Equilibrium, 2002 - DVD

The second of two films from 2002 that were under advertised, under publicized and (again) pretty much killed by Dimension and Miramax. The first being Below.

I'm a huge Christian Bale fan. I think his work on American Psycho was brilliant, and I loved Reign of Fire. He's got a great personality he brings to his characters... each slightly different from the other. So, when I heard he was doing a film that was similar to The Matrix (dubbed, originally, as 'the smart man's Matrix)... well, I was psyched.

Unfortunetaly, it spent about a week in the theaters, garnering a whopping $1.19 million in US grosses. The film had a budget of $20 million... and I just can't help but think it was Miramax's way of getting a tax write-off.

But, I won't focus on that, in this review. It's a shame... the film was heavily advertised and publicized on the net, on JoBlo.com and C.H.U.D.... but it just didn't get enough, what, screens? I don't know. Enough posters in movie theaters? Enough trailers shown? All just speculation...

Kurt Wimmer both wrote and directed this film. His previous writing experience is spotty in the beginning, but took a big leap with the Michael Crichton adaptation of Sphere, one of the worst films in the last ten years... but it brought about other opportunities including the script re-make of The Thomas Crown Affair and last years The Recruit. With two mainstream films under his belt, it's easy to see why he was given a chance to create Equilibrium.

His only other directing credit is One Tough Bastard, in 1995... a Brian Bosworth film, if that's any indication... so... umm...

Ok!

I think the other actors, the supporting cast, did a fine job with this film. Sean Bean has been a great character actor since Goldeneye. I've enjoyed his work in Ronin and especially in the Fellowship of the Ring.

Emily Watson provides her talents to this, ultimately, doomed film. Her work on Punch-Drunk Love was wonderful, though I thought she was wasted in Red Dragon.

And Angus MacFadyen gave us a great performance in Braveheart as Robert the Bruce. These are all accomplished actors (in their own right), and they gave the film that much more depth.

Taye Diggs... I have to say that I was disappointed with his performance in this film. A little too heavy handed. I enjoyed him in House on Haunted Hill and Go... but his performance in this one was a little much.

The story... well, I have to say that it borrows a lot from such speculative fiction as 1984 and Fahrenheit 451, among others... and has some very serious similarities (in regards to action) to The Matrix... but none of those things, in my opinion, detracted from the environment that Wimmer created. The characters were all developed quite well... and there were many original moments in the film that made it exciting, sad, and reflective.

The production on the film, for a $20 million dollar picture, was phenomenal. I applaud the art director, set designers, costume designers... all of whom did incredible jobs setting up this speculative future.

Something funny... Jan de Bont was one of the producers of this film. Strange, because the man was able to continue his career after Speed 2 and The Haunting... and was able to get Miramax to back the film... he's also directing the next Lara Croft film... you'd think that this man, especially this man, would have raised holy hell because his producing project was not being handled correctly by the powers that be. Strange.

I was very surprised to find out that Dion Bebbe, the cinematographer, was just up for an Oscar this year for his work on Chicago. I find it hard to believe that the same man shot both films... but it's obvious that Bebbe is able to work, not only in a number of different genre's (some DP's can't, believe it or not), but was able to work with two completely different budgets and create two works that look and feel incredible.

I highly recommend this film, for those of you who enjoy serious science fiction, action and drama. There is a lot of neat, original work in this film, not to mention some great acting. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.