Filmmaker reacts to Equilibrium (2002) for the FIRST TIME!
Vložit
- čas přidán 5. 09. 2024
- Hope you enjoy my filmmaker reaction to Equilibrium. :D
Full length reactions & Patreon only polls: / jamesvscinema
Original Movie: Equilibrium (2002)
Ending Song: / charleycoin
Follow Me:
Instagram: / jamesadamsiii
Twitter: / jamesadamsiii
*Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED. All rights belong to their respective owners.
When fighting the feeling becomes a little too literal.
Want to vote on what I should watch next? Click here! www.patreon.com/jamesvscinema
Have an awesome day!
Great movie
This movie make a great argument for Jedis being the bad guys in starwars.
They also banned love to end hate. And imposes it on the rest of the universe.
Dark City, if u haven't already....
I’m already a dollar patron, so I only see the movie polls, are there any show polls in the upper tiers? Or are BB and Cyberpunk just special cases for shows?
check out the Species Franchise
This is one of those forgotten Sci Fi gems like Dark City that deserve a much larger audience.
Yeah, 2 of my favourites. Saw them in near empty cinemas and couldn't believe the negative reviews they got at the time.
I love Dark City so very much. Definatly underrated.
I don't think this is a good movie, but it *is* great. I love it even if it's kinda goofy.
It was seriously short changed by critics. Anything with long coats was dismissed as a The Matrix clone.
Yup. Equilibrium, Dark City, and may I suggest The Thirteenth Floor to round it out a bit? And anybody wanting to give these movies TWO MINUTES HATE (ala 1984) can go pound sand!
One of the most underrated Sci Fi Action movies ever made
Which is wild because look at the cast haha
@@JamesVSCinema I think it's because everyone just thought it was a Matrix rip-off, which it was marketed as, so that's probably the reason, but when it's taken on its own it is a brilliant film, and I think it deserves critical re-analysis.
@@nathanielmorgan9108 yeah. it was also picked up by Dimension Films, who have some good movies and cult classics under their belt, but arent nearly as big as many for box office hits and giant marketing campaigns.
came out right after matrix didnt help it sadly
Damn right
One of my favorite Christian Bale performances and I will never forget the scene when he really hears music for the first time. After watching this movie I am always grateful and like it's such a privilege to be able to feel things unfiltered, both the highest joy and deepest pain.
Loved reading this..happy to hear!
@@JamesVSCinema this movie was always deep in my heart.2 movies come close to this for different reasons.Reign of fire with Bale and 3 Kings with Clooney.
My favorite is seeing color and the rain as a way of showing he was feeling.
Agreed. on soooo many levels
Best enjoy that feeling while you still can.
"it's as vital as breath. And without it, without love, without anger, without sorrow, breath is just a clock... ticking"
Emily Watson is always a win.
If you notice in the end, the way he smiles is the Mona Lisa smile. Art informing life, life informing art - the never ending cycle continues. Great movie!
This one is DEEPLY underrated. And it gets made fun of for the whole gun-kata thing unfairly. It's unique and makes for some cool sequences. The whole underlying thing of feeling is amazingly well handled. Bale is just perfect for it. I've always looked at it as a film about a society that has no emotion, so the camera has all the emotion. Framing such beautiful shots, moving in beautiful emotional ways through scenes. It's extremely unique.
Gun-Kata is unironically my favorite fictional martial art
Gun Kata made way for fighting game characters like Bayonetta & Noel Vermillion.
The end fight where they use this combination of guns and sticky hands wing tsun kung fu is in my opinion maybe the most inventive fight choreography in all cinema. You kind of see that the actors found their limits, but it is still so well done and so unique as a concept.
This was seriously the best mash up of 1984 and Fahrenheit 451. Seems to me, it highlights the responsibilities of being a self-autonomous moral agent, in any form of Authoritarian based Society. It's because of stories and ideas like these that I am free to state that I am Still Loving, Still Living, Still Life. Peace All
matrix...
I searched for this comment to see if anyone else was able to draw the same parallels.
I was a teenager that had just finished reading Brave New World and 1984 when this movie came out, to say that I was primed and ready was an understatement
@@nem447 Matrix was 3 yrs old at this point and a lot had changed in the World. I see The Matrix as more of a Science Fantasy/Allegory, whereas Equilibrium seems more like 'realistic' Science Fiction/Fact. Its tech and Societal structures could/do exist today. Thanx and Be Well. Peace All
@@massacrestarts1673 Where ever you are in the World. Thanx and Be Well. Peace All
SUPER underrated sci-fi flick. Just so unbelievably stylized and incredibly dope.
I remember getting this film from the rental store back in the early 2000's. No idea what it was about. Simply saw it had Sean Bean and Christian Bale in it. Case looked interesting as well. Turned out to be one of the best 'surprise' films of my life. Was so well done.
Such an underrated movie that deserves to be discovered.
It was marketed as “forget the Matrix” which I think hurt it.
The themes are so well explored
One of my favorite underrated movies. The way the movie shifts from grey to colour once he starts to feel, the way they use blood (no blood at all at first because he doesn't care/mind and later you can see it) and of course the distopia and the constant fear of getting caught feeling. You really try to figure out clues on who else is feeling too.
The Gun Kata was created by Kurt Wimmer and Jim Vickers. Wimmer wanted a more flowing style of combat but in the end this movie's style was choreographed by a Karate expert, resulting in the blockier movements that are seen. In the movie Ultraviolet(2006) Wimmer was able to have more control of the choreography and thus it ended up much more fluid.
If you haven't had a chance to see it, I strongly suggest watching Ultraviolet during this action oriented season you're doing.
When he listens to the music, not only is it a very moving song, but can you imagine your first time ever hearing music? That's basically what it is.
One of my favorites and clearly it's an underrated film. I love how the color scheme changes as Christian Bale's character feels more and more we see more and more color. And the GunFu is frackin' awesome. ☺💚
one of those films you can watch again and again simply because the action is just so stylish and fun even if the story isnt quite as deep as it could have been for the subject matter.
If still after action stuff, Paul Bettany has some great ones, Priest always gave me similar feels to this one with its colouring and undertones, Legion is spooky but well worth a watch and Knights Tale is just medieval knight rock star film
This movie made an impact on me when I watched it as a younger lad. It was an awesome sci-fi with a pretty cool message, and the son being cool in the end really left a hopeful impression.
The fact you loved this so much I feel like Reign of Fire should be next.
It's another Christian Bale early 2000s action movies that's actually underrated imo. Has some seriously cool stuff in it. Also one of the most metal deaths I've ever seen.
James I felt the same way when I saw this in theaters. I was like "why isn't everyone talking about how awesome this movie is?". One of the most stylish action movies ever made with great performances and a great message.
I don't now about US or any other countries but in Russia this film is often shown on TV. I saw it in early 00's when I was about my 13 and I emidietly in love with this movie and Christian Bale :)
This is one of my favorite renditions
of Brave New World.
Not everyone knows this movie and it has always been my favorite movie with Christian Bale. It makes you think about how “just to feel something” makes a different. The movie “The Giver” reminded me of “Equilibrium” just the theme about not feeling anything. Loved your reaction as always and again your voice is really smooth and so chill could listen to it for hours 😂😊
If you never had a "not without incident" moment in your life, have you even lived, bruh? We all need something that we FEEL so strongly about that it stops being about the feeling.
This movie is so great, and I love that you dive into these kinds of movies so open-mindedly. Bale conveyed depth of emotion without facial expressions doing the work. Masterful acting.
There's an amazing quote by B.L. Mulligan: "People are fractal images of the universe... ...in the same way that your heart feels and your mind thinks, you are the instrument by which the universe cares. If you choose to care, then the universe cares."
When I saw someone reacting to this movie I was so happy, this is one of my top 5 movies of 2000-2010 for sure I just pure and simply loved it and the message it has
This is such a criminally underrated movie! They do so much with color and lighting to tell parts of the story that it's just crazy
Don't know if you can say this movie is underrated because just about everyone loves it. Might not have the notoriety it deserves though. I can't count how many times I have watched it or the amount of people I have shown it to. Great review!
A teacher in high school showed this movie to us. Was blown away I never heard of it. Since I've gotten into react channels I have been waiting for it to pop up in the feed, glad it was you!
Equilibrium was written and directed by Kurt Wimmer, who also wrote and directed Ultraviolet, starring Mila Johovich. Ultraviolet is a cheesy, guilty pleasure (with some admittedly dated and dody CGI). It also has some amazing, heavily stylised, gun kata sequences. Worth a watch with some beers and popcorn.
What if I don't drink beer (and certainly never with popcorn)?
What I love about this movie apart from all the cool fighting and action, is the fact that the main character is a bad ass and he stays a bad ass till the end none of this getting beaten by the bad guys and then having to muster strength again and finish the fight. One of my favorite movies.
I think Equilibrium is one of those movies that is hit or miss with people. I randomly bought it and watched it with one of my friends WAAAAYY back when it came out and thought it was awesome. To me it was one of the most unique action movies that followed the Matrix movies in showing the gun kata as something that you hadn't seen on screen. The action was awesome. But I've shown it to other people and they thought it was garbage. More people haven't liked it that I've shown than have.
It depends on what you value. Some people watch a movie for just the action sequences and will be disappointed. Those that look for the deeper themes and are interested in the world will find it awesome. Equilibrium does have a lot of cerebral themes under the stylized action.
Yeah, man, I absolutely love this film. It's so stylish. The story is reminiscent of Brave New World type storytelling to me. And one of my favorite Bale films. Such a gem of a movie.
This movie is one of my favourite films in the action genre. The sound design for this movie is so great as well. Another low key amazing action movie is Soldier with Kurt Russell. Also that end fight without the cuts wouldn't look stupid if it is based on what it appears to be based on. It's basically tuishou or pushing hands, that is practised in certain forms of kung fu, the only difference is they added guns. There are arts that also do this with knives and other weapons and it looks pretty amazing to watch people who are trained in it do it.
You'd love The One with Jet Li. His character travels to different universes and kills his alternate version in each one and becomes stronger with each kill. The opening fight where he destroys the LAPD with Bodies by Drowning Pool as the soundtrack sets the tone very quickly. It's also funny to see early Jason Statham in it too.
Equlibrium is in my eyes one of the most underappreciated movie. Its amazing but it had almost no presence when it came out. It cost 20 mil to make but gave back only 5.3 which is a great shame since the topic it touches is quite time transcendant.
Christian Bale's performance is so great. He conveys so much without any lines.
Equilibrium is one of my all time favorites for just the action alone
I love this film, I've heard people call it cheesy but I think its actually manages to be very moving in how its displays the different things that make us feel.
This movie is incredible. Was lucky enough to see it in a theater because I randomly heard about it, but it was never really marketed and only released in a small number of venues.
It's funny you mention break dance shooting... in The Big Hit, Mark Wahlberg does basically that in the beginning.
The Big Hit has some frankly awesome action scenes!
oh yeah, love that movie. Too bad he's moving on from Action.
I love the fact that the director ran out of money shooting it, so he had to be the figure in the opening titles performing gun-fu. Huis commentary is well worth listyening to, especially as he discusses his mistakes, such as attempting to use actual; martial artists in the film rather than dancers (who are trained to perform movements accurately repeatedly and in a manner that can be observed by the audience).
I saw this late one Saturday night in the cinema, after the film had already been out for a while. Was basically just like, 10 people in the theatre then. Was still a great watch and remains a favourite of mine till this day.
Absolutely love Equilibrium. Seen it countless times.
What an underrated gem of a film.
There is also something to be said about how that society was proven to be SOMEWHAT right at the end. As soon as the emotions are coming back, mass-killing starts. Probably even more death than during the oppression. And then Bale's character smiles.
Not saying getting rid of emotions was the right thing to do. You just see through the film how many beautiful things were destroyed and lost. But having emotions leads to more chaos as well.
The action to this day has rarely been surpassed in cinema today.
"break dancing with 2 pistols" has me dying! A friend of mine put this movie is DVD player when we were just hanging out and I was sold 5 minutes in. The action is great, the lighting grabbed your attention to every scene and it asks the right questions in such a relatable way. I think this is one of Bale's best films along with the Mechanic.
Also, really enjoy your insight on this and all the films and shows that you've shared with us. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving! Looking forward to more reactions.
This film is so slick and it sucks that so few parole have seen it. To throw in a couple other 'hidden' action films, "Man of Tai Chi" and "The Raid" I always think of them together as I saw them at about the same time. Have a great day, catch you in the next one! =)
That is crazy. I was looking at some other movie reviewers and wishing they would do this movie. It's great you are doing it.
YESSSS. I havent even watched this yet. So glad you're reacting to this though, it flies under the radar
"We gave up to dizzying heights to avoid the abysmal lows." (slight paraphrase) Such a great line to show how they justify their choice.
I don't know why this film is so overlooked - it really pushed the bar for the action film genre as well as dystopian sci-fi.
Also, John Wick is another great movie with a 'similar style' of gun-fu over the top action.
Iconic movie.
It is sad that it went under the radar for many, at least in my area and the ones I know this movie was mostly overlooked or it wasn't known at the time.
Something I've always enjoyed about this movie. As Preston begins to feel, the color comes back to his face
One thing I notice when rewatching the movie, Taye Diggs character sure smiles a lot…
This is one of the most underrated movies of all time. Everyone sleeps on it, but it has some of the most amazing cinematography and scene composition in any action flick.
Thank you for this reaction. This is one of my favourite films and I have always wanted more people to watch it.
Wow if you like Christian Bale, you should see him as a child starring in Empire of the Sun. Co-starring John Malkovich and directed by Steven Spielberg, it's a masterpiece. Maybe his best movie.
Such an incredible movie. The scene when he takes his glove off and lets his hand run up the banister just to feel something. Thanks for the throwback, James! Glad you liked it!
You can see the influences of Brazil, Fahrenheit 451, Gattica, The Matrix in this movie. They did a great job with this movie, but it's under appreciated.
This was one of my favorites as a teenager, I’m so glad you found this film! I haven’t met one person who doesn’t like this film after watching it!
I first saw this movie in my freshman year of high school in 2005. My English teacher was having us read through Fahrenheit 451, and after we were done he showed us this movie because of how similar it was to the book. Thank you so much Mr. Mead for introducing me to this underrated classic.
Love this movie! Great reaction! Yo, bonus points for calling it Gun-Fu! I called it the same thing when I watched it back long ago. 😄
Equilibrium is one of the best movies ever made.
Also, like some other comments mentioned - The Expanse is incredible. It's a must-watch for every sci-fi fan.
So happy someone finally reacted to this , love it , great reaction.
This is such an underrated gem. The cinematography, the action, the theme. It's brilliant in my book. It's also one of the first Christian Bale's movies I've watched and really got me into appreciating his work.
Glad you enjoyed it James. And as always I appreciate your take on it, both as a viewer and as someone educated in filmmaking.
Always loved the stylized muzzle flashes that look like the villain's symbol!
Absolutely love this film. Watched it on a whim a few years ago and was just totally blown away.
A movie that should have been at the top of ANY list regarding action drama films. It amazes me it’s not known by more people.
I cannot believe you posted this today. I was just looking for reactions to it last night and only found a few! Definitely and underrated movie. If you haven't seen it, and want more Christian Bale content, The Machinist is a good one.
There's a hidden subplot in the movie - the loss of Preston's "dose" was not accidental. Every time he tried to get a new one he was distracted or it was unavailable. Which means that the plot to use him as an infiltrator was probably set in motion the moment Preston (or, technically, his son) reported losing his dose.
This and "Empire of the Sun" are my two favorite Christian Bale films. This is one of the most underrated films of the early 2000s.
I highly recommend watching the series Firefly. That's another underrated and nearly forgotten amazing show.
Sticking with pure action from start to finish, Mad Max Fury Road is a must. No deep storyline, just constant pure adrenaline. Since two Mad Max movie reactions were done in the past this is a must see for the evolution of Mad Max and a new bar being set for high speed vehicle chase movies. Hope to see it one day here.
You got to see "Ultraviolet" next. Also by Wimmer and expands on the gun kata. Yes, it is cheesy and yes, the CG is kind of wonky but it is still inventive and unique.
this is my all time favorite movie. i try not to watch it more than once a year though to keep my memory of it only somewhat fresh. i love re-experiencing this movie every time
IMHO the, "Not without incident" scene, with the flat-lining signal is one of the best, "Shit is going down" moments of any film.
I just knew you'd love this one, underrated gem for sure.
Christian Bale is such a versatile actor. The second I saw him in Newsies I was a fan for life. I truly believe that this movie came out in the wake of the first Matrix and didn't get the accolades it deserved.
YYYEEEESSSSSSSS! I've been waiting for this movie to hit the reacter circuit! SO GLAD you're the first!
YES… YES…. FINALLY …. You are watching this hidden gem. Love this movie .
I recently found out that Christian Bale was one of the voice actors in Disney's Pocahontas from 1995.
The action in this movie is something else. That "rainbow kick" of the assault rifle gets me every time. Its so good
Equilibrium remains one of my top 5 from when I first watched it when I was around 10. I love me a good revolution movie😅
Gonna type this now while you’re doing your intro, I think you’re really going to like this one. Everything from the themes, the stylized action and camera work, to the story itself. It’s a hidden gem that I think a lot of people dismissed or overlooked originally, or maybe they just didn’t fully grasp or pay attention to the themes being presented and just checked it off as a dumb action flick. I love the movie and I hope you enjoy it as well. I look forward to watching your reaction.
That said, keep doing what you’re doing! I hope you and yours are well, and I sincerely wish you all the best!
My sophomore year English teacher made us watch this while we were reading Fahrenheit 451. A memory I will never forget
I remember i watched this movie at the theater back in my 7th grade year. This movie is still one of my favorite SF movies
You should watch Schwarzenegger’s “Last action hero” with all those action movie tropes or definitely “Commando”, straight action from beginning to end!
If you like Sci-fi, once Cyberpunk or BB is done, I’d recommend the Expanse. If you don’t mind doing another television show, the Expanse is a masterclass in set design and character growth, and is a great space opera.
Yes, 100% yes
100% agree
Expanse is probably the best sci fi show ever. It angers me that it never could reach Game of thrones level hype.
@@rowaystarco It was on Syfy, so I get that part, but Amazon definitely dropped the ball on marketing for the final 2 seasons. All I saw were Wheel of time ads everywhere, nothing for The Expanse
"I am that guy." So happy I met Wes Chatham. He signed for me "Matt, YOU ARE THAT GUY!"
Reign of Fire has surreal landscape as well you can also include it in the action category for sure. Glgad you finally got around to film I fell off that soapbox a year ago at least, kinda mindbender great reaction gotta give a pause be like psssst yuh
I love this film man, SOOO UNDERRATED! So deep and some red hot action. I remember the trailer being at the cinema but I think this was a really under publicised film that I forgot even existed. Thanks James 👍👍
In Ebert & Roeper review, they both gave this film thumbs up. Ebert specifically noted that the actors elevate the material.
Love when you stumble across these great movies you’ve never heard of. Great seeing someone recognize how awesome things once were.
I have been waiting for a long time for someone to react to this, its one of my fav films ☺
Man you were in for a ride and seeing your first reaction to the gun-kata was great!
Love the scene where he wakes up and tears the screen from his window. Looking out on a sunrise over the city, truly seeing colours for the first time. 👌
One of the most under rated movies all time. NO ONE talks about it.
Lmao Finally!!!! Excited for this one, dude!! Pretty sure it was almost 2 years ago I told you to watch this.
You held on hahaha
@@JamesVSCinema I haven't watched this for years actually, so I'll probably do the full length.
I love this movie, very well done. I stumbled across it accidentally, but loved it from the first time.
Bale's been one o' those few who made the leap from talented child actor to talented leading man. Should really check out pretty much his breakout role-rich British boy in Shanghai when the Japanese invade and he's put into a prison camp-in Empire of the Sun (1987). It's an '80s pow drama, got Bale, John Malkovich, Joe Pantoliano, and was directed by Spielberg.
I have always loved this movie! It's such a underrated movie and Equilibrium should be a movie more people should see. The fact that the plot of the movie is going on in China right now is extra scary but non the less it's still a treat.
This is part of my 'Teenager trilogy'
- 28 Days Later (2002)
- Equilibrium (2002)
- Dog Soldiers (2002)
Good times were had 😏
Love this movie! Told so many people to watch it (and American Psycho) before his starring role in the Batman trilogy. I hope you enjoy!
One of my favorite movies! So underrated!