Nowadays, increasing number of politicians and influential figures in the West are touting the idea of World War Three being good for the economy, if not as the solution for all the humanity’s problems. However, two decades ago, there was significantly less such enthusiasm for such ideas, at least judging by the premise of Equilibrium, 2002 science fiction action film written and directed by Kurt Wimmer.
The film presents a futuristic setting in the city-state of Libria, built by the survivors of World War Three. Its founders were determined to prevent anything like World War Three from ever happening again. They have identified emotion, both good and bad, as the source of all strife and violence, and therefore, concluded that it must be eliminated. All citizens are mandated to regularly take Prozium, an emotion-suppressing drug, while art, literature, and any object that might cause emotion are banned. Violations of these bans are punishable by death, and the top enforcers of these rules are the elite police force known as "Clerics". The protagonist, John Preston, is a top "Cleric" who has mastered the art of "gun kata" and uses it even against his partner and friend Erroll Partridge (played by Sean Bean) when caught reading a forbidden book. However, one day, Preston misses his regular Prozium dose and begins to see the world differently. He gets in contact with the resistance movement led by Jurgen (played by William Fichtner), which aims to destroy the Prozium factories and liberate the people of Libria from Tetramagaton Council led by Vice Counsel DuPont (played by Angus MacFadyen).
Initially, Equilibrium was an obscure film. Originally made in 2000, it was kept on the shelves for two years by Miramax and had poor theatrical distribution in North America, while having rather decent box office success in Europe. It was also panned by critics, who perceived it as nothing more than a cheap knock-off of The Matrix and a strange blend of two genres: a silly action film with "gun katas" that, while visually impressive and "cool", looked ridiculous in the real-life context, and a serious dystopian science fiction that heavily borrowed from classics like Brave New World, 1984, and Fahrenheit 451.
However, those who actually watched Equilibrium accepted it, despite its silliness. Wimmer, despite a relatively low budget, created a fascinating future world by putting Nazi-era architecture of Berlin to good use. The cinematography by Dion Beebe, which plays with different color tones to illustrate the protagonist's emotional awakening, is superb. The action scenes are perfectly choreographed. Christian Bale delivers a strong performance as the protagonist, who starts as an emotional zombie only to receive an epiphany. He is supported by capable character actors like Angus MacFadyen as the villain. Taye Diggs, however, is not as convincing as Preston's partner, as his over-emotional performance subverts the premise.
Equilibrium, despite its flaws, is a good film that is even more relevant now than it was two decades ago. The dystopian world described in the film looks even more convincing not only because of the prospect of global war but also due to the rise of "political correctness" and speech codes that try to control and suppress emotions, just like the fictional Prozium. The idea of the government forcing people to take medicine under harsh penalties also looks disturbingly prescient in light of recent events.
RATING: 6/10 (++)
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