Editorial, March 04
Equilibrium, film of the week
Airsoft related? Well.. kinda.
My random post of the day is about my 'film of the week', a rather understated release by the name of
'Equilibrium' written by Kurt
Wimmer and staring Christian
Bale. In my opinion this is a film that you'll either love or hate, rather
something of a SciFi mix between 'The Matrix' and George Orwell's '1984'. IMDB
records the film with a rating of 7.9 out of 10 with 1,553 votes, so I'm
certainly not alone in liking this film.
"...In the future, war has been eliminated and the most dangerous contraband is human emotion. Feelings and all things that evoke them including art, music and poetry, are forbidden, and their possession punishable by death. Cleric Preston is the top ranking Government official, a veritable killing machine, who along with his partner is encouraged to hunt down and kill those who resist the rules..." About.com
The plot: Well this is nice and simple really, it's the future, there's been the third world war and a new civilization has emerged from the ashes- nothing new there in a sci-fi film. The remnants of society conclude that Man's emotions are to blame for war, so at the loss of the benefits (of emotion) they develop a drug by the name of 'Prozium' that suppresses emotions. 'Sense offenders' are deemed criminals so a new breed of law enforcer is developed, the Grammaton Cleric. The Cleric hunt down anyone that 'feels' and destroy the related contraband such as paintings and banned books (Fahrenheit 451 anyone?).
"I
know Gun-Fu!": So what makes this film so special? Well the Grammaton
Cleric are experts in GunKata, a firearm martial art, which allows them to
increase the probability of a kill and reduce the chances of being shot - rather
interesting if a little laughable. That's not the point though this is movie
land, a brief escape from reality, and the GunKata makes the gun fight scenes
incredibly fun to watch. The editing and camera work in the film are top notch
especially in the fight scenes which are definitely up there in the ranks with
the leading Hong Kong action directors. The GunKata is the perfect excuse for
some incredible stunts and fast action sequences, and can only be vaguely
described as some form of Michael
Flatley / John
Woo lovechild.
Points of note: "Look at the puppy.. the cute little puppy." One of the most notable scenes in the film (at least for me) was when the Clerics were executing puppys. I won't spoil it for you, but suffice to say the dog is very sweet - so sue me I'm a softie at heart!
If
anyone's a lover of the BMW 1100 range you won't be disappointed, as more than a
handful appear in this film. Although motorcycle helmet visors
are not made of glass (watch the film and you'll see what I mean).
The Cleric's chosen sidearms are a pair of highly custom Berettas - they are effectively long slide M9 frames with fire select ability. This fire select lever is on the side of the frame though, so don't expect them to be modeled on anything functionally real. Here's hoping someone out there decides to release an Airsoft copy of this piece.
In short: Well it's not original, and large chunks in terms of plot and scenes have been ripped from other films, so don't go to watch this is you're after something to exercise your brain. This film is pure escapism, and on the bright side all of the 'borrowed scenes' are good ones. Borrowed scenes, wacky firearm fights and cheapo special effects (the cars were terrible) make for a very fun B-movie. I mean no offense to the film in calling it a B-movie, this is a fun film to watch make no mistake.
Older news updates relating to EQ:
April 04: The Equilibrium Fansite has added the first set of "Equilibrium Lobby Cards" to their website. The fansite is quite simply a hive of information for anyone that's a fan of the movie. Off topic I know, but I liked the film. ;) Oh, they've also added an EQ ringtone now (in midi format by the looks of it)
I have made the prozium/family as a polyphonic ring tone. Only the, um... melody part, not the other sound effects. And I'm trying to copy more songs to make ring tones.... Any requests - AlphonseCapone, Equilibrium Fansite
March 04: Mark Bristol has allowed the Equilibrium Fan Site to add some of the original artwork that he did for the pre-production of Equilibrium to their site:
I would personally like to thank Mark for allowing me to add the amazing pre-production work he created for Equilibrium to the site. I am more than honored!! Mark has worked on concept art for a number of films such as The Thin Red Line, The Alamo, Memento, The Way of the Gun as well as doing those featured here on the site's Ultraviolet page. To see more be sure to visit his website... The Team (Equilibrium Fan Site)
February 04: Kurt Wimmer has sent a quick note to the folks at the Equilibrium fan site (yes you'll see that it gets mentioned a few times in the news here). Kurt's latest film has started filming, and it sounds like it will be very interesting. You can comment on this letter here. Here's the latest:
To Jen and all the fans of Equilibrium, after the release of EQ I had to wonder whether I would ever see another day fulfilling my life's ambition as a director on a film set again. Or if, in fact, as it appeared, the thing that I wanted most in life would now be forever out of my reach. Well, by the grace of God, in a few hours, barring disaster, I will step onto a set once more.
I cannot predict the outcome on any level. I can only say that it was extraordinarily hard getting to this point and that there is no doubt that this is far and away in terms of scope, the most ambitious film of this budget to ever be made, and that the odds are definitely not in my favor. But Jen, the kind words of fans of EQ like yourself have buoyed my spirits and given me the strength to fight my way back to this point. From the bottom of my heart, thanks. I will endeavor to pay you back in the only way I know how - by making the best film I can. UltraViolet begins in 10 hours. Your fan, Kurt
Nov 03: The folks over that the EQ fansite have posted an Ultraviolet Interview & Art with Kurt Wimmer from Movie Insider (www.CHUD.com's print magaine). You can find the full article here. Ultraviolet is director Kurt Wimmer's much anticipated next project, leading on after the success of Equilibrium.
"Everything we're doing is new and has never been done before. Some of the weapons we're using are traditional like swords, but we're using them in ways that have never been seen before..." - Kurt Wimmer
Useful links: The Equilibrium Movie fan-site