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Equilibrium

  • 2002
  • R
  • 1h 47m
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
356K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,123
290
Christian Bale and Taye Diggs in Equilibrium (2002)
Trailer
Play trailer1:18
3 Videos
99+ Photos
Dystopian Sci-FiGun FuActionDramaSci-FiThriller

In an oppressive future where all forms of feeling are illegal, a man in charge of enforcing the law rises to overthrow the system and state.In an oppressive future where all forms of feeling are illegal, a man in charge of enforcing the law rises to overthrow the system and state.In an oppressive future where all forms of feeling are illegal, a man in charge of enforcing the law rises to overthrow the system and state.

  • Director
    • Kurt Wimmer
  • Writer
    • Kurt Wimmer
  • Stars
    • Christian Bale
    • Sean Bean
    • Emily Watson
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.3/10
    356K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    2,123
    290
    • Director
      • Kurt Wimmer
    • Writer
      • Kurt Wimmer
    • Stars
      • Christian Bale
      • Sean Bean
      • Emily Watson
    • 1.3KUser reviews
    • 161Critic reviews
    • 33Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 2 nominations total

    Videos3

    Equilibrium
    Trailer 1:18
    Equilibrium
    Equilibrium
    Trailer 1:18
    Equilibrium
    Equilibrium
    Trailer 1:18
    Equilibrium
    Equilibrium
    Trailer 1:18
    Equilibrium

    Photos110

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    + 104
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    Top cast35

    Edit
    Christian Bale
    Christian Bale
    • John Preston
    Sean Bean
    Sean Bean
    • Partridge
    Emily Watson
    Emily Watson
    • Mary O'Brien
    Taye Diggs
    Taye Diggs
    • Brandt
    Dominic Purcell
    Dominic Purcell
    • Seamus
    Christian Kahrmann
    Christian Kahrmann
    • Officer in Charge
    John Keogh
    John Keogh
    • Chemist
    Sean Pertwee
    Sean Pertwee
    • Father
    William Fichtner
    William Fichtner
    • Jurgen
    Angus Macfadyen
    Angus Macfadyen
    • Dupont
    • (as Angus MacFadyen)
    David Barrash
    • Evidentiary Storage Officer
    Dirk Martens
    Dirk Martens
    • Gate Guard
    Matthew Harbour
    Matthew Harbour
    • Robbie Preston
    Maria Pia Calzone
    Maria Pia Calzone
    • Preston's Wife
    Emily Siewert
    • Lisa Preston
    Mike Smith
    Mike Smith
    • Enforcer Commander
    Florian Fitz
    Florian Fitz
    • Gate Guard
    Danny Lee Clark
    Danny Lee Clark
    • Lead Sweeper
    • (as Daniel Lee)
    • Director
      • Kurt Wimmer
    • Writer
      • Kurt Wimmer
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews1.3K

    7.3355.6K
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    Featured reviews

    juniper-14

    Cult movie extraordinaire?

    I've seen this movie 5 times (it's the nature of satellite TV) within the past week and it's true...you catch something you've missed or see something new with every successive viewing. This movie is way ahead of its time, and much better than the over-rated Matrix. Bale is always exceptional, and so is his "Metroland" co-star, Emily Watson. Maybe it's the Anglophile or Brit-flick fan in me, but I must say that the added presence of Sean Bean and Angus MacFadyen all but confirms the pre-eminence of UK acting in quality films. Accompanied by very appropriate techno-musik, the action sequences are fast and Euro-flashy, heavily influenced by Jan De Bont--different from the weird, drawn-out, "suspended/string puppet" thing that apparently passes for martial arts these days. (I miss Bruce Lee)

    Anyway, if you haven't seen it, give this a shot. If you already have & weren't impressed, take a look at it again. It will grow on you. See if you're inclined to show up to work the next day looking and acting very much a "Cleric" who missed a Prozium dose.
    7alexanderliljefors

    A film everyone needs to see

    First of all, a extremly tought provoking film!

    Definitely a great film that really captures the essence of what makes us human. And how we need to protect freedom, democracy and culture forever.

    I really think it manages to capture the human mind and the human experience of life and society.

    Christian Bale fits perfectly for this role capturing his classic performances and abilitys as a actor during these "cold" roles he usually does.

    Soundtrack is amazing!

    Amazing script and filming aswell!

    What makes my rating abit lower, from being a stable 8 or 9 is the exaggerated actionscenes that takes too much space.

    Otherwise then that, its a movie that everyone should watch to understand how dangerous power could be and that we need to fight for freedom every day.
    8mentalcritic

    A rare dose of originality

    If there is one complaint about the Hollywood system that rings true, it is that Hollywood seems quite bereft of ideas. Then films like Equilibrium come out and remind us that it's not that we're out of ideas so much as we're just not trying hard enough. Not that Equilibrium is inherently new - it borrows a fair few plot concepts from Farenheit 451 and Nineteen Eighty-Four, to name the most prominent examples. It is the way in which the old ideas are combined with the new that makes Equilibrium a fun and underrated experience.

    The premise is simple enough. In a kneejerk reaction to the horrors of World War Three, the survivors outlaw what they blame the chaos upon. Their own emotions, in other words. As the lead character has a series of revelations, we begin to understand that in so doing, they have also outlawed much of what gives our existence a point. In the bland, lifeless world that the law-abiding citizens inhabit, everything that the audience takes for granted to make their lives worthwhile is being systematically destroyed. Shades of the America of today, the whole principle of throwing the baby out with the bathwater, are shown in a stark horror show.

    I've read people comparing this film to The Matrix or its sequels. Where The Matrix series' fights were overlong, and often with no payoff, Equilibrium's fights are short and to the point. The difference this makes is, needless to say, as uplifting as Preston's fight to regain the humanity he stripped so many others of. Instead of having fights with no emotional connection to the characters, the story is given sufficient development to make the audience care what happens.

    The film is not entirely without flaws. The Prozium element seems to have been written with no regard for the facts about psychiatric medicines. Their purpose is not to suppress emotion at all, but to balance the chemical system of the brain in order to give the patient better control of them. Sure, they're not without problems of their own, but exaggerating them like this does not do the portion of the community that needs them any favours. That aside, however, the on-camera struggle is one of the most intriguing I've viewed for some time. Ergo, this minor plot problem is made up for. The only other real complaint I have is that the film could have done with a little more footage to give some characters more of a chance to develop.

    I gave Equilibrium an eight out of ten. It's not the best negative science fiction you'll ever see, but it is enough of a breath of fresh air that this won't entirely matter. If the MPAA made more films like this, it wouldn't be suffering the constant financial dire straits that it so loves to blame everyone else for.
    10BrandtSponseller

    Put down the Valium and watch this film

    Set in a future, post-World War III society where emotions have been outlawed, Equilibrium tells the story of John Preston (Christian Bale), a government agent who begins to have doubts about the policy he is enforcing.

    Equilibrium is the perfect example why I do not rate lower for derivativeness or unoriginality. The film is basically high-concept combination of Fahrenheit 451 (1966), George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (original published in 1949, film versions appeared in 1954, 1956 and 1984), The Matrix (1999) and a bit of The Wizard of Oz (1939) thrown in for good measure. What matters is not how original the ideas are (assuming it's not a case of plagiarism), as whether something is original or not is an epistemological problem that tells us more about our own familiarity with other material rather than the precedent status of the artwork we're questioning, but how well the material is handled. The high-concept material in Equilibrium is handled brilliantly.

    On its surface, after a brief action-oriented beginning, Equilibrium is basically a progression from a fairly complex sci-fi film (meaning simply that it takes a lot of exposition to get up to speed) to a thriller to a "gun fu"-styled actioner. The progression is carried out deftly by writer/director Kurt Wimmer (who unfortunately hasn't shown the same level of elegant panache in other films I've seen from him, including Sphere (1998) and The Recruit (2003)), with all of the genres somewhat present throughout the film. Wimmer is so austerely slick here that Equilibrium sometimes resembles a postmodernist automobile commercial. The transition from genre to genre is incredibly smooth.

    The most impressive material on this surface level is the gun fu action stuff, which almost "out-Matrixes" The Matrix in style, if not volume. Preston is so skilled to be an almost invincible opponent. His solitary misstep as a fighter occurs once he gives himself over to emotion. This is nicely related to the common advice from kung fu senseis that emotion lessens one's effectiveness in combat.

    Of course a big part of Equilibrium is the set of philosophical points it has to make about emotion. There are sections of the film that are appropriately dialogue-heavy, and Wimmer is more than conspicuous with this (one of two) primary theme(s). Just as important as dialogue for Wimmer's commentary on man's emotions are body language and behavior. Some viewers might see it as a flaw that characters frequently show what they consider to be signs of emotions in their comments or behavior, but that's part of Wimmer's agenda. Because it's difficult to even say just what counts as an emotion, and emotions are so wrapped-up with being sentient beings, it would be difficult if not impossible to fully eliminate them, and it's certainly not recommendable. The cast does an excellent job of portraying characters who are supposed to be mostly emotionless but with cracks in the stoic armor continually poking through.

    Wimmer has a harsh view of our society's self-medication epidemic--even the title of the film seems to be a stab at the common claim that drugs like Prozac and Xanax are taken to help one "smooth out", or "equalize", extremes of mood, or extreme dispositions. The Equilibrium government extends this agenda into the tangible material realm as they also attempt to "smooth out" mood swings by eliminating any cultural artifacts that might promote varied moods/emotions. Wimmer seems to see it as a not-too-exaggerated extension of the modus operandi behind Prozac-like drugs.

    The other primary theme is one of institutional control. Wimmer has a lot to say about unquestioningly following authorities, and he's careful to show that it's not just governmental authorities that can be a problem. He does this by tightly wrapping religious allegory with his depiction of Equilibrium's government. The leader is known as "Father", and the government secret service members are "clerics". Those outside of this control are shown as authentic, free, individualistic and happy despite the hardships involved with their embrace of forbidden thought/items.

    More subtly, Wimmer employs the now overused washed out blue-gray cinematography of late 1990s/early 2000s genre films towards an unusual end. It's not just a stylistic device here, but represents a particular kind of reality. Under the purview of the fascistic government, blue-gray predominates. When glimpses of freedom/authenticity enter the film, the blue-gray look is gone, replaced with strongly saturated warm colors, and occasionally a more nostalgic subdued tone. This is one of the film's similarities to The Wizard of Oz, although maybe not the most significant one.

    If you're someone who cherishes originality for its own sake, you might not like Equilibrium as much, but you have much more serious epistemological problems to sort out. Otherwise, this is a film worth watching and thinking about.
    8spareroomstudios

    This is my scifi guilty pleasure!

    I really enjoy this movie, it's not perfect, but its enjoyable and is a good package considering its low budget. Christian Bale's acting style compliments the cool emotionless feel to the movie, plus there's a bit of heart in there to. It is a bit gimmicky, yes, but it packs a punch, with simplistic costumes that look realistic, to the brutalistic architecture style. I really recommend this movie for a fun scifi movie night, but don't be overly serious or you will look like a emotionless dictator.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Despite popular belief, absolutely no wires were used in the film at all. All of the gravity-defying stunts were done through conventional means. For example, the backflip off of the motorcycle was done with a trampoline.
    • Goofs
      Brandt shows clear anger all throughout his quest to arrest Preston, yet no one questions it.
    • Quotes

      Partridge: You always knew.

      [begins to read from Yeats]

      Partridge: "But I, being poor, have only my dreams. I have spread my dreams under your feet. Tread softly because you tread on my dreams." I assume you dream, Preston.

    • Connections
      Edited into Honest Trailers: Lord of the Rings (2012)
    • Soundtracks
      Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125: I. Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso
      (uncredited)

      Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven

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    FAQ21

    • How long is Equilibrium?Powered by Alexa
    • What is the infamous "gun swap" plot hole? Can it be explained?
    • What is the significance of Dupont's opulent office?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 6, 2002 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Miramax (United States)
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Librium
    • Filming locations
      • Olympiastadion, Charlottenburg, Berlin, Germany
    • Production companies
      • Dimension Films
      • Blue Tulip Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $20,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $1,203,794
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $541,512
      • Dec 8, 2002
    • Gross worldwide
      • $5,368,217
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 47 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
      • SDDS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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