“But I, being poor, have only my dreams. I have spread my dreams under your feet. Tread softly, because you tread on my dreams.”
– Partridge (Equilibrium)
This is definitely not a movie for the whole family. It is entertaining and most interesting, but there is enough death and violence to warrant some caution. What would happen if the world declared war on the concept of emotion? What would happen if the only way to have peace was to not feel anything at all? The result is the movie Equilibrium.
Set in a post-apocalyptic and semi-futuristic society, Equilibrium follows a new form of peace officer whose job is to locate and neutralize any source of feeling or emotions, whether it is a book, music, art, or a person who is committing the crime of sense offense. They are trained to be the best, most lethal beings in existence. Experts in any and all forms of combat engagement and awareness. Absent of emotional awareness.
Where is the fun in any of that? Well, the question here is what happens when one of the best of these lethal enforcers starts to feel? He runs out of the emotion-suppressing drug and the distribution facility was closed. That makes for the recipe of a movie that is the caliber of Equilibrium. This was an educational ride that shows a society without feeling or emotion and the consequences of letting fear rule.
The only sad part about Equilibrium was that it came out around the same time as The Matrix and had a similar ambiance to it. Had this movie come out with a little more separation between the release dates, I would argue that this might have been considered the better movie. I highly recommend giving it a try.
Journeyman's Legacy 