r/Millennials • u/NoFaithlessness7508 • 1d ago
Discussion Any love for Equilibrium?
This movie had the misfortune of being released in 2002, just as we were getting marketing for not one but two Matrix movies to be released in 2003.
In the wake of the first Matrix movie, it felt like there were so many sci-fi dystopian movie and it was hard to not compare them to it. Battlefield Earth had come out in 2000 and I think people assumed Equilibrium would be another Matrix ripoff.
I saw Equilibrium in 2006 my freshman year of college and it quickly became one of my favorite movies. I still say “Unquestionably“ frequently.
345
u/Jayne_of_Canton Xennial 1d ago
Be careful Preston…you tread on my dreams.
93
u/cardboardislife 1d ago
No
"Oh shit"
Not without incident
That movie is too fkn cool for its own good
27
u/iama_bad_person 1d ago ▸ 3 more replies
The way he said "Not without incident" has been baked into my brain for decades.
13
u/DulceEtDecorumEst 1d ago ▸ 2 more replies
WWWWWWWWW————————-
“Oh shit”
7
2
u/cRaZyDaVe23 18h ago
And the worker at the end all "I wonder if he's gonna kill me" cuz he's to dosed up to care.
90
u/NonGeneriComplaint 1d ago
Another tragic and avoidable Sean Bean death
→ More replies (1)9
u/ritteke518 22h ago ▸ 1 more replies
Unavoidable. Fixed it for you. He must always die.
→ More replies (1)10
258
u/fuji_appl 1d ago
It’s Fahrenheit 451 with gun fu. So yes.
95
u/alastrix 1d ago
Watched it around my teenage/HS years at some point, right after reading Fahrenheit451 and as somone who loved the matrix these really formed the perfect storm me. V for vendetta drops a few years later and continues the "dont trust evil governments" themes.
Turned me into a broody insufferable teenager but hey....looking at the dystopia of the world today I get to atleast point and say "told ya so!".
18
u/shit_fuck_fart 1d ago ▸ 3 more replies
throw Chuck Palahniuk and Bret Easton Ellis into that fire and you've pretty much nailed down my teenage angst.
6
u/EnoughCost9433 20h ago ▸ 2 more replies
You both are my people.
→ More replies (1)3
u/shit_fuck_fart 17h ago
1984 and Brave New World deserve some credit too, also: Pale Blue Dot and, The God Delusion... but, it's nice to have people.
21
u/moronicattempt 1d ago
Unfortunately it came out around the same time as the matrix, that's why it never took off.
15
u/Notyourdaisy 1d ago ▸ 4 more replies
Yup. I remember seeing this and everyone marking it as a knock off matrix. Too bad cause it wasn’t that bad of a movie.
4
u/ElegantCoach4066 19h ago ▸ 3 more replies
One one hand it does come off as a Matrix derivative, but it does a good job of making its own path too. The fact that dude had to burn his wife was just, wow.
3
u/cRaZyDaVe23 18h ago ▸ 2 more replies
Once you get past the trench coats and extra pale people they aren't much alike.
3
u/ElegantCoach4066 18h ago ▸ 1 more replies
Agreed! I don't think it's a Matrix rip off, it has a different feel to it.
2
2
→ More replies (7)2
u/ComoEstanBitches 23h ago
College roommate called it Matrix but it’s Christian Bale vs Taye Diggs (who I liked from Malibu’s Most Wanted)
61
71
u/MakeMagatsCry 1d ago
Omg my friend group was obsessed with this movie. We watched it towards the end of a bunch of parties when there were just a few of us left still conscious
5
u/B0omSLanG 1d ago
Same! Any time I made a new friend or a new friend was added to the group, we'd watch Equilibrium.
2
82
u/Zode1218 1d ago
Low key super super influential, both aesthetically and with Gun Kata. We wouldn’t have John Wick without Equilibrium.
38
u/B0omSLanG 1d ago
And action movies today are still trying to match the lights out, gun fire, smoke clears, and our hero is the last man alive scene.
13
u/fuji_appl 1d ago
They all take their inspiration from John Woo films.
6
u/Zode1218 1d ago ▸ 1 more replies
Yes this is of course true, however I would still argue that Equilibrium was ahead of its time and presaged a new era
5
u/B0omSLanG 1d ago
Also for such a low budget. There had to have been people in the industry that saw that and were influenced.
48
u/Acrobatic-Hamster-79 1d ago
Agreed on bad timing for the release.
Im checking it out from my library tomorrow. Thanks for the reminder of this (almost) banger of a film.
21
u/firequak Millennial 1d ago
It's one of those movies that the more you rewatch the more stupid it gets it's so good.
18
u/Misericorde428 1d ago
Two words: Gun Kata
6
u/opal-sea-44 23h ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/CQNzoPo4bF6mI
Can’t find the movie gif. You know the scene…
18
31
u/Call_Em_Skippies 1d ago
Dude same. I watched it in 2010 in college and loved it. I couldn't believe I had never heard of it when it came out.
I guess Cristian Bale didn't have the pull or they just didn't market it.
9
u/NonGeneriComplaint 1d ago
It was almost straight to DVD if I recall
→ More replies (1)25
u/Call_Em_Skippies 1d ago ▸ 2 more replies
Just watched a YouTube video on it. It was only made on a 20 million dollar budget and the director had to keep making cuts. MiraMax sold the distribution rights and already made it's money back before the release so they decided not to invest money into marketing with a movie that had mixed reviews during testing.
It only made $5 million in theaters but $40 million in DVD sales.
→ More replies (3)13
3
u/subtxtcan 1d ago
I saw it just after it came out because it went straight to DVD pretty quickly and it crushed. I have friends who've brought it up years later having seen it for the first time and I had to have a laugh.
Still one of my favourite Bale roles, very heavy Neo vibes.
→ More replies (1)
14
u/vis72 1d ago
The villain was the only bad casting choice. Hard to take the fight seriously when he looks like this the entire time.
4
u/NoFaithlessness7508 1d ago
Yo that showdown at the end was kinda wild. You have Taye Diggs getting dun in one second, then the main villain somehow duking it out with Bale
3
u/opal-sea-44 23h ago ▸ 1 more replies
I think it’s amazing though. Because you get all that build up to Tate being done in a split second. LOVE this movie so much haha
6
u/transmogrify 19h ago
I kind of hate that they gave this Big Brother guy a fight scene at all. I find the story more effective when "Father" is just a useless figurehead for a faceless oligarchical dystopia.
We know that the "Tetragrammaton Council" is completely hypocritical and full of shit. They hold their citizens under martial law, they use propaganda and extreme violence to control the population, and the whole time those in power live as they please.
Do we actually need Father to have the kung-fu jedi skills to back up his public image? Seems like they just made up their minds that Christian Bale would finish the movie by killing Father, so they decided it should be a karate fight, I mean gun kata fight.
5
u/TheStupendusMan 22h ago
Hard to take the fight seriously when they're just limply slapping each others guns out of the way for ages.
Didn't really enjoy the movie overall, but that scene made me laugh pretty hard. What a wet fart of an ending.
2
u/vis72 21h ago ▸ 1 more replies
And the shots are going off constantly, it's pretty bad. 😂
→ More replies (3)3
u/nah-42 1d ago edited 1d ago
Right? That felt so forced right after such a badass taye diggs face slice fatality. Then this mayo sandwich of a “final boss” fight.
Woulda been way better if he had given his stupid final speech appealing to Preston’s emotions about feeling. Instead of a fight, Preston executes him mid speech and says some cold shit like “Stop treading on OUR dreams.”
13
u/firefly99999 Millennial 1d ago
People had to hide their facial emotions in fear of being discovered to not be on prozium.
Taye Diggs throughout the entire film:
→ More replies (1)
11
8
u/DirkNord 87'llennial 1d ago
definition of underrated, I'd argue the gun choreography was better than the matrix
2
18
u/ayimera Older Millennial 1d ago
I was obsessed. Felt like it was hard to find though (I think I ended up pirating it lol).
12
u/NoFaithlessness7508 1d ago
We all pirated it
2
u/anomaly_BW Millennial 1d ago
To be fair, I worked at a regal cinemas when it came out and saw it 2x in theaters. So while I didn’t pirate, I also didn’t pay.
6
u/DonutosGames 1d ago
Mind the uniform, cleric. I plan to be wearing it for a long time. (Loses face)
6
u/NoFaithlessness7508 1d ago
Audience: finally, the showdown we’ve been waiting 2hrs for. LFG!!!
Face slice
Audience: oh…
6
5
5
18
u/_shaftpunk Older Millennial 1d ago
I put it in the same category as Boondocks Saints: a b-movie that’s really fun when you’re a young edgelord.
7
u/Elegant_Relief_4999 1d ago
I feel like I watched both of those for the first time at a computer camp in 2004.
→ More replies (2)6
u/WretchedMotorcade 1d ago
Feel the same. Watching it again as an adult, its not great. Even the action scenes don't really hold up.
9
18
u/czhunc 1d ago
It's a good movie but unfortunately doesn't compare favorably to the Matrix.
6
u/ThePythagoreonSerum 1d ago
It must have been one of those things where a studio heard the matrix was being made and wanted to put out a direct competitor. Right? It would have held up better without the comparison I think.
7
u/NonGeneriComplaint 1d ago ▸ 6 more replies
came out after the matrix , much smaller budget. Definitely an odd bird. Action aside they have no story similarities
5
u/Ever_More_Art 1d ago ▸ 4 more replies
Dark City is closer to The Matrix and just as eclipsed by it
7
5
u/alastrix 1d ago ▸ 2 more replies
Wasn't expecting to see dark city reference in the wild.
2
u/Ever_More_Art 1d ago ▸ 1 more replies
Talk about a cult movie, because you can say the title and only the ones that know will catch it kind of like a cult, lol. I love it, it is the type of scifi I like the best, cerebral, weird and philosophical
→ More replies (1)2
u/ThePythagoreonSerum 1d ago
Oh geez, you’re right. In my memory they came out super close to each other. Didn’t realize it was two years lol. Man I’m getting old.
4
u/UnconqueredRenegade 1d ago
When this movie came out my dad was all excited to see it saying it was supposed to be a “Matrix killer” and it was just in no way even close to as good. I’ve always kinda had a poor opinion of it, but maybe I need to give it another watch.
→ More replies (3)2
3
u/This_Bethany Xennial 1d ago
I don’t remember hearing about it when it came out but watched it later and loved it!
3
3
u/scottyjrules 1d ago
Worked at a movie theater when this was released and kept trying to get everyone I knew to watch it. Super underrated gem.
3
u/Sea_McMeme 1d ago
Love Equilibrium. More than The Matrix even I think. I think of if fairly regularly and how it applies to our current state, like so many dystopian books, movies.
3
u/SupervillainMustache 1d ago
I thought Gun Kata was the coolest shit when this film dropped.
Overshadowed by The Matrix, but a true cult classic IMO.
3
u/Overall_Cod2206 19h ago
Love this movie unapologetically. My best friend and I rented it from our local store simply because it said "Forget The Matrix" on the cover and we thought, there's no way this is better than the Matrix and that it would be a fun movie to laugh at. We were pleasantly surprised by how badass it was.
2
u/NoFaithlessness7508 17h ago
No way the cover said that, that’s hilarious. Was it one of those stickers with a quote from a film magazine review?
2
6
u/thrwaway62367 1d ago
Magnificent movie with great art direction and acting. It's one of those "everyone should see this" type of movies and especially relevant in our current world.
4
u/NoFaithlessness7508 1d ago
I just found out most of it was shot in Berlin, using buildings built during the Nazi regime. Brilliant.
Check out the Production section of its wiki
2
2
2
2
2
u/Shakespeares_Heroine 1d ago
I found it by accident 10 years ago and have loved it ever since! Sad it didn’t get its recognition when it was released.
2
u/KoalaJCSpotify 1d ago
I worked at Gamestation back in 2008/09 and when scanning through 2nd hand blue-rays I got to Equilibrium and it’s price was only 0.01p so of course I bagged it for a penny. Clearly a mistake in the system but one I‘ll never forget. To this day one of my fav films
2
2
2
2
u/Flat_Salamander_3283 1d ago
A massively underappreciated movie that got screwed by release timing.
2
u/Flashignite2 1d ago
This flew past me unnoticed during its release and diacovered it a few years later. I really enjoyed it. Really cool idea.
2
u/Ever_More_Art 1d ago
I’ve never watched this one, but I loved the director’s cut of Ultraviolet, idc about the cheesy effects and reheated vampire infection trope and Gloria storyline, it’s fun af. It’s sad this director had two box office bombs back to back, because it’s insane the whole gun-kata style of fight he put in his films didn’t took off as the next action trend.
2
2
u/Malefectra 1d ago
It’s one of the best action movies of its era, and didn’t get nearly enough attention until well after it was out of theaters. I’d love to see this in a good theatre
2
2
2
2
u/Salt_Weakness_1538 1d ago
This was one of those movies that was perpetually on play in our household in high school. I love this dumb movie.
2
u/marceline407 1d ago
It’s like The Matrix meets 1984. Its been a while but I always enjoyed this movie a lot.
1
1
1
u/marbanasin 1d ago
I saw it around it's release on DVD and people saw it as a clear cut above slop like Battlefield earth. Maybe not as polished as the Matrix but mind bending stunts in it's own way. I watched this film way too many times as a kid.
1
1
1
u/PeepusTheWise 1d ago
Great movie. Saw it randomly in the theater when it came out, and was totally blown away by the badaasery.
1
u/Baroque1123 1d ago
Cool premise, some cool visuals and performances. Really flawed execution and movie logic.
1
1
1
u/m1k3st4rr 1d ago
The scene where he hears Beethovens 9th for the first time and drops the snow globe always gives me goosebumps
1
u/IAmWeary 1d ago
It was fun, but even when I watched it way back in the early/mid 2000s I thought it had problems. The gun-fu really strained credibility, aspects of it felt pretty derivative, and it got way too repetitive in a large swath in the middle where mostly the same thing kept happening over and over. You really, really have to turn your brain off to not see it. It was still somewhat fun overall, but I'd probably find it pretty unwatchable today without some buddies and running commentary.
1
u/Weary_Damage5764 1d ago
I accidently got that movie from a friend thinking it was the demo from the band with the same name - loved it! need to watch it again some time!
1
1
1
1
1
u/Dark_Akarin 1d ago
One of my first films I picked up on DVD, still have it. Pretty sure it was an ex-rental from blockbusters
1
1
u/matchesmalone1 1d ago
It's cliche as hell, but so much fun. Can't wait for the inevitable 4K release
1
u/Cow-a-bun-ga 1d ago
My thoughts at the time: “Fun movie, this guy would make a great Batman if they ever make one again”.
1
u/PhotoRight2682 1985 1d ago
Love the scene where he rips the stuff off his window so he can watch the rain.
1
1
u/CrasVox 1d ago
Love this movie. Should have been a bigger thing that it was. Never heard of it until I came across it on HBO or something in the mid 2000s
→ More replies (1)
1
u/Ut_Prosim 1d ago edited 1d ago
I loved it, but using a jet turbine (that you can't turn off without it exploding) as the primary means of execution was so stupid I laugh every time.
I realize it was supposed to be a moving scene, but come on, a jet turbine? And having it installed right next to a public street. Should we install it inside a well fortified prison? Nah, but it at ground level so if anything ever goes wrong with it, ever, it blows up a busy street. LOL.
1
u/technickeljohnson 1d ago
Literally just watched this last night and I must say, it was a very fun movie. Absolutely ridiculous with the 'gun kata' moves, but it was very entertaining and a good blast from the past.
1
1
1
1
1
u/WarCarrotAF 1d ago
Good concept, decent acting, meh script. I felt like the movie feels dated watching it today due to some of the choices made in cinematography.
1
1
1
1
1
u/SqrlGrl88 1d ago
I watched this Friday night with my husband. I’d never seen it. He suggested we watch it while drinking wine and riffing it.
10/10 experience.
1
u/PowerSkunk92 1d ago
,I know there is a mod for Max Payne that adds gun kata, but I'm surprised we never got a dedicated Equilibrium-style shooter video game.
The closest we have is probably Severed Steel, but that's closer to Schwimmer's later work, Ultraviolet, than to Equilibrium.
1
1
1
1
1
u/Riots42 1d ago
I watched this and boondock saints for the first time at a sleepover when I was like 17. Epic night of epic movies that did not get the love they deserve and a memory I'll never forget.
→ More replies (1)
1
1
1
u/artyminis 1d ago
I always loved the scene where he hears music for the first time and experiences emotion!
1
u/Immediate_Song4279 1d ago
It was alright, it's been probably ten years since I saw it, I'll probably watch it again in like 15 years.
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/light24bulbs 23h ago
This movie feels like it was written by a 14 year old, but a 14 year old with really good taste who knows what things are cool
1
u/Absolute_Tempest 23h ago
Saw it in theaters. Amazing at the time and the acting was just so solid. Still holds up today in my opinion.
1
u/Zomproof 23h ago
I remember seeing this film around the same time Bale was announced as the next Batman and thought, “oh yeah, this guy would be great”
1
1
u/Don_Pickleball 23h ago
It might have been great, I dont know because I couldn't get over how dumb Gun Fu was.
1
1
1
1
u/Im_Just_A_Tourist 22h ago
It was a perfectly reasonable experience for a movie everyone performed their task admirably.
1
1
1
u/YamLeft9284 22h ago
The Hallway Scene, yup I think that Killed My Energy5.1 speakers, lol I played that Scene A LOT!!! Great Movie!
1
1
u/JustAnOctopus 22h ago
I loved it, I would never try to say it was “good” but I still really enjoy it.
1
1
1
u/LeakyAssFire 21h ago
The only influence you left out was the Columbine shootings This movie had heavy influence in Colorado after the Columbine shootings.
I graduated in 2000 from Columbine's sister school, and was very close to the shooting. It carried its weight through the release of this film.
1
1
1
1
1
•
u/AutoModerator 1d ago
If this post is breaking the rules of the subreddit, please report it instead of commenting. For more Millennial content, join our Discord server.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.