Equilibrium – A Dystopic View Of A Chemically Induced ‘1984’

This was a very interesting movie – Equilibrium. The blurb reads as follows:

In a futuristic world, a strict regime has eliminated war by suppressing emotions: Books, art and music are strictly forbidden, and feeling is a crime punishable by death -- a rule that's enforced by feeding the denizens a mood-limiting drug. John Preston (Christian Bale) is a top government official responsible for destroying those who resist the rules. But when he misses a dose of his own medication, he experiences a pang of conscience. …

Central to the theme was the concept of ‘sense crimes’ – as the blurb suggests, if reading a book, viewing art, or listening to music elicits an emotion, that person becomes a ‘sense offender’. It’s an interesting approach. The intro states that when humanity came close to extinguishing itself, specific mechanisms (read: medicating the population) were implemented to prevent any such disasters from occurring again. Hence, ‘equilibrium’ is achieved. It’s a fun watch and a sobering thought. It relies heavily on Matrix-style CGI that really rocks, albeit a little over the top in some cases. In retrospect however, the ‘gun kata(s)’ are specific patterns, and I would think (as a practicing martial artist) that as such, there would be a degree of predictability. One thumb up, a wink and a nod for this one.