Equilibrium (2002)
In a futuristic world, a strict regime has eliminated war by suppressing emotions: books, art and music are strictly forbidden and feeling is a crime punishable by death. Cleric John Preston (Bale) is a top ranking government agent responsible for destroying those who resist the rules. When he misses a dose of Prozium, a mind-altering drug that hinders emotion, Preston, who has been trained to enforce the strict laws of the new regime, suddenly becomes the only person capable of overthrowing it.
Cast and Information
Directed By: Kurt Wimmer
Written By: Kurt Wimmer
Starring: Sean Bean, David Hemmings, William Fichtner, Christian Bale, Emily Watson, Angus Macfadyen, Dominic Purcell, Sean Pertwee, Taye Diggs, Brian W. Cook
Genres: Drama, Sci-fi, Suspense/Thriller, Action
Country: USA
Where to Stream
Loading...
Equilibrium belongs to 40 collections
1. Dystopia (collaborative: moderated by Nouilles - 29 stars)
2. Netflix Instant (collaborative: moderated by somnivore - 29 stars)
3. Drugs (collaborative: moderated by iconogassed - 16 stars)
4. Films available in HD (collaborative: moderated by kubricksucks - 13 stars)
5. Great Fights (collaborative: moderated by doctor7 - 6 stars)
6. Classic CHUD: 100 Movies That Deserve More Love (collaborative: moderated by tinysausage - 5 stars)
7. Top 3000 movies with the most votes on IMDb (public: fanfic - 5 stars)
8. Cyberpunk (collaborative: moderated by PerryStroika - 4 stars)
9. Wikipedia's list of dystopian films (collaborative: moderated by ND Geek - 4 stars)
10. Sword Fight (collaborative: moderated by iceblox - 3 stars)
11. Movie Night (public: cesargm - 3 stars)
12. Top 1000 movies with the most votes on IMDb (public: fanfic - 3 stars)
13. INFJ movies (collaborative: moderated by sboden - 2 stars)
14. cyberpunk and tech-noir (collaborative: moderated by xmoffx - 2 stars)
15. /r/Cyberpunk/wiki/movies (collaborative - 2 stars)
16. mwgerb's Netflix Instant Queue (public: mwgerb - 2 stars)
17. Top 2000 movies with the most votes on IMDb (public: fanfic - 2 stars)
18. totalitarian police/surveillance state (collaborative: moderated by livelove - 1 star)
19. mind control (collaborative: moderated by livelove - 1 star)
20. Netflix instant LATAM (collaborative: moderated by Roman_Herbom - 1 star)
21. Available on Starz (public: Jason212 - 1 star)
22. Cult classic SF for my wife (public: Temptershell - 1 star)
23. IMDB - 2013-10-05 (collaborative: moderated by oldestman)
24. Films & Architecture (blog) (collaborative: moderated by Ag0stoMesmer)
25. Play Instant (collaborative: moderated by ForrestQ)
26. HBO GO (excluding HBO productions) (collaborative: moderated by msa)
27. Photographed by Dion Beebe (collaborative: moderated by iconogassed)
28. Darko DVD RC2 (public: Vandelay1)
29. Reed's DVDs (public: BrotherReed)
30. To Watch (public: normalchaos)
31. Pickpocket's BluRay's and DVD's (public: Pickpocket)
32. favoriler (public: ceseth)
33. Owned (public: ribcage)
34. Movies to See: Science-Fiction (public: Lord Moe)
35. P. Watched List (public: nnraiden)
36. Anna BNW (public: Ceekay19)
37. Looper's Most underrated sci-fi movies of the last 15 years (public: FalinPerth)
38. My ratings (public: tpbradbury)
39. DoObejrzenia (public: peeroog)
40. Bary (public: Jobs-Bronson)
Browse the full list of collections
| Stars | User | Rating | |
| 7 |  |
somnivore | 77 29th |
|
Redundant. The action sequences feel like a video game on easy difficulty, and it seemed to me that they were merely trying to capitalize on the type of action found in The Matrix. The premise is a simplistic dystopia whose potential is grossly underutilized, especially as compared to many other literary and film works that have already explored this. For a movie about "feelings", this one left me unmoved. I still found the movie moderately entertaining (mainly for its ludicrous "gun katas").
|
|||
| 6 |  |
Tony Irwin | 81 75th |
|
Heavy on the philosophy and with wonderful Hong Kong style action visuals. The philosophy is subversive: the film's answer to the question it poses is a pretty unhappy one, what it has to say about being human isn't too optimistic! It's smart and wry, but doesn't have the cheery wit and Hollywood gloss of the first Matrix movie that would endear it to a mainstream audience. As a fan of Hong Kong action cinema, and thoughtful sci-fi where there are no easy answers, I liked it very much.
|
|||
| 5 |  |
doctor7 | 75 62nd |
|
Equilibrium borrows pretty much all of it's story elements from other sources, then dumbs them down a bit. This would make the movie terrible if it wasn't for the pretty sweet action scenes and Christian Bale being awesome. Sean Bean is good as well, in his minor role. Worth seeing for the action as it is quite different.
|
|||
| 4 | mayo | 73 79th |
|
|
An enjoyable film that celebrates the power of puppies. Who can argue with that?
|
|||
| 4 |  |
TonythePony | 55 21st |
|
A movie gutted by performances that completely belie the plot. Emotions are supposed to be almost totally suppressed, but smiling, anger and smug satisfaction abound in this movie. Wimmer ignores the restrictions the story imposed on him and consequently this comes off as a shallow, muddled mess.
|
|||
| 3 |  |
Alex Watkins | 2 15th |
|
Good lord, this movie is fucking stupid.
|
|||
| 3 | juice | 65 62nd |
|
|
Don't touch my fucking puppy.
|
|||
| 3 | Twofacednewt | 40 2nd |
|
|
I will never understand everyone's love for this movie. Its an absolute rip off of Matrix/1984/Fahrenheit 451. Gun-kata is for 12 year olds and manchildren and every single action scene plays out like it was written by people on GameFAQs on the fanfiction board. The dystopian future is handled in the most hamfisted way possible its absolutely ridiculous. Bales worst role and I genuinely feel bad for him for being in this movie that settles for banality and out right plagarism.
|
|||
| 3 |  |
jmarkthespot | 60 54th |
|
Christian Bale racks up a body count of 118 people. That alone is enough for me to enjoy a lot about it. Did I mention Bale smacks down 118 people?
|
|||
| 3 |  |
Paxton | 52 23rd |
|
Finally a movie that combines everything we love about gunfights with everything we love about ballet. It's like they saw Desperado and said, "What we lack in long haired Spaniards, we'll make up for in elegant vogue moves."
|
|||
| 2 | cruelclown | 50 21st |
|
|
too many inconsistencies and contradictions makes this film impossible to work. not so stylish as it aches to be. the symbols are very lame, especially the color red. horrible ending.
|
|||
| 2 |  |
Kojiless | 94 97th |
|
To say that this movie borrows heavily from Fahrenheit 451 is like saying Charles Barkley borrows heavily from that loan shark Guido who lurks in the shadows behind Kenny's Sports Bar and Grill in Tuscon, Arizona. But what it has that Charles Barkley doesn't? F-ing Gun-kata, that's what.
|
|||
| 2 |  |
SirStuckey | 80 78th |
|
Pretty good movie. I'm a big fan of dystopian themed stories and while it doesn't do anything with the genre that hasn't been done before, I still thought it was a pretty good time. Both Bale and the action scenes are truly great, and the strongest part of the script is when Bale is feeling emotions for the first time. Also that dog was cute as all hell. Worth a watch.
|
|||
| 2 |  |
pewbeng | 83 77th |
|
This movie wanted me to get a black coat more than The Matrix. I think that's relevant.
|
|||
| 2 |  |
T3hJohnson | 25 37th |
|
The lamest cool movie? Or the coolest lame movie? guns.
|
|||
| 2 |  |
juntakinte99 | 85 73rd |
|
It was sold as a Matrix clone when really it was the first in a series of post-9/11 films dealing with the anxiety that society was heading to a totalitarian regime. The Nolan-esque conflict pits those with emotions versus stoic people enforcing a big lie. Bale is awesome, with cool fight scenes and a great arc that ends with a fantastic catharsis. It does lose a point for a Fox News inspired backstory that says this world all began because of hate crime legislation. Still, highly underrated.
|
|||
| 2 |  |
Videoetron | 69 72nd |
|
As a side note: for people unable to feel thanks to drugs, they sure do express anger a lot. I guess it is better to not take seriously either, the messages are pretty heavy handed.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
SpiderCrusoe | 25 14th |
|
A sub-par action movie that tries but fails to have meaning.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
BattleToad | 90 89th |
|
Equilibrium has a clever mix of many literary works that together make it not only smart, but unexpectedly unique. The style of action only enhances the films individuality and the point that everyone has the right to individuality. Not only is it a very fun action film, but it has a unique point that will lead to it being compared to many futures films. Awesome!
|
|||
| 1 |  |
grimsooth | 35 20th |
|
This movie was better when it was called Fahrenheit 451 and Logan's run.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
ratedec10 | 98 95th |
|
One of my most watched films, ever. Kurt Wimmer = god-of-made-up-martial-arts-that-kicks-ass-literally.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
ozymandius10 | 59 36th |
|
Cool fight scenes. But it's basically an amalgam of every dystopian novel/movie that's ever been made. Good, but not better than the Matrix.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
martryn | 78 72nd |
|
Pretty retarded premise. Pretty awesome movie. Some people say that Christian Bale plays the same person over and over again. I wonder if this is the film that got him typecast.
|
|||
| 1 | kasiak | 40 5th |
|
|
Total bullshit - you need to have lobotomy if you want to enjoy it...
|
|||
| 1 |  |
ktappe | 35 13th |
|
A blatant attempt to capitalize on the popularity of The Matrix, w/some Fahrenheit 451, 1984, Brave New World, & Blade Runner thrown in. But mixing otherwise good ingredients is no promise that they will blend well. It's heavy-handed, shallow, & predictable at most every turn. Attempts at symbolism come out cliche. Nuance has no place. As a bonus, the acting is either wooden or over the top and the obviously low budget doesn't even provide a plausible futuristic dystopia.
|
|||
| 1 | wildflower87 | 98 95th |
|
|
Great movie with an excellent plot with even better message!
|
|||
| 1 |  |
Jarmann | 76 56th |
|
An underdog who never got the attention it deserved.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
Wiche | 94 98th |
|
Terrific dystophia. Very dark, just as it should be. Reminds me of 1984 at times and has partly the same background and emotional problems. Christian Bale played a terrific role and the action scenes in which he was to be seen were just marvelous! Immediately on of my favourits!
|
|||
| 1 |  |
andayb | 65 68th |
|
the story is half "brave new world" and half "1984" with a dash of "fahrenheit 451", and the plot is a little thin. Some of the fight sequences are over the top, and the musical score is very stale.
even with all these flaws, christian bale's great performance, solid art directing and the final showdown sequence redeems the movie. A true spiritual successor to the Matrix.
and btw, Bale is probably the only person who can pull off that white suit.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
miss jesus | 67 62nd |
|
A cool concept, a good cast, and excellent production design really aren't enough to overcome this film's two huge problems: the laughable absurdity of "gun-kata", and the total failure of the performances to convey Prozium usage. Pretty enjoyable, but in the way carnival food is.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
purgatos | 54 22nd |
|
The gunfights are fun, but the attempted story is dreadfully tedious.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
Gr8Googly | 76 56th |
|
Has fight scenes that rival the Matrix and it's Big Brother plot will satisfy you enough.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
Jeb | 67 49th |
|
Borrows most everything from other sources, as others have agreed as a group. A sub-par movie that is carried by Bale. Decent and it won't be remembered by me in the future as anything even slightly memorable.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
Gilly | 100 95th |
|
1984!
|
|||
| 1 |  |
janus | 55 24th |
|
Forget The Matrix, this evokes much older dystopias, like those of 1984 or Slan: a crumbling yet sterile urban setting subject to the whims of a reclusive dictator. The premise is an utter gimmick--"emotions are forbidden on pain of death" is as pure as oppression can get. The cast is strong enough to leave one wishing for more substance than the film provides. The "gun kata" is introduced with some fanfare, but it ultimately proves meaningless, although those action scenes are pretty cool.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
WWallce4prez | 60 25th |
|
Smack dab in the era of Matrix rip-offs, Equilibrium was extremely cool if you were between the ages of 12-20 in 2002. It is silly and akin to a video game now.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
letskillrobots | 9 22nd |
|
I'm an INTP so obviously I didn't like this.
|
|||
| 1 | i3en | 9 1st |
|
|
this movie has the worst story line in the world! The action is just plain dumb period! Do you think doing a flip when 50 guys with machine guns are shooting at you is going to stop them from hitting you?? the people who mad this movie do!
|
|||
| 1 | Danon | 80 81st |
|
|
Definetly one of my favourite movies from Bale. The story is dark and believable as a sci-fi future world. The action in exciing and unique. Bale carefully balances being void of emotion without seeming to robotic. I love the 1984 overtones.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
DavidBlast | 50 44th |
|
Ahh Equilibrium. A movie so dumb, they named it twice. Also known as Cubic, this Matrixy take on 1984 is stupid as hell, but Bale does his best to keep it together. It has puppies and Emily Watson, but still... Gun-Fu, Kurt?
|
|||
| 1 | Mansbridge | 78 74th |
|
|
1984 fifty years later. Pretty decent, but ending is predictable.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
Elahn | 95 94th |
|
This is a really cool movie. The plot is excellent, the action is well done. The acting and cinematography is great. I liked it more the second time around.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
Matthew Parkinson (CineMarter) | 40 31st |
|
Even though pretty much all of the characters are supposed to be without emotion, the actors portraying them are unable to keep a straight face. The action scenes are fairly well done, especially one near the ending, but they are too few and far between to keep the film exciting. The most memorable thing about Equilibrium is the fact that there is a really cute dog in it. The dog actually only plays a small role, and yet still manages to be the most entertaining part of the entire production.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
hellboy76 | 68 65th |
|
Amazing production and effects for a smaller film, a Fahrenheit 451 meets V for Vendetta = perfect audition for Batman kinda deal. :)
|
|||
| 1 |  |
Noblet | 50 25th |
|
I love how seriously this film takes itself, the atmosphere provides a stark and hilarious contrast with the stupid dialogue and absurd action scenes.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
glumpy_99 | 64 24th |
|
Gloomy and oppressive MATRIX/1984 hybrid is technically well executed, but needlessly convoluted and unclear regarding the "rules" of the dystopic world it invokes; as noted by others, the passionate propaganda espoused by the Big Brother here seems unnecessary in a world robbed of emotion! Bale, trapped in a post-Bateman portrait of scowling intensity, is always watchable, and a well-stocked supporting cast does its best, but we've seen the same essential story too many times before.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
dhxl | 10 97th |
|
I seriously had no idea what this movie was about when rented it but boy was I amazed . Sean Bean and Christian Bale are ofcourse great actors , but in this movie Bale exceeds all my expections . Not only does this movie has action that will make you speechless , the story itself intrigues me . The movie can make you laugh and cry at the same time . Brilliant action scenes , a good story and great acting : Equilibrium .
|
|||
| 1 | myfavchords | 73 36th |
|
|
There is nothing really new in this film but it is still quite enjoyable. Christian Bale is well cast in the lead role, the whole movie revolves around his character. If you are a fan of stories like 1984 than you should check this one out.
|
|||
| 1 | sabysims | 75 26th |
|
|
Ridiculous fight coreography
|
|||
| 1 |  |
mattorama12 | 66 51st |
|
It borrows heavily from many iconic sci-fi books and movies, but I didn't mind that. The action is pretty cool. And Christian Bale is the badass you expect him to be. It's a fun movie and one you should see, even if it won't be remembered as a masterpiece of the genre.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
3dRevelation | 50 13th |
|
I found the premise to be almost laughably bad. The fight scenes were pretty much the only thing that got me through; however, the ending was decent. The acting was pretty bad, even Bale was a bit wooden. Definitely didn't live up to the hype I've heard about it.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
hotsake | 91 99th |
|
Yes I know it's basically Fahrenheit 451 meets the matrix but it's still a hell of a fun ride and not early as stupid as people might think. Well acted with an interesting take on a relatively classic if standard story.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
SweetMortal | 100 97th |
|
An underrated masterpiece. I could go on...the stylistic features such as the action scenes, the surprising emotional core, the superb acting - especially Christian Bale, who possibly cannot be matched in several aspects of the film - and the beautiful depth of the storyline. There is more to this film than you will expect - it's just so beautiful in more ways than one.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
TheEscapist | 70 46th |
|
Despite a flawed premise and a weak plot, I thought it was still very entertaining.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
Nick Hamden (Gorgon Reviews) | 60 47th |
|
Decent movie. I think it could have been a bit more clear early on what the fuck was happening though.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
rttntomatoes | 37 15th |
|
Equilibrium is a reheated mishmash of other sci-fi movies.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
qwershady | 72 42nd |
|
why the fuck sean bean played so few? yea i said that. suck it!
|
|||
| 1 | alex9000 | 71 73rd |
|
|
A good sci fi picture with excellent choreography and drab visuals to emphasise the dystopian nature of the world. A little preachy though in its message.Good acting.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
Groovy_Souls | 70 56th |
|
A solid Christian Bale-led sci-fi flick. The supporting cast is uninspired, and the story is quite lacking in depth; yet Bale does really well with his role and the interesting premise. The fight scenes are also really nice and reminiscent of The Matrix Trilogy. Its a solid flick.
|
|||
| 1 | GorillaNosh | 94 81st |
|
|
Sleeper hit, take notice. This film flew so far under the radar its a crime. Great action, interesting plot, and karate-guns. Throw in a little totalitarian governmental structure and a ninja bullet-faucet Messiah and you've got yourself a film. A damn enjoyable film. This movie came out before the matrix
|
|||
| 1 |  |
kito1 | 50 24th |
|
High-powered trashy action movie: flamboyant editing, stylish plays with light and shadow, good score. The acting and plot are both mediocre.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
metalhank | 64 61st |
|
Well made futuristic sci-fi thriller (especially for a supposed 20 million dollar budget). The whole look and the effects are all quite well done. The action scenes are good, the script is a bit far fetched, but that's ok. I actually prefer Wimmer's Ultraviolet, which is another of his futuristic stories.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
luord | 62 49th |
|
A generic dystopian plot and too many cues from other movies mar an otherwise competent, well-acted action movie.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
beardobaldo | 80 62nd |
|
Rock solid futuristic action movie with social commentary. Just the right amount of twists and preaching. Only some logical fallacies keep this from a better rating. Oh, and Christian Bale is the man.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
WienerDog | 78 79th |
|
a nice distopic tale before v for vendetta. all prozacs to trash bags mates.
|
|||
| 1 | lostpsyche | 100 0th |
|
|
Two words: Gun Kata. Kind of Matrix meets V for Vendetta, this unassumingly low-budget film is a great watch for all levels of attentive involvement.
|
|||
| Average Percentile 52.07% from 8218 Ratings |  |