HLJ's Movie Blog

Equilibrium

It’s hard to believe that Equilibrium and Ultraviolet were written and directed by the same person. Actually, it’s not that hard to believe, since the action sequences are very similar. It’s just a shame that Kurt Wimmer made such an interesting movie like Equilibrium and then made such a poor one like Ultraviolet. If you read my blog on Ultraviolet, you will see that I thought the movie was all about the action at the expense of the story. I didn’t mind since I expected it to be like that. Equilibrium is almost exactly it’s opposite.

Imagine the world without extreme emotions. Hatred and anger all removed from the human experience. Happiness and love are also removed. It’s an interesting scenario. Who hasn’t at times wished away their feelings after a serious disappointment or a horrible break-up. I know I have. My personal motto is I’d rather be lonely than heartbroken, but could we really live without those feelings? Equilibrium works through this question and, of course, comes to the conclusion that we can’t. Our guide through this story is Cleric John Preston. He is the enforcer of the law, trained in the art of gun Kata, which is a made-up form of martial arts created by Kurt Wimmer. There are plenty of action sequences – gun fights and sword fights included - but they aren’t as gratuitous as the ones in Ultraviolet.

I could go on and on about how great this film is compared to Ultraviolet, but I think you get the point (good story + great action = good movie; no story + great action = not so good movie). The other advantage that Equilibrium has over Ultraviolet is Christian Bale. He is an amazingly talented actor. Unfortunately, Milla Jovovish is not. She is really good at looking good though. Christian Bale has that down, too, but doesn’t let his looks do all the work for him.