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Equilibrium - 13/2/2006 10:59:27 AM

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Post #: 1

Equilibrium vs Matrix- why? - 13/2/2006 10:59:48 AM

cerberous

Posts: 76
Joined: 13/2/2006
From: A Magical Place

I thought this film was awesome. Not quite as good as the matrix but it's up there with it. I can't see why people compare them so much, I thought they were very different. The plots are compareable but the fights, hell no! Equilibrium has nearly the whole of the fight in normal time whilst in the matrix, most of it is in slo-mo. Matrix fights are marginally better but Equilibrium is worth a watch and I'd like to see a sequel.

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Post #: 2

RE: Equilibrium vs Matrix- why? - 13/2/2006 7:38:34 PM

wgamador

Posts: 20320
Joined: 17/1/2006
From: A polluted womb...

I agree. If you havent seen this movie, you should. It just failed to make my Top Ten Movies you Should see.
Christian Bale is the fucking mother fucker, man. The movie is a pretty cool concept like in Minority Report. Even if you hated Minority Report, you still should watch Equilibrium.....its a mind fucker.

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Post #: 3

RE: Equilibrium vs Matrix- why? - 15/2/2006 1:39:30 PM

JIm R

Posts: 9185
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: Surrey

Totally agree with guys before me. A great film, unholy underated IMO. Bale as usual gives a superb performance and the Matrix similarities don't hold I'm afraid. Different sub-plots, different meanings to them.

The action sequences hold up as well and the end confrontation with Bale v several enemies is brilliantly conceived.

Everyone bangs on about the '1984' referencing and yes it has those ideals but the idealism of child/adult relationships is a strong theme as well and that children often know more than adults.

Plus, guns & swords. Well reccommended.

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Post #: 4

RE: Equilibrium vs Matrix- why? - 15/2/2006 1:41:45 PM

Mozza

Posts: 8075
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: The CIC

Totally underrated movie. It jus had the bad luck of featuring gunplay and lots of black in a joyless future at exactly the same time as the Matrix, so it was dismissed as a clone.

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Post #: 5

RE: Equilibrium vs Matrix- why? - 15/2/2006 2:18:08 PM

billythehick

Posts: 1258
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: cork

i love them both, i cant believe empire once gave equilibrim two stars (rental review) i'd give it four at least. worse still is that empire once dismissed it as "a blatant rip-off" in that feature of the fifteen most influential films in the last fifteen years. (batman got in, x-men didn't, how does that work out?)

its probably not as good as the matrix, but you have to applaud it for being able to mimic the style without ripping it off. some truely brilliant moments in this gem, you are strongly advised to seek it out, its better than 28 days later.

< Message edited by billythehick -- 15/2/2006 2:36:45 PM >

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Post #: 6

RE: Equilibrium vs Matrix- why? - 15/2/2006 6:09:52 PM

Castor Troy

Posts: 7057
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: Rocky's graveside

Awesome film - even better considering its small budget. Bale is superb, the fighting is inspired and the story is moving.

5/5

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Post #: 7

RE: Equilibrium - 15/2/2006 6:13:46 PM

wgamador

Posts: 20320
Joined: 17/1/2006
From: A polluted womb...

We all agree......THIS MOVIE KICKS FUCKIN' ASS!!!!!!

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Post #: 8

RE: Equilibrium - 15/2/2006 8:32:07 PM

rich

Posts: 4132
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: Neo Kobe

Great film! I'd watch it over the Matrix any day. The only negative point - Sean Bean was underused, should have had the other guy's role.

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Post #: 9

RE: Equilibrium - 16/2/2006 12:17:16 AM

Castor Troy

Posts: 7057
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: Rocky's graveside

quote:

ORIGINAL: Rich

Great film! I'd watch it over the Matrix any day. The only negative point - Sean Bean was underused, should have had the other guy's role.

True, he was criminally underused, but don't think I would have enjoyed seeing him in the other guys role, I just wish his character had been developed more - maybe showing more of a history between him and Preston.

_____________________________

The individual human mind. In a child's ability to master the multiplication table, there is more holiness than all your shouted hosannas and holy holies. An idea is more important than a monument and the advancement of Man's knowledge more miraculous than all the sticks turned to snakes and the parting of the waters.

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Post #: 10

RE: Equilibrium - 16/2/2006 12:24:29 AM

Dick Jones

Posts: 1111
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quote:

ORIGINAL: Castor Troy

quote:

ORIGINAL: Rich

Great film! I'd watch it over the Matrix any day. The only negative point - Sean Bean was underused, should have had the other guy's role.

True, he was criminally underused, but don't think I would have enjoyed seeing him in the other guys role,

The other guy playing the other guy was terrible.

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Post #: 11

RE: Equilibrium - 16/2/2006 12:40:52 AM

Castor Troy

Posts: 7057
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: Rocky's graveside

quote:

ORIGINAL: Dick Jones

quote:

ORIGINAL: Castor Troy

quote:

ORIGINAL: Rich

Great film! I'd watch it over the Matrix any day. The only negative point - Sean Bean was underused, should have had the other guy's role.

True, he was criminally underused, but don't think I would have enjoyed seeing him in the other guys role,

The other guy playing the other guy was terrible.

I'm not sure if you got this, but I didn't mean I wouldn't enjoy Bean in the other role because Taye Diggs was so good, but because Diggs' character was a twat.

The thing that annoys me about his character is that he clearly shows emotion when capturing Preston.

_____________________________

The individual human mind. In a child's ability to master the multiplication table, there is more holiness than all your shouted hosannas and holy holies. An idea is more important than a monument and the advancement of Man's knowledge more miraculous than all the sticks turned to snakes and the parting of the waters.

(in reply to Dick Jones)

Post #: 12

RE: Equilibrium - 16/2/2006 7:59:40 AM

Mojo

Posts: 6044
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: The CIC, next to the old man.

Yeah, this is a great movie, glad I saw it in the cinema on the big screen! I really feel like watching it now, I haven't done so in ages!

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Post #: 13

RE: Equilibrium - 17/2/2006 12:47:44 PM

jobloffski

Posts: 1837
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: elsewhere

quote:

ORIGINAL: Castor Troy

quote:

ORIGINAL: Dick Jones

quote:

ORIGINAL: Castor Troy

quote:

ORIGINAL: Rich

Great film! I'd watch it over the Matrix any day. The only negative point - Sean Bean was underused, should have had the other guy's role.

True, he was criminally underused, but don't think I would have enjoyed seeing him in the other guys role,

The other guy playing the other guy was terrible.

I'm not sure if you got this, but I didn't mean I wouldn't enjoy Bean in the other role because Taye Diggs was so good, but because Diggs' character was a twat.

The thing that annoys me about his character is that he clearly shows emotion when capturing Preston.

He's a bad guy working for a totalitarian state, so he's allowed to break the rules he's supposed to be enforcing. The scene where he's denouncing Preston is a parody/satire on the idea of making an example of someone in order to keep the rest of society in line, "If you don't do as you are told, this will happen to you" sort of thing. The onlookers look on without emotion because they have taken their 'dose', whereas Taye Diggs' presumably has not been taking his dose. allowed not to do so, because those in positions of authority almost invariably think that what is necessary to keep ordinary people in check does not apply to them.

Er, or something.

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Post #: 14

RE: Equilibrium - 17/2/2006 8:05:41 PM

wgamador

Posts: 20320
Joined: 17/1/2006
From: A polluted womb...

quote:

The thing that annoys me about his character is that he clearly shows emotion when capturing Preston.

He's a bad guy working for a totalitarian state, so he's allowed to break the rules he's supposed to be enforcing. The scene where he's denouncing Preston is a parody/satire on the idea of making an example of someone in order to keep the rest of society in line, "If you don't do as you are told, this will happen to you" sort of thing. The onlookers look on without emotion because they have taken their 'dose', whereas Taye Diggs' presumably has not been taking his dose. allowed not to do so, because those in positions of authority almost invariably think that what is necessary to keep ordinary people in check does not apply to them.

Er, or something.

Well put jobloff.....

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Post #: 15

RE: Equilibrium - 18/2/2006 3:59:12 PM

Zaphod121

Posts: 9954
Joined: 20/1/2006
From: Not sure yet.

didn't like it so much

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Post #: 16

RE: Equilibrium - 18/2/2006 8:21:00 PM

mikioninja

Posts: 76
Joined: 30/9/2005

Loved Equilibrium!! The whole gun and sword martial art is just awesome and looks very good too!! Bale rocks as always - best bit for me is

*spoiler alert*

when taye diggs character has his faced sliced off and only one drop of blood rolls of bales sword! Wicked!!!

Have watched this more than matrix!!!

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Post #: 17

RE: Equilibrium - 19/2/2006 4:29:31 PM

Rotary Ten

Posts: 922
Joined: 31/10/2005

quote:

ORIGINAL: Castor Troy

True, he was criminally underused, but don't think I would have enjoyed seeing him in the other guys role, I just wish his character had been developed more - maybe showing more of a history between him and Preston.

Agreed. That certainly would have added a lot more depth to the film. As it is, I think it's an underrated film.

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Post #: 18

RE: Equilibrium - 20/2/2006 4:56:34 PM

Monkeyshaver

Posts: 4734
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: La Planete Des Singe

A great film for one simple reason. This bloke is in it!!

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Post #: 19

guns - 25/2/2006 11:43:14 AM

cerberous

Posts: 76
Joined: 13/2/2006
From: A Magical Place

studs come out of them so he can clobber the swat teams!

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Post #: 20

RE: Equilibrium - 10/7/2006 1:41:41 PM

kumar

Posts: 5080
Joined: 2/10/2005

quote:

ORIGINAL: Castor Troy

quote:

ORIGINAL: Dick Jones

quote:

ORIGINAL: Castor Troy

quote:

ORIGINAL: Rich

Great film! I'd watch it over the Matrix any day. The only negative point - Sean Bean was underused, should have had the other guy's role.

True, he was criminally underused, but don't think I would have enjoyed seeing him in the other guys role,

The other guy playing the other guy was terrible.

I'm not sure if you got this, but I didn't mean I wouldn't enjoy Bean in the other role because Taye Diggs was so good, but because Diggs' character was a twat.

The thing that annoys me about his character is that he clearly shows emotion when capturing Preston.

i noticed that too, but wasnt that because none of them in the first place were dopers anyway? in the final battle,

they were all in that room with all the old shtuff, heavily guarded, so i presume none of them were following the law

anyway. i could see that "i am the father" coming miles away, the final battle with that man was awful i thought, and

there were many other things i didnt like about the film, ultimately a film without emotion is boring.

but were his kids doping? all that "how long have you known?"...."since mom", i didnt get.

AND WHY FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DO PEOPLE INSIST ON CUTTING PEOPLE IN HALF AND

THEY ARE NORMAL FOR A SECOND THEN THEIR BPDY/FACE/DICK WHATEVER SLIDES OFF?

it looks shit. its happend in Underworld Resident Evil and this, i hate it everytime i see it.

just ranting here, im irritated i waited untill 11 o clock to se it. Bale was good, but one good performance isnt

enough to warrant watching a film such as this. nice try

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Post #: 21

RE: Equilibrium - 10/7/2006 8:15:50 PM

zombiemaster

Posts: 3496
Joined: 7/6/2006
From: Norwich

I watched this last night on channel four and i must say it is one of the crappiest movies ever made i hated it it was boring. It was going qwick at the beginning and then slowed down in the middle and the action in it is ok but a bit naff. just standing there and basically pointing with guns thats what it is.

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Post #: 22

RE: Equilibrium - 10/7/2006 8:17:07 PM

Castor Troy

Posts: 7057
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: Rocky's graveside

quote:

ORIGINAL: zombiemaster

I watched this last night on channel four and i must say it is one of the crappiest movies ever made i hated it it was boring. It was going qwick at the beginning and then slowed down in the middle and the action in it is ok but a bit naff. just standing there and basically pointing with guns thats what it is.

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Post #: 23

RE: Equilibrium - 10/7/2006 8:25:02 PM

24Dan

Posts: 2504
Joined: 3/10/2005
From: Norwich

I watched in C4 last night and was surprised by how much i liked it. I remember when it first came out i avoided it like Bird Flu,cant remember why now,but anyway. I liked it.
It had a little dog in it. So its got my vote!

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Post #: 24

RE: Equilibrium - 10/7/2006 8:25:27 PM

24Dan

Posts: 2504
Joined: 3/10/2005
From: Norwich

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Post #: 25

RE: Equilibrium - 10/7/2006 8:25:48 PM

BobaJango

Posts: 7667
Joined: 31/12/2005
From: Mulder's basement

I don't really mind stupid films (i'm looking foward to SOAP) but Kung Fu with guns? Don't be silly!
2/5

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Post #: 26

RE: Equilibrium - 10/7/2006 8:26:20 PM

BobaJango

Posts: 7667
Joined: 31/12/2005
From: Mulder's basement

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Post #: 27

RE: Equilibrium - 10/7/2006 8:29:16 PM

Castor Troy

Posts: 7057
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: Rocky's graveside

But.......it's not a stupid film. It's providing you with an original idea with Martial Arts with guns.

What about Preston's emotional awakaning? What about him killing his partner? What about him fighting the Thought Nazis from within and bringing the whole system down? What about Bale's amazing performance? What about the incredible use of a tiny budget? What about "Not without incident"?

< Message edited by Castor Troy -- 10/7/2006 8:30:52 PM >

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The individual human mind. In a child's ability to master the multiplication table, there is more holiness than all your shouted hosannas and holy holies. An idea is more important than a monument and the advancement of Man's knowledge more miraculous than all the sticks turned to snakes and the parting of the waters.

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Post #: 28

RE: Equilibrium - 10/7/2006 9:04:45 PM

max314

Posts: 2707
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: London

A very fun movie, but there are some flaws in its overall flow and other technical areas. The first two acts were above average, full of tension and emotion, and great to watch. The final act was rife with action but a little weak in terms of emotional resonance and general execution.

There is little doubt that this film doesn't create quite as solid a world as The Matrix, and its technical execution is also substantially weaker. But it has a great heart to it, even if its bottom line isn't completely satisfying.

< Message edited by max314 -- 10/7/2006 9:05:18 PM >

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Post #: 29

wow.... - 10/7/2006 9:08:23 PM

meh...

Posts: 383
Joined: 30/9/2005

i really could did not imagine that the film would be so crap as to be one of the worst i had ever seen!
Cobbled together by, what appears to be, the spare parts of other (infinitely superior) sci-fi films, there is absolutely nothing original, nothing redeeming about this pile of excrement. A pile of excrement that has been mounted on flawed logic; if "feeling" (prepare yourself for the cringeworthy terminology used in the film: "he's a sense offender!" and "I'm not feeling!" are common phrases which, ironically, characters would bellow ANGRILY - something that film states continously that the characters should not be experiencing), is not allowed, why was Christian Bale's character married? why is he described as a family man? why don't people walk around with expressionless faces? why aren't "sense offenders" simply administered the dose instead of killing them off, cos you know, it totally goes against the ethos of this future society?
The entire film is a monstrous plot hole, sucking in the talents of it's cast (what is Emily Watson doing here?!)
You can't even rely on the so-called action scenes: hack-jobs filled with unlimited ammo and extremely dodgy slo-mo, devoid of any tension (Bales character is so good at what he does, his fights - particularly the anticlimatic battle with Diggs - literally last for less than two minutes).
You're probably thinking that i'm reading too much into it and that i should have looked at it just like it was a mindless action film. But that's not what it tries to be. It takes its pretentious self and tries to say something deep and meaningful and takes its self so seriously that all you can do is lay into it and laugh.
Don't compare it with The Matrix. Compare it with Battlefield Earth.

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Post #: 30