"Equilibrium
– Emotionless Fascism and Unintentional Laughter Reign"
Originality is
an under-worked concept in Hollywood. Anyone keeping even a
moderately close watch of the Cineplex the last few years and
has seen the glut of sequels, remakes, spin-offs and television
and video game adaptations could tell you the same. This
information isn’t a shock by any stretch of the imagination.
Granted,
even so, it is almost getting to be kind of novel to pinpoint
all of the various “influences” (have to use that term lightly –
some of these films aren’t so much influenced by other sources
as they are cribbed directly from them) a new film borrows from.
Take the new sci-fi B-move potboiler from Miramax’s exploitation
wing Dimension, Equilibrium. It’s a hodgepodge of
cinematic and literary sources ranging from Fahrenheit 451,
1984, Metropolis, The Matrix, December 7th, Blade
Runner, Triumph of the Will,
Minority Report, Total Recall,
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon,
Brave New World, Mad Max, A Clockwork Orange, The Killer,
Gladiator and Thirteen Ghosts(the
derivative 2001 remake not the wonderfully witty original). Got
all that?
In Libria, a
new country and super power born out of the ashes of a
devastating world war, all feelings have been banned from
society so conflicts and war can never happen again. Art and
culture are destroyed on site, sending cherished pieces of
ancient history such as the Mona Lisa to a fiery end. Citizens
themselves are required to become junkies, force-fed doses of
the feeling suppressant Prozium (think super-Prozac injected
into the neck). If you miss a dose – you die. Read a book – you
die. Cry for a lost love – you die.
Enforcing this
emotional existence are Terminator-like (look – another
influence!) police officers called “Clerics.” Trained from birth
to be society's new brains and brawn, they spend years learning
the physical art of “Gun-Kata” (think Matrix-style
martial arts with guns) making them imposing and unstoppable
warriors.
Libria’s best
is John Preston (Christian Bale). Possessing skills far superior
to other clerics, the mere mention of his name would bring awe
to any individual – if awe were allowed. Preston is so cool
he’ll not even bat an eyelash if his wife (Maria Pia Calzone) is
arrested for “sense offense,” and he’ll even kill his own
partner (Sean Bean) if he’s started to feel and experience
emotion.
It all changes
for the young soldier when he misses his dose of Prozium one
morning. Soon, he’s shaking uncomfortably at the site of his
very first rainstorm sans drug-induced catatonia. Scared for the
first time (because fear would be a feeling and thusly banned)
but unable to shake the growing excitement towards actually
being able to experience an emotion, Preston decides to stop
taking his drugs and see where these new sensations can take
him. Along the way, he experiences attraction to a sense
offender (Emily Watson), anger towards his superior (Angus
MacFadyen) and distrust towards his new partner (Taye Diggs).
Soon, Preston
reaches the conclusion that life without feelings is worthless
(duh) and that his country’s leader, “Father” (Sean Pertwee),
must be stopped before Libria falls into fascist ruin. Hooking
up with the leader of the resistance (William Fichtner), the
cleric must decide just how far he is willing to go to preserve
the feelings he has so long fought on the side to destroy.
It is hard to
say whether Equilibrium is a sensational total waste of
time (and talent) or gloriously (and derivatively) over-the-top
kitsch fest. The first time Preston unleashes his “Gun-Kata”
moves its terrifically exciting in silly, B-movie fashion, and
the final assault on the presidential palace is a definite crowd
pleaser. But until the excessive violence takes over, the only
thing director Kurt Wimmer’s (one of the writers of The Thomas Crown Affairremake and Sphere making his debut behind the camera)
film is good at inducing is catatonic-like boredom mixed with
fits of uncontrolled giggling at the portentously serious tone
he sets it all at.
Granted,
Equilibrium has its moments, and Bale is wonderful (and very
sexy) as the growingly aware Preston. The less said about the
rest of the cast is probably better, but it should be noted that
this is the second film in a row that the amazingly talented
Watson – after Red Dragon
– has been so completely wasted in every respect. One has to
start to wonder if she is hard up for cash.
A part of
me wants to recommend Equilibrium. It IS fun, to be sure,
some of the time – especially towards the end. As guilty
pleasures go, one could do a heck of a lot worse. But it is all
so unintentionally laughable much of the time, hugely derivative
of other works and takes itself so seriously, that the enjoyment
factor is severely muted. When all was said and done, I’d much
rather stayed home and read.
