Image via WikipediaEquilibrium is either a prophetic cautionary tale warning of a dystopia without emotion, or one of the most silly but cool looking movies ever made. It is actually both, and thus, you'll either love or hate this movie. There is no in between.The Premise: John Preston, a Grammaton Cleric, is tasked by the government to hunt down sense offenders... people who choose to not take their daily dose drug to dampen their feelings, and destroy all remaining tokens that evoke strong feelings, such as art, music, poetry, and so on. When he accidentally missed a dose of his own medicine, he realized the world may not be as he saw it before. One transgression lead to another, and soon, Preston is about to make the unthinkable choice... go up against Father, the leader of all...
In the strictest sense, Equilibrium is not comparable to the Matrix, but rather, is more akin to Orwell's 1984 brought to life, with thought-police using lethal force to enforce order, and how one man can make a difference... if he had been trained in this special martial arts called gun-kata.
And that's the biggest schtick in the movie: gun-kata. The idea is by analyzing the close-quarters engagements, you can synthesize a series of moves that combines dodging and counter-attack that will significantly enhance your chances of survival. The director, Kurt Wimmer, had one idea on what it should look like. Unfortunately, his martial arts advisor for this movie had a very different idea. The result is a style that doesn't quite mesh, but sure is heck cool to look at.
The plot points can get rather silly, as Preston's transformation starts and accelerates. The problem mainly is the trigger to "cross the Rubicon", so to speak, is just plain silly. Let's just say the instigator is a puppy.
Still, worth watching at least once, then check out the spiritual successor, Ultraviolet.
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