Equilibrium

Title: Equilibrium
Director: Kurt Wimmer
Cast: Christian Bale, Taye Diggs, Sean Bean
Year: 2002
MPAA: Rated R for violence.
Date of Review: August 7, 2005

Many critics and film enthusiasts are saying that modern movies are the beginning of the demise of film. That the ability to make something truly original and captivating is lost, murdered in the dark alleyways of the 1980s by a mysterious and powerful attacker named MTV. At least, that's what some snobs will have you believe. In fact, film is still in great form, if not better than ever, you just have to dig a little deeper. There are still many wonderful movies out there, and lately, it seems, many of them star an equally wonderful young actor, Christian Bale.

Kurt Wimmer's 2002 sci-fi action movie "Equilibrium" is not one of the better films starring Bale, but that is not to say it is bad at all. It simply lacks the finesse and sense of completion that films such as "American Psycho" and "The Machinist" offer, which is probably due to the fact that it was a little too ambitious for its own budget. The special effects are no better than many high-end video games, and it has the production values of something you would see coming straight to video. However, it has a handful of very fast, very satisfying action scenes, as well as a few fine performances and some great inventiveness that manage to lift it above the mediocrity of its overall feel.

Christian Bale stars as John Preston, the most elite member of a type of futuristic law enforcement called the "Grammaton Clerics", who enforce laws put into act after another devastating world war, stating that human emotion is now illegal. The film begins when Preston is at his prime, and follows him as he rediscovers his own emotions, and begins his fight against the corrupt powers leading society. At his disposal is a new martial arts technique called the "gun katas", designed for optimum performance by Clerics during gun fights, and to watch the choreography of some of these fights is quite spectacular, albeit very brief.

Among the supporting stars are Taye Diggs, Emma Watson, and the always charming Sean Bean in a role that felt like it should have been much more. The acting in the film is solid, considering the genre and the audience it is trying to attract, with Christian Bale and Sean Bean stealing the show - especially when they are onscreen together.

Kurt Wimmer, who has dabbled in and out of writing very average screenplays, shows that he is really no better at directing. Much like the supporting cast, he displays that he knows how to get the job done quickly and painlessly, but it's fairly plain and by-the-numbers.

A surprisingly interesting part of the film was the rather simple but effective musical score. Light instrumentals layered with electronic sounds and patterns combined nicely and added to the cold, calculating feel of the world the movie created. Subtle sounds and ambience are used throughout the film to increase this effect.

"Equilibrium" shows us that there is hope for something new and original in the action world after "The Matrix", and also that there is a future for action movies with brains as well as braun. However, it could have been something truly incredible in the hands of more capable people.

6.5/10