Summary

• Equilibrium, a Matrix-inspired film, captivates audiences with its gun-fu action and powerful themes of rebellion and individuality.
• Despite initial poor reviews, Christian Bale's portrayal of John Preston and the movie's unique fight scenes have gained a cult following.
• Director Kurt Wimmer combines elements of classic dystopian films to create a thought-provoking story of fighting against oppressive regimes.

Starring the likes of Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus, Carrie-Ann Moss as Trinity, and none other than Keanu Reeves as truth-seeker Neo, The Matrix made its theatrical premiere on Mar. 31, 1999, and instantly made a monumental impact on the big screen. With its story of a hacker trying to break free from a fake reality, this science fiction action film not only won a few Academy Awards, made well over five times its perceived budget, but also became a franchise that spawned three live-action sequels, an animated film, and spin-off video games. There were many different avenues to go down if you wanted to explore the world of The Matrix. On the other hand, numerous films tried to capitalize on the neo-noir and gritty tones in their own way. Stylistically speaking, Troy Duffy’s The Boondock Saints and Jet Li’s The One are just a few titles that borrowed from The Wachowski’s smash hit and did well with the replication.

In the midst of those, one Matrix clone from the early 2000s deserves a bit more recognition than it has. Yes, this movie uses the same run-and-gun concept and also obviously copies the three main stars descriptively speaking (Neo’s iconic trench coat included). But surprisingly, movie enthusiasts still seem to love Christian Bale’s Equilibrium. Released by Miramax Films in December 2002, this post-World War III production focused on a world that blamed all bad events on emotion. A fictional city called Libria stands tall and an over-dominant police force led by clerics trained in gun-kata have final rule. Any person(s) or objects that help one to feel (through book, music, even color) are pretty much destroyed on sight. But after all these years and rated poorly by critics upon its initial release, why is Equilibrium adored by so many now?

The Matrix and Equilibrium Feature Similar Fight Styles and Themes

Like in the beginning sequences of The Matrix, Libria is enveloped by a gray monotone specifically designed to not cause any stimulus for its residents. One day, John Preston (Bale’s character, who is a high-level skilled Cleric), who has been taking care of the "sense" offenders, forgets to take his daily dose of an emotion-suppressing drug (which everybody in Libria takes) and starts to see the world very differently. Overwhelmed, he eventually joins the underground rebellion to take out the governing Tetragrammaton Council and bring balance to the world once more. There is no question that there are enough gun-oriented action scenes in Bale’s rendition to satisfy those mesmerized by the fight scenes in The Matrix.

Combining the real-life method of Kata (various forms of movements used for many forms of martial arts) and the fictional science of maximizing the gun range around oneself, Equilibrium did a great job constructing its own version of gun-fu. This play on the Hong Kong birthed action style helped to make the movie memorable for viewers both then and now. Even though Equilibrium initially came to the big screen over 30 years ago, reviews on Rotten Tomatoes from 2019 highlight the movie’s ammunition-based ideas, calling the execution “surprisingly engrossing.” While it is noteworthy to mention the soundtrack and overall aesthetic (just as a reviewer did within the same year), maybe there is something else to see here as to why the majority of recent audiences resonate with it so much.

Figuring Out What the Audience Wanted

It is true that Equilibrium tends to break its own rules sometimes. The villainous rulers explicitly show emotions when those same traits are supposedly subdued. However, those same negatives about the movie tend to be overshadowed by Bale’s John Preston character. Not only does he manifest Neo at the beginning of the film, but he also portrays an unstoppable John Wick-esque character towards the climax – stoic in facial features but relentless with his goal. He fights whoever he has to in order to get to the one he seeks.

He even finds himself a love interest (in the form of Emily Watson’s Mary O’Brien) who becomes one of his greatest motivators. It’s almost as if director Kurt Wimmer had an inkling regarding the upcoming big-screen movie trend of sophisticated heroes fighting against a world turned against them. In addition, it had an overall theme borrowed from the likes of Fahrenheit 451 and Metropolis (two great films that are also crying out for remakes).

While highlighting the frail, captured society from Fritz Lang’s silent film, Equilibrium’s director also sought to show the undying mind that was quenched for knowledge in Fahrenheit 451. The only thing was that Wimmer was too ahead of his time to truly capitalize on the amalgamation of his ideas. Equilibrium is available to stream on numerous platforms, including Prime Video, YouTube, and Google Play.