Equilibrium Movie Review

STARRING: CHRISTIAN BALE

DIRECTED BY: KURT WIMMER

RELEASE DATE: FEBRUARY 26, 2OO3

Set in the future, year 2072, Equilibrium is a movie about a totalitarian society where the people are not allowed to “feel”. A world where one cannot express, enjoy, or live, with the regular human emotions that come from everyday life. Reading, along with creating or any form of art is illegal and punishable by death. Society is forced to suppress those human emotions with an advanced medication called Prozium II, in which daily injection is required by law. Christian Bale plays as an unbeatable super cop named John Preston. Preston acquired his masterful skills from training in a high tech martial arts academy ran by the government in which he works for. The academy incorporates the use of firearms with martial arts, training their clerics to be the elite forces needed to patrol the streets. Preston’s job was to catch and kill the “Sense Offenders”, in which he also raided any found facilities that held artistic contraband or rebellious groups in hiding that were against taking the medication. He would eventual find out that his partner, Errol Partrage played by Sean Bean, has committed the crime of feeling, and now must be executed. Preston kills Partrage, as the government sends him a new partner, Andrew Brandt (Taye Diggs), to assist him with his investigations. Preston runs out of Prozium II, going without his daily injection, and starts to feel during his next raid. He begins to experience different emotions such as showing mercy for captured “Sense Offenders”, and feeling guilty for killing his partner. His current partner Brandt begins to grow suspicious as Preston would eventually go against the government, uniting with a rebellion to take down the totalitarian government in which he works for. The display of martial arts are very unique, thrilling, and exciting to watch, as a hand held gun is used as a source of power to attack. The firearm is treated as if it was any other weapon like a sword or staff, used by an expert martial arts practitioner. Applying a martial art into ones ability to aim and shoot a pistol takes action movies to another level in this electrifying tale of an alternate reality. A 4.5 out of 5 stars for my taste being that this criteria was originally set up for martial arts movies, and this is under action / sci-i genre.