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Equilibrium
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Equilibrium (2002) More at IMDbPro »

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Equilibrium (2002) -- In a Fascist future where all forms of feeling are illegal, a man in charge of enforcing the law rises to overthrow the system.
Equilibrium (2002) -- In a Fascist future where all forms of feeling are illegal, a man in charge of enforcing the law rises to overthrow the system.

Overview

User Rating:
7.8/10   73,647 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 29% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Kurt Wimmer
Writer (WGA):
Kurt Wimmer (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for Equilibrium on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
26 February 2003 (Belgium) more
Genre:
Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller more
Tagline:
In a future where freedom is outlawed outlaws will become heroes. more
Plot:
In a Fascist future where all forms of feeling are illegal, a man in charge of enforcing the law rises to overthrow the system. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
2 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(43 articles)
Sci-Fi Trailer: Mexico’s 2033
 (From SciFiCool.com. 2 July 2009, 9:29 AM, PDT)

Cold Souls Movie Poster
 (From toxicshock. 16 June 2009, 12:00 AM, PDT)

User Comments:
A rare dose of originality more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Dominic Purcell ... Seamus

Christian Bale ... John Preston

Sean Bean ... Partridge

Christian Kahrmann ... Officer in Charge
John Keogh ... Chemist
Sean Pertwee ... Father

William Fichtner ... Jurgen

Angus Macfadyen ... Dupont (as Angus MacFadyen)
David Barrash ... Evidentiary Storage Officer
Dirk Martens ... Gate Guard

Taye Diggs ... Brandt
Matthew Harbour ... Robbie Preston

Maria Pia Calzone ... Preston's Wife
Emily Siewert ... Lisa Preston

Emily Watson ... Mary O'Brien
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Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:
Cubic (Europe: English title) (video title)
Librium (USA) (working title)
more
MPAA:
Rated R for violence.
Runtime:
107 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS
Certification:
Singapore:NC-16 | Netherlands:12 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Iceland:16 | Canada:A (Ontario) | South Korea:15 | Philippines:R-18 | Sweden:15 (DVD rating) | Australia:M | Finland:K-15 | Germany:16 | UK:15 | USA:R
Filming Locations:
Berlin, Germany more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Director Cameo: [Kurt Wimmer]1. Silhouetted figure in the Grammaton Cleric introduction with narration, 2. Rebel who is pushed up against the column in the warehouse raid and executed. more
Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: When Preston is storming the lobby outside father's office, you can see the wires attached to the cartridges he throws out into the middle before he opens fire on the guards. more
Quotes:
[first lines]
DuPont: In the first years of the 21st century, a third World War broke out. Those of us who survived knew mankind could never survive a fourth; that our own volatile natures could simply no longer be risked. So we have created a new arm of the law: The Grammaton Cleric, whose sole task it is to seek out and eradicate the true source of man's inhumanity to man - his ability to feel.
more
Movie Connections:
References The Matrix (1999) more

FAQ

What is the infamous "gun swap" plot hole? Can it be explained?
more
121 out of 175 people found the following comment useful:-
A rare dose of originality, 6 November 2004
8/10
Author: mentalcritic from Southern Hemisphere

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.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Equilibrium (2002)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
*SPOILERS* re: Sympathy for the dogs donna-478
TAYE DIGGS ROCKED Zofh
Major continuity error that everybody seems to have missed. bensens
Excellent movie! BrainGremlin
Why do people say Equilbrium is like The Matrix? benjebobs
sense offender rabidkittieleg
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