is not an easy task.
The Cleric's fighting ability in this movie is pretty cool. Gunkata is a little far fetched, but they did a good job in explaining how the clerics have this amazing fighting skill, kind of like how they explained how Neo could do all he could do, it makes it make sense thus it does not take anything away from the movie.
The action in this movie enhances the story, it is not just filler action for the sake of being action. They didn't overdo it. This movie is about the cleric, his discovery of emotions, and how he plans to proceed on with his life.
I highly recommend this movie for everyone to see!
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Post by valderra on Aug 27, 2006 17:35:33 GMT -5
I really love this movie. I can't believe I've forgotten to make a thread for it here. And I'll bet you were reminded of it again when you read my thread about Aeon Flux. Equilibrium is one of my favourite movies (I have it on DVD). I just thought it a shame that Sean Bean had to die so early in the movie (sadly, he often only appears for the first 5 minutes of a movie). Loved the film, although I thought that the scenes with Emily Watson as Mary O'Brien were a little drawn-out. Loved Taye Diggs ans Christian Bale's new partner (after Sean Bean got killed). Great storyline and lots of action.
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xkamelx
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Post by xkamelx on Aug 27, 2006 19:02:57 GMT -5
Gotta agree with all of that. Great action, great backgrounds (the city, the music used, etc.) great story, and great characters.
I liked how their city, the name eludes, Prozaria, or something, was run by a government that resembled a futuristic Nazi Germany in some aspects, with the children dressed in black pointing out sense offenders.
I liked the scene when they came and took away Preston's wife for sense offense.
This movie does not remind me of a summer blockbuster, but reminds me of a film that stays true it it's art form, to the directors vision and has not been chopped up by a Hollywood studio.
Like you Val, this is one of my favorite movies.
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Post by peregrina on Sept 21, 2006 22:48:57 GMT -5
Equilibrium; is my favorite movie on the earth , i think its assume because it show me how to be cool about my feelings and learned how to fight.
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xkamelx
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Post by xkamelx on Sept 21, 2006 22:49:38 GMT -5
Equilibrium; is my favorite movie on the earth Mine too! ;D
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Kmylove
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Post by Kmylove on Oct 8, 2006 13:47:45 GMT -5
This movie is my current obsession. I really LOVE it! For a movie in which feelings are supposed to be opressed, it sure gives the viewer a lot of emotions. There are many amazing scenes, but I really like the ones when Preston begins to feel (like the scene when he first listens to music, or when he sees the rainbow). Gunkata is extraordinary! It's a pretty robotic-like fighting style, perfect for persons which do everything automaticly, without putting any feelings into it. I have heard many people comparing it to The Matrix. Personally, despite being quite a big Matrix fanatic, I have to disagree and I have to admit I preffer Equilibrium better. It's much more appealing to the emotional side.
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Post by Dillson on Mar 23, 2007 5:53:14 GMT -5
I know that this is an old topic but I have to add my two cents. Equilibrium is one of my favourite films of all time and anyone that says it's The Matrix with a smaller budget is clearly wrong. This film does enough to distance itself from The Matrix and apart from that it's a better film anyway.
The film is clearly influenced a lot by 1984. The book, that is. The one that introduced the concepts of Big Brother and the Thought Police. Gun-kata is very cool as well; a novel take on hand-to-hand combat. I don't know what it is about films set in a dystopian future (like the recent Children of Men) but they capture my imagination.
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Post by Kmylove on Mar 23, 2007 5:57:13 GMT -5
I think that the fact that it has an influence from 1984 is what makes me like the movie. The book was really interesting. The movie really brought everything to a higher, more interesting level, it imagined a very interesting form of control. People always seem to be interested in movies which talk about future decaying societies and people trying to resist some form of control.
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xkamelx
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Post by xkamelx on Mar 23, 2007 21:53:52 GMT -5
I know that this is an old topic but I have to add my two cents. Equilibrium is one of my favourite films of all time and anyone that says it's The Matrix with a smaller budget is clearly wrong. This film does enough to distance itself from The Matrix and apart from that it's a better film anyway. The film is clearly influenced a lot by 1984. The book, that is. The one that introduced the concepts of Big Brother and the Thought Police. Gun-kata is very cool as well; a novel take on hand-to-hand combat. I don't know what it is about films set in a dystopian future (like the recent Children of Men) but they capture my imagination. Gun-kata was cool. Like I said above, it and the action in this movie takes nothing away from it or it's story, but instead it enhances the story. They did it perfectly in my opinion. Christian Bale did an excellent job. At times I could see the lack of emotion behind Preston's eyes, while others I could see emotion exploding from him, especially in the scene where the music drives him to cry. He is such an underrated actor, although I think Batman Begins helped the mainstream fans take notice of his talent. Speaking of Children of Men, we'll have to make a thread, that was excellent!
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Post by Dillson on Mar 23, 2007 22:25:52 GMT -5
Christian Bale was AWESOME in this film. I can't think of a better performance of a leading role in a film like this in a long time. The main reason for this is that he was subtle; not overly emotive when he was feeling, nor too "machine-like" when he was taking the Prozium. His performance made me believe in his character. Sean Bean is usually underused in a supporting role, but in this Bale's performance completely makes up for this. We were able to search into Bale's eyes and see for ourselves what Preston was feeling (or not, depending on the scene) rather than his emotions patronisingly spoon-fed to us.
To be honest, all the acting was very good. I can't think of a particularly wooden performance from anyone and again that was because no one was over the top or trying to steal the show.
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xkamelx
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Post by xkamelx on Mar 24, 2007 0:37:52 GMT -5
I agree with all of that. There was so many ways they could have messed this movie up, but they did everything just right, in every smallest detail.
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Post by Dillson on Mar 24, 2007 1:05:24 GMT -5
My favourite films of all time all share a common attribute: they all have an exquisite eye for the smallest details, y'know, the ones that you might not see in your first viewing, but add so much authenticy. It makes the difference between watching a piece of linear film or watching a real world unfold that you can explore, in all it's subtleties. One scene in particular highlights the attention to detail in this film. When Preston leads a group of fighters on a cleansing mission on a suburb of The Nethers, he discovers a room filled with artifacts from times gone by. As well as being superbly acted by Bale, the detail is wonderful. I loved the imagery of the Eiffel Tower in that glass ball thing that snows when you shake it. Considering the budget the film had, it makes it an even greater achievement.
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Post by Kmylove on Mar 24, 2007 5:30:00 GMT -5
I can only agree to what you have both said. Bale did an excellent job portraying Preston, and all the acting in the movie was brilliant.
The film is fantastic from beginning to end, and it gives me a sense of frustration to see how some people completely underrate it.
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xkamelx
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Post by xkamelx on Mar 27, 2007 2:49:24 GMT -5
Another scene I think is brilliant is when he peels the paper off of his apartment window and views the rainy city. I need not say any more.
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Post by Kmylove on Mar 27, 2007 2:52:18 GMT -5
Another scene I think is brilliant is when he peels the paper off of his apartment window and views the rainy city. I need not say any more. That scene is one of the most emotional scenes I have ever seen. It is brilliant.
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