Equilibrium

Parallels with the classic novel ‘Fahrenheit 451’ by Ray Bradbury cannot be avoided here. For in ‘Equilibrium’s vision of a post-apocalyptic, post-WW III future, realising that it was emotion that brought the world to the brink of destruction, society has turned into the complete opposite; a fascist state of extreme control where all forms of emotion are outlawed and illegal, leading to harsh penalties. For Bradbury’s novel, books were the illegal subject matter, but art, as an emotion-inspiring medium, is also under fire (literally) in ‘Equilibrium’.

Christian Bale, fresh from slaughtering dragons, is the hero of the piece. All dressed up in black leather, John Preston (Bale) leads a sterile life any Agent from the ‘Matrix’ would be proud of as an enforcer of the anti-emotion laws. After accidentally missing a dose of his regular emotion-suppressing drug, however, Preston starts to feel the influx of… the warm fuzzies, and realising the evilness of his society, he becomes the only person who can overthrow it and restore- well, warm fuzzies for everyone. (Don’t worry; the fuzzies play a minimal role)

Armed with a love interest and enough artillery to make Neo blush, Preston wages a gun-toting, arse-whupping war for freedom in a one of the more successful ‘Matrix’-style clones to emerge after the 1999 breakthrough sci-fi flick. So let there be warm fuzzies for everyone, and enough action to satisfy even the most hardened action film fan. ‘Equilibrium’ sets a hectic pace for excitement, thrills and chop-socky that leaves you breathless. Described as mixture of ‘Fahrenheit 451’ and ‘1984’, this is a thriller that decides the best way to answer questions about personal freedoms and the future of mankind is through some of the most spectacular fight sequences out there. Well, it’s a novel way of tackling the issues, and what results is a solid piece of entertainment that has no pretensions about becoming a classic, but has every intention of knocking your socks off!

Written with the help of IMDB.com