Equilibrium [Blu-ray]

I've never heard of this movie before until I accidentally read someone's review on another movie. He was wondering why movies like Equilibrium did not get any attention which it deserved. I could not resist my curiosity and thus I rented it right away. What a pleasant surprise! Even if the cover looked like a typical B-class movie, the movie itself was a real deal. Equilibrium is so original and it was not a rip-off of anything as there are some reviews comparing this to the Matrix. I am not saying Equilibrium is better or worse than the Matrix. They are absolutely two different movies and each of them has its own strength as well as weakness.
Although I should say that all those gunfight scenes are not the best I've ever seen, they are very impressive and well executed. I guess in the near future we will see some 'Equilibrium-clone' movies imitating 'Gun-Kata'.
The plot and script are not the first-class but are bearable. The movie delivered its purposes and intentions well, and the character development is convincing and reasonable.
Nevertheless, I can tell you that the acting in this movie was a real killer, totally unexpected. Christian Bale was perfect for his role. I've never seen acting like that in such low-budget, non-theatrical-released movie (well, I read that it was showed at some selected theatres for few weeks).
'Euilibrium' is one of the most underrated movies ever, and it deserves your attention. I really would like to see a sequel with enough budget and better storyline.

This is an excellent sci fi film. In many ways I enjoyed it more than the first Matrix film because it's less about special effects and more about an engrossing storyline. The premise of the film isn't original like many critics have been quick to point out, but it's presented in an original style that is very entertaining. I like to describe it to friends as a sci fi Matrix like film that incorporates martial arts with guns. There are some gratuitous action scenes but for the most part the action is really cool to watch. Especially since they use really neat looking guns and every one is dressed up in chic and futurist clothes :)

The acting, the music, the sound effects, and the script all work well together. I really like the fact that the movie centers around Christian Bale's character rather than the whole anti-authoritarian premise. As a viewer you actually care about the character John Preston. It's the quiet scenes within the film that really lend strength of purpose to the action scenes. Unlike Neo in "The Matrix," you learn about Preston's past, his wife, the fact that he has kids. It's great how you don't only remember the action scenes but the quiet scenes as well, like the extermination of the dogs, the arrest of Preston's partner (Sean Bean), and the execution of the rebels. There is one scene in the film where the main character shares a quiet moment with a puppy and yet seconds later he is blowing away a squad of soldiers. Surprisingly, scenes such as this worked really well together and weren't inappropriate at all. That's one of the best things about this film. It's the fact that SO many things could of went wrong, but it turned out to be very well done. Highly recommended.

So I doubt I'll see a really good release of this film in the near future...the picture quality, while just passable, is in the wrong aspect ratio and needs to be corrected and the DTS-MA is good, but not great. The latest release in the states is a double pack with the movie "Renaissance" that restores the correct aspect ratio but has lossy Dolby Digital 5.1. Gotta pick your poison with this title I guess...ugh...