FemaleFirst.co.uk: DVD: Equilibrium [DVD] [2003]

Equilibrium [DVD] [2003]
enlarge	Director: Kurt Wimmer Actors: Christian Bale, Sean Bean, Emily Watson, Taye Diggs, Dominic Purcell Studio: Momentum Pictures Category: DVD List Price: ~~£17.99~~ Buy New: £3.48 as of 21/11/2009 03:01 GMT details You Save: £14.51 (81%) New (15) Used (14) from £2.16 Seller: selectcheaper Rating: 135 reviews Sales Rank: 4951 Format: PAL Language: English (Original Language) Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over Region: 2 Discs: 1 Number Of Discs: 1 Running Time: 103 Minutes Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2 Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6 EAN: 5060049140407 ASIN: B0000ABPLG Theatrical Release Date: July 9, 2003 Release Date: October 6, 2003 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days


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Editorial Reviews: Amazon.co.uk Review A broad science fiction thriller in a classic vein, IEquilibrium/I takes a respectable stab at a IFahrenheit 451/I-like cautionary fable. The story finds Earth's post-World War III humankind in a state of severe emotional repression; if no-one feels anything, no-one will be inspired by dark passions to attack their neighbours. Writer-director Kurt Wimmer's monochromatic, IMetropolis/I-influenced cityscape provides an excellent backdrop to the heavy-handed mission of John Preston (Christian Bale), a top cop who busts "sense offenders" and crushes sentimental, sensual, and artistic relics from a bygone era. Predictably, Preston becomes intrigued by his victims and that which they die to cherish; he stops taking his mandatory, mood-flattening drug and is even aroused by a doomed prisoner (Emily Watson). Wimmer's wrongheaded martial arts/duelling guns motif is sheer silliness (a battle over a puppy doesn't help), but IEquilibrium/I should be seen for Bale's moving performance as a man shocked back to human feeling. --ITom Keogh/I

Customer Reviews: Showing reviews 1-5 of 135 1 2 3 4 5 6 ...27 Next » Sheer, absolute BRILLIANCE.. March 31, 2006 Mr. C. Michael Douse (st albans, hertfordshire United Kingdom) 16 out of 17 found this review helpful Equilibrium to me has allways been thought of as an under rated film, i see the Amazon reviewers have seen the light though! This movie struck so many right chords with my emotions, the acting is fantastic, every word and movement the cast makes sends a shiver down my spine. Its really hard to get into this film because the whole concept and idea that it relays to you is so original and interesting that your mind cant help but wander off to think about it! To come up with something so science fiction yet plausable and mix it with matrix-esque shooting, AND still have it beleiveable, and not branded as a trashy shooter flick is genious! the score is beyond amazing, it really is, Klaus Badelt? i think his name is, well he did a very VERY good job here, atmospheric and stand alone vivid in itself, its dark and very.. german, the sort of thing Beethoven would right, if he were alive today. (as we all know he would be a film composer). These fight scenes, although i hate to generically put them in that terminology, are extremely origonal, without all the slow mo crap that ruins the effect of realism during a film. Im thankful to say that in Equilibrium they have'nt dont what so many film makers do and that is to make the mistake of creating CG humans. CG is used pretty much only for backgrounds and that which is not possible to carry off any other way. The drama, and impact this film will have on you is unimagineable. Im goin to go watch it! "puts the matrix to bed" March 23, 2006 William Crossman (London United Kingdom) 14 out of 15 found this review helpful You will not see a better sci-fi film than this, bale is superb as a man caught between what is lawful and what is humane. It is a superb contrast into a future society which is dominated by a citizens ability not to feel emotion, the key plot is that rebellion is formed by those who wish to feel. They believe that feelings are what make them human, Bales role as the highest "cleric" in a justice sytem managed by a totalitarian leader is carried off with brilliance. pBale succumbs to the lure of his emotions when he accidently destroys his dose of the emotion quelling drug, he then becomes succeptible to emotions and goes through a radical change in his persona. When a woman he meets turns out to be a rebel he starts to fancy her, and through her he finds a connection to the underground. Agreeing finally to help the rebels kill the leader of the governing body, he fights to contain his emotions long enough not to be discovered himself. His final catalyst being the loss of his beautiful rebel lady friend, he goes on a rampage of amazing proportions.pThe action sequences in this film are amazing and bar none (yes even the matrix) is one of the best sci-fi movies ever. Bales performance is flawless, as is that of Taye Diggs as his evil nemesis/ friendly counterpart. Bale probably would of made a better Neo to be brutally honest, and at least there are no scary sequels. Fantastic 10/10. Father is watching you.... April 23, 2004 6 out of 6 found this review helpful I loved the Matrix and '1984' is one of my favourite books, so it wasobvious that I would be sceptical about the release of a film whichseemingly combined the two. I was wrong! The sweeping drop of the scenery,some great images of unfathomably emotionless crowds and some stunningaction scenes provide an excellent background with which Wimmer workseffortlessly. The story revolves around John Preston (Christian Bale), Afirst-class Grammaton Cleric whose job it is to kill those who feelemotion, fuelled by the callous brute force the mind-altering pill Proziumprovides. Following the disaster of WW3, a totalitarian government hasdeclared that all citizens have to take Prozium. Preston takes out those'sense offenders' who don't. However, by chance he drops and breaks hisdaily dose, leaving him free to feel. What follows is a hugely movingjourney through the mind of a man learning to feel. He experiences joy,pity, love, and above all, an abounding anger and hatred against thegoverment. His new battle is against those who hold society down.brBaleis absolutely superb in this role, further confirming his status as afantastic but generally overlooked actor. If you've seen any of his otherfilms like 'Velvet Goldmine', 'Reign of Fire' and 'American Pyscho', youwill be thrilled to see that once again Bale adapts his dramatic personaseamlessly to fit the film. He is chillingly and touchingly convincing inequal measures. Although a great film on its own, 'Equilibrium' would benothing without the magic touch of Mr. Christian Bale. An excellent filmwhich I can reccomend highly to anyone with a heart. Possibly better than the Matrix August 13, 2003 Natalie McCullough (London, England) 11 out of 12 found this review helpful I have nothing but praise for this film. The thought process behind the fight scenes are incredible, however 'needless' it may seem. The puppy was symbolic of something that feels which the people of Libria do not understand and therefore blame the downfall of mankind on human emotion. Basic gist - Mankind learnt the lesson that human emotion caused death and destruction. A drug was created to supress anger, jealousy etc but it also sacrificed the other emotions at the same time. To enforce the will of 'Father', the Grammaton Cleric was created. These highly skilled, trained clerics bring order and restore peace to Libria. John Preston (Christian Bale) is the highest ranking Cleric, entrusted to bring down the Resisitance. In doing so, he is exposed to a 'sense offender' Mary O'Brian (Emily Watson) who shows him what it is to feel. Throughout the film, we see a dramatic struggle for Bale to come to terms with human emotion. Unable to control his feelings at times, he is closely watched by another cleric (Taye Diggs) keen to make a name for himself. Bale plays his part in a double-cross with the Resistance, which admittedly, seems pointless since he just kills everyone anyway. Good guy wins, the world is saved. The rather ironic thing is the last shot you see in the film is everything blowing up and people shooting. You are left to think if the liberation was such a good idea..... Watch the film if you can appreciate good action sequences and try not to take them too seriously. The logic behind how the Grammaton clerics are trained is plausable - they watch western gun fights and use a little maths. Well worth watching as Bale is at his best Its not the Matrix and its not supposed to be. September 9, 2003 4 out of 4 found this review helpful There was nothing on the telly so we went and got this from our local DVD Rental place, and initially in the first 5 minutes we thought to ourselves - ooo this could be a bit dodgy.pThen, the first major gun-kata fight happened, in the dark, and the surround sound system nearly had a fit! IT WAS FANTASTIC!! brIf you watch this film trying to make comparisons to The Matrix, Fahrenheit-451, 1984, THX Thingy Wotsit, then you are going to hate it, but, if you watch it as new film with a completely different way of exploiting martial arts and gun play then you will be blown away.p The last 20 minutes are especially superb. Showing reviews 1-5 of 135 1 2 3 4 5 6 ...27 Next »

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