This movie made quite an impression on me. I had read 1984 and Fahrenheit 451 and loved them both. Later saw The Matrix, loved it as well. The parallels between them are apparent, but this movie still manages to make the message fresh and relevant for today. I could care less what the critics think, i only care what I think. I LOVE this movie because it is truly great. Thanks for your commentary.
Equilibrium is one of my favourite movies that I watched in my childhood; and when I look back at those favourite movies, I can't stop thinking about how provocative and unique the movies are in comparison to blockbusters and genre flicks. I loved the theme and the setting and look forward to read my copies of 1984 and Fahrenheit 451 and of course, rewatch Equilibrium and Fahrenheit 451
@@jdottdeestv8149 Director Kurt Wimmer said the comparisons to "Fahrenheit 451" were purely coincidental as he`d never read it nor seen any of the Film Adaptations made at that point.(Obviously, the new one with Michael B. Jordan and Michael Shannon had not been made yet.)
It was better back in the days when Kings and Monarchs rule world. People should wake up and learn from the good examples set by China and North Korea.
@@damianstarks3338 American Psycho Reign of Fire The Machinist The Prestige 3:10 To Yuma Hostiles The Dark Knight Trilogy Just a few of the film's he's starred in and he's absolutely nailed his performance in every single one. He's one of our generation's greatest.
The movie may not have been a box office hit but even after all these years, this movie has stuck with me as one of my favorites. The messaging is so spot on, the action is fantastic and the cinematography is gorgeous. One of my favorite parts of the movie is how the movie starts out grey and bland, but as Preston starts feeling emotions throughout the movie the colors become more and more vibrant until the final scene where it almost becomes oversaturated as Preston loses control right at the end. It's such a subtle but brilliant use of color and I love it.
The film would have a bit of an influence on Japanese pop culture, most notably the works of Gen Urobuchi, who had fallen in love with this film and its particular style of action. Stuff such as _Psycho-Pass, Fate/Zero,_ and _Puella Magi Madoka Magica_ (especially its sequel movie) would end up drawing influence from the infamous Gun Kata in how they presented their firefights.
Love this channel, either an old classic to fondly remember, discovering a new movie to enjoy watching, or learning to understand a film in a whole new way This one checks 2 of my boxes
@@iceheart1289 I enjoy watching Niyat's videos along with ones from The Templin Institute. Both provide deep-dives into the narrative, lore, characters and wider universe of the subject they're discussing. The Institute presents their work in a very different format to Niyat, as his is more personable whereby he provides his own thoughts and theories which I particularly appreciate.
The irony that is rewriting history in media, even as far back as the beginnings of the 2000’s up until graduation in 2012 these themes were suppressed and ignored in the public school system. These themes draw heavily from WW2 and the Cold War that followed it. Yet no matter what school in the US I was in, be it Colorado, Washington, Texas, or Missouri these segments of history were outright skipped and the tough lessons associated with them skipped as well. Insidious reasonings or otherwise it is to the detriment of new generations all the same.
Happend here in the UK too, we have R.E (Religious education) as a core class. But it was always very white washed and only ever premoted the 'better' side to other cultures. Unfortunatly to many people are easliy offened, this is one of the biggest reasons as to why the curriculum revolving around R.E is so... For want of a better word: SUS!
@@kokko9507 that's not wrong but as we saw with Trump, when the US sits out the Europeans didn't know what the fuck to do with themselves half the time without American leadership and the void gets filled with a regime even worse in China.
@@kokko9507 Haha, only reality my friend. The EU demonstrated poor geopolitical power as a whole or as parts compared to authoritarian regimes in 2016-2020 period. The US is not a very good model for democracy, but there is a substantive difference between that society and Xi's China and unfortunately one has to be the hegemon because there is always a hegemon.
As annoyingly invasive as our government can be in various facets of our everyday lives, it's definitely a damn good thing that they're far too disorganized and incompetent to actually pull something of this scale off with any degree of success.
You could say to a degree the beginning of something such as depicted in this film is possible though, far off-or is it? The US Government is very competent when it comes to propaganda, psych-ops and polarization when it comes to information. Information from news broadcasts, newspapers, digital blogs, digital articles, and even books. Yes, as of 2023: reports have came in that there are books being reprinted and altered to fit the narrative. Change the past, change the future. Mental warfare has been going on for almost a century by now and I'm sure it's not only the USA that subjugates it's populous under these measures. Why else would the most outlandish things of the not-so-long ago past be pretty reasonable now? ..Find out about someone who goes after children; you call him/her out.. What's that? You're a racist? A homophobe? But this person preys on..? Noo! That's homophobic! That's racist! It's only finally gotten so obvious now of how much damage the mental warfare has taken upon western society. We, the west were warned in the 1980's by Yuri Bezmenov: Former KGB soviet official who fled to the USA. He saw it all before anyone else did though, not many listened and nobody took him seriously-until it was too late. No matter what nation you are from: the government is not your friend.
You'd say that, and yet, the vaccine mandates were a thing. Like the movie, all you have to do is provide the proper rational and people will jump on it
..I didn't, the action(s) and details work very well on the big screen, ..as a 23 year old back then, on holiday in Switzerland. ..T'is a shame Karl Riemer ?? the director (cameoed as the sense-offender who gesticulated to Preston to not attack the firing squad,) died in the mid noughteens.
My dad bought this movie in a movie pack because he was obsessed with having a lot of movies regardless of quality for some reason but this movie stood out to me out of all of them as being a genuinely good film and really made me question authority and the place our emotions have in our lives
Such a good movie. One of my English teachers showed clips of it in class while on one of the story subjects. This lead me ultimately buying the movie so I can finish it.
Today its not quite about controlling emotion, its about thought control and behavioural engineering. You cant say certain things. You cant joke about certain people. You cant have certain opinions. Now the government wants to regulate everything you see, say or do on the internet. Jail time for not calling someone by the proper pronouns. Jail time for making fun of someone online. We arent heading down a good path .
When I first saw this movie back in 2002, with the action, I immediately thought Devil May Cry.. which coincidently was popular and somewhat new at the the time.
It’s like Brand New World, but on the other end of the spectrum (as in, rather than repressing emotion entirely, they allow emotions to run unchecked, with the exception of negative emotion)
Easily one of the best movies of the 2000's! I remember thinking how moved I was by watching it as a young man.. Definately rented and watched it several times! Thanks for covering this film!👍😃
Man this brings back memories. I loved and love this movie. I rewatched it a few months back and now I want to see it again lol. Won't lie I wanted to know the Gun-Kata on Christian Bale's level lol
I must say dude you always give me a understandable, thought provoking alternative perspective of how I originally viewed the material. The true sign of your genius rests in the presentation you offer having obvious views of the surface but also layered observation of depth without losing sight of either one. Bravo my friend, Bravo.
YESSSS this is one of my favorite movies, it rivals blade runner 2049 to me in how good the futuristic dystopian setting is laid, as well as the solidness of the story for both films, thanks for covering this one
The first time I saw Fahrenheit 451 was actually in history class my junior or senior year in high school. Which then prompted me to read the book. My history teacher those years was the kind of person who didn't care about teaching people to pass tests (nor did he need to), he taught the love of history and what effect history has on the future, which is where that story feeds into his history lessons. edit: minor context: senior year for me was 97-98
@@mbogucki1 Both featured totalitarian, oppressive governments. Supression of the population. Censoring violent media, banning physical contact and forbidding the use of offensive language in Demolition Man for example. There is a rebel underclass that the state wants to destroy and it takes someone who isn't following the rules to bring the state down. The themes are very similar. The key difference is one is left wing and the other is right wing - it doesn't which side of the fence it is, it all leads to the same dangerous outcome.
The movie had one serious flaw … most of the cast didn't get the note about acting *emotional suppressed.* Taye Diggs spent the entire film with a 💩 eating grin. And various troops have "oh crap" moments of panic as they face the protagonist, with even a "oh shit…" muttered by the chief tester when he realises that Preston is about to go _full cleric_ on them. It's a failure of the Director, which seems strange as the _Director was also the main writer_ - Kurt Wimmer. "I'll make suppression of emotions the main hook of my story and then have the cast be expressive and show close ups of their startled eyes and fear". Only Christian Bale seemed to be playing it correctly, with his character gradually going from unemotional to having to cope with his new found emotional state while trying to unsuccessfully hide it. And that may have been because of Bale's status, he could play it as he saw fit. It could have been a great film if it wasn't Directored by the writer, but by someone else who would be, ironically, more true to the vision of the script.
Well first of all the drug did not erase emotions its just suppress them and about that black dude i think he was one of the few ppl in the circle of the main villain that know the truth. But yes there were more the one scene with emotions to make the film less effected.
There is room for us to interpret the suppression aspect of the drug as something that can be overcome by extreme emotional response. This could happen when someone is at the end of a dosage peak and be more likely to occur at such times. There is a focus on John Preston (Bale's character) when an emotional response would normally happen, and we get a moment or two before he flatly gives his answer or directions. This implies that his emotions are present but suppressed. The viewers become trained to expect it and are constantly looking for those character breaks. We always expect him to show some emotional response to various situations, we suspect that he could overpower the drug if he willed it. When Preston flat lines the testing machine, it's a demonstration of absolute control over his emotions as he is righteously about to bring an end to the evil tyranny. He is calm when he should be raging, he is angry but able to use it effectively. Clerics are far more devoted to the entire ideology than the lower level forces and citizens. We can reasonably infer a person's devotion to dosing could lapse or vary from individual to individual. When we find out his son was no longer dosing but pretending, it opens the door to the idea that other people might be doing the same. The system of control and drugging wasn't perfect. Perhaps this is why some people exhibited responses when they shouldn't have. Regardless, those few moments don't break my immersion when I watch this film. I think it lends to the idea that such extreme control over an entire nation will be tenuous for some people. This allows us to keep the idea of hope in the back of our minds that all is not lost if our main character does find a way to disrupt the controllers at the top. Peace.
Sadly, Ray Bradbury said he wasnt trying to predict the future, but prevent this future from happening with his novel. A shame the message has been slept on
@@RLBvkjf Tell me about it... When the panic-buying started I was actually pleased to see junk mail and the local community newspaper landing on the doormat. It beat using a washcloth rinsed under the tap after every wipe, which my mate did for a week 😳
8:38 Hey... that's a Bombardier T-1 Subway Train found on Line 2 of Toronto's Subway system. It's you can tell by the Red cloth seats, Square windows, and red doors and red and clear walls by the doors. It also has a really really cool motor sound that you should look up
Thanks so much Niyat! This is one of my all time favourites. A vastly underappreciated classic which I prefer much more than it's contemporaries such as The Matrix or Pi etc. Now I'm off to go continue to learn Gun Kata with my Airsoft 😂
I love your channel. And thank you for doing this movie. An under appreciated gem that I drug my friends to see I’m high school and I still frequently watch today.
I love this film. My only complaint is that it's too short. This might be one of the rare moments where a story deserves a remake in tv format. Just use the same music.
2:53 I’ve used her line word for word to describe the drudgery of being in the Army Reserve. Every weekend was just administrative crap to continue our existence. We almost never did our actual jobs. This line was so perfect I have used it for years after watching this in about 2002 I believe.
I've been wanting a TV series adaptation for this movie to flesh out everything within this society. The time right after WW3 and the decision to "medicate" emotion out of society. It should start with Patridge's early days as a cleric. Show him as a younger devout member of the clerics, then move forward from there.
I had seen this back in the day on a in the post love-film DVD. But I think dealing with a girlfriend with M.A.D at the time (Major Arm-folding Disorder) meant I missed the message! Found it here in France on DVD for 50 Centimes in the week and DAMN, it resonates in a depressing way here in 2023... Sadly I don't think that is just because I am 20 years older, bald and bitter now, but it is because we have all just experienced what seemed like a whip-hand. Very grey and bleak, but a very thought-provoking film. Great review, best wishes from a French forest. Peace 🌞🇬🇧
One of the most underrated action and sentimental movies of all time. Sadly, we (especially in the "modern"/"developed" countries -- also known as the "free") are rapidly moving towards the atmosphere/conditions depicted by this movie (complete dystopian dictatorial/totalitarian regime/control). Fear/Anger/Rage/Resentment are all CREATED/promoted by the humans that have prostrated to the devils. Then, they propose the solution and we (the sheeple) gladly/eagerly/willingly follow.
I'm stopping at the 2 min mark to watch this. I've only seen the movie title in passing and my dumb brain thought what an unremarkable title it probably wouldn't be worth the watch. I thought I came back sooner. Over a year later..I did not regret my choice. Great flick.
I don't need it explained... I did love this movie...probably more than I should have. The Vulcan drugs were good enough, the only reason I can think of that they wanted to remove any creativity or art was just another level of control and to turn everyone into mindless zombies...which they did. I liked Bale's son the best in this. He was so cool! And what's the best way to get the primary weapon away from a Cleric? Both me and Taye said it at the same time...You ask him for it 😄
Political correctness also destroys feeling, if you can't have a sense of humor, you can't be human. Either way, this is making more sense in the 21st century.
I saw this film in an empty theater when it came out. So glad I took a chance on it. One of the greatest science fiction films ever made.
Jealous!
To have an empty room to take it all in, wow, I'm jealous
me and my best friend at the time went to go see this after it came out as well and we practically had the theater room to ourselves lol.
Science fiction ?
This movie made quite an impression on me. I had read 1984 and Fahrenheit 451 and loved them both. Later saw The Matrix, loved it as well. The parallels between them are apparent, but this movie still manages to make the message fresh and relevant for today. I could care less what the critics think, i only care what I think. I LOVE this movie because it is truly great. Thanks for your commentary.
Equilibrium is one of my favourite movies that I watched in my childhood; and when I look back at those favourite movies, I can't stop thinking about how provocative and unique the movies are in comparison to blockbusters and genre flicks. I loved the theme and the setting and look forward to read my copies of 1984 and Fahrenheit 451 and of course, rewatch Equilibrium and Fahrenheit 451
Watched Equilibrium too many times. F451 however... Interesting. Need to give it a look-see.
The Giver and Brave New World as well ;)
You better add A Scanner Darkly while you’re at it! :)
@@jdottdeestv8149 Director Kurt Wimmer said the comparisons to "Fahrenheit 451" were purely coincidental as he`d never read it nor seen any of the Film Adaptations made at that point.(Obviously, the new one with Michael B. Jordan and Michael Shannon had not been made yet.)
Ever more relevant as the days go on...
Very much so
Yes but are we willing to fight to stop it. Or will you comply to survive with in it.
Ignorance is strength. Masks are power.
It was better back in the days when Kings and Monarchs rule world. People should wake up and learn from the good examples set by China and North Korea.
@@marshallzingkhai9159 🤣🤣🤣 you could of used two better countries than those , equilibrium is more or less north Korea anyway.
Such an underrated movie.
Absolutely loved this film, Bale is a legend
You read my mind.
@@damianstarks3338
American Psycho
Reign of Fire
The Machinist
The Prestige
3:10 To Yuma
Hostiles
The Dark Knight Trilogy
Just a few of the film's he's starred in and he's absolutely nailed his performance in every single one.
He's one of our generation's greatest.
The movie may not have been a box office hit but even after all these years, this movie has stuck with me as one of my favorites. The messaging is so spot on, the action is fantastic and the cinematography is gorgeous. One of my favorite parts of the movie is how the movie starts out grey and bland, but as Preston starts feeling emotions throughout the movie the colors become more and more vibrant until the final scene where it almost becomes oversaturated as Preston loses control right at the end. It's such a subtle but brilliant use of color and I love it.
The film would have a bit of an influence on Japanese pop culture, most notably the works of Gen Urobuchi, who had fallen in love with this film and its particular style of action. Stuff such as _Psycho-Pass, Fate/Zero,_ and _Puella Magi Madoka Magica_ (especially its sequel movie) would end up drawing influence from the infamous Gun Kata in how they presented their firefights.
I love the idea of Gun Kata like Gym Kata lmao it’s so fucking hilarious but awesome
Psycho-Pass is great!
Psycho-Pass is phenomenal!!
I loved this and every other movie u mentioned
@@DarkManSonian Gym Kata is that Chuck Norris movie from the 80's!!! Good old fashioned karate, Kung Fu, murder, death kill action.
Worst. Vulcans. Ever.
Love this channel, either an old classic to fondly remember, discovering a new movie to enjoy watching, or learning to understand a film in a whole new way
This one checks 2 of my boxes
Which two boxes?
@@crimsonking2874 the latter two, I haven't seen this movie before and I'm now interested in it, and I always enjoy Niyats analysis on films and games
@@iceheart1289
I enjoy watching Niyat's videos along with ones from The Templin Institute.
Both provide deep-dives into the narrative, lore, characters and wider universe of the subject they're discussing.
The Institute presents their work in a very different format to Niyat, as his is more personable whereby he provides his own thoughts and theories which I particularly appreciate.
Agreed and it’s one of my favorite movies with an actor I wish I saw more of
I swear this channel always points me 2 something
One of my personal favs. I have a movie poster of it in the office. Its fascism to the extreme but its so slick with the Gunkata and martial arts.
What a gem of a film. The choreography was spot on and Christian Bale was perfect for the part, the last SHORT scene with Taye Diggs was memorable.
This movie's final fight blew my mind.
Same here.
"Not without incident". Badass
super underrated film. one of my favorites of all time
Damn some of those dystopian future novels seem like a better future than the one we are living right now.
Ahhh, seriously, this Corona shit is not worse than Libria 😄
@@TheRogueminator some very interesting parallels… don’t take the medication and see what happens!
@10th House Tek we must be vigilant and united..
@@andrewlucas6214 Are you seriously saying that Covid Vaccines are harmful?
@@andrewlucas6214 they give you fines and get socialise without their approuved medicines
This is a very underrated movie. I'm not the biggest fan of Christian Bale but he knocks this performance out the box.
@@charlesmayer8136 That’s what she said
Wait hold up, you are not a fan of Christian Bale ? we got to talk about this….
@@charlesmayer8136 let’s see Paul Allen’s filmography.
@Jimmy Vapes my mother passed away from covid, not funny brother ✌🏾
@Jimmy Vapes I was trying to trap you into my next joke but lmfao 😂 you win. That was funny af
The irony that is rewriting history in media, even as far back as the beginnings of the 2000’s up until graduation in 2012 these themes were suppressed and ignored in the public school system.
These themes draw heavily from WW2 and the Cold War that followed it. Yet no matter what school in the US I was in, be it Colorado, Washington, Texas, or Missouri these segments of history were outright skipped and the tough lessons associated with them skipped as well. Insidious reasonings or otherwise it is to the detriment of new generations all the same.
American Imperialism is not only harming you US citizens, but rest of the world as well.
Happend here in the UK too, we have R.E (Religious education) as a core class. But it was always very white washed and only ever premoted the 'better' side to other cultures. Unfortunatly to many people are easliy offened, this is one of the biggest reasons as to why the curriculum revolving around R.E is so... For want of a better word: SUS!
@@kokko9507 that's not wrong but as we saw with Trump, when the US sits out the Europeans didn't know what the fuck to do with themselves half the time without American leadership and the void gets filled with a regime even worse in China.
@@specialnewb9821 what kind of propaganda outlets are you listening to believe the bullshit you just spewed?
@@kokko9507 Haha, only reality my friend. The EU demonstrated poor geopolitical power as a whole or as parts compared to authoritarian regimes in 2016-2020 period. The US is not a very good model for democracy, but there is a substantive difference between that society and Xi's China and unfortunately one has to be the hegemon because there is always a hegemon.
As annoyingly invasive as our government can be in various facets of our everyday lives, it's definitely a damn good thing that they're far too disorganized and incompetent to actually pull something of this scale off with any degree of success.
You could say to a degree the beginning of something such as depicted in this film is possible though, far off-or is it? The US Government is very competent when it comes to propaganda, psych-ops and polarization when it comes to information. Information from news broadcasts, newspapers, digital blogs, digital articles, and even books. Yes, as of 2023: reports have came in that there are books being reprinted and altered to fit the narrative. Change the past, change the future. Mental warfare has been going on for almost a century by now and I'm sure it's not only the USA that subjugates it's populous under these measures. Why else would the most outlandish things of the not-so-long ago past be pretty reasonable now? ..Find out about someone who goes after children; you call him/her out.. What's that? You're a racist? A homophobe? But this person preys on..? Noo! That's homophobic! That's racist! It's only finally gotten so obvious now of how much damage the mental warfare has taken upon western society. We, the west were warned in the 1980's by Yuri Bezmenov: Former KGB soviet official who fled to the USA. He saw it all before anyone else did though, not many listened and nobody took him seriously-until it was too late. No matter what nation you are from: the government is not your friend.
You'd say that, and yet, the vaccine mandates were a thing. Like the movie, all you have to do is provide the proper rational and people will jump on it
@@MsDragonbal776our society will obey as long as it stays pacified
Equilibrium has been one of my favorites sense release, a lot of people missed out on seeing it in theaters.
..I didn't, the action(s) and details work very well on the big screen, ..as a 23 year old back then, on holiday in Switzerland.
..T'is a shame Karl Riemer ?? the director (cameoed as the sense-offender who gesticulated to Preston to not attack the firing squad,) died in the mid noughteens.
Seriously underrated albeit very well made and sound movie!
Couldnt agree more with you The DORUK!
@@filmcomicsexplained its a shame that we dont get to see more action movies similiar to this
@@thedoruk6324
I agree Cleric 😉
@@filmcomicsexplained can you do the penguin from Batman Returns?
My dad bought this movie in a movie pack because he was obsessed with having a lot of movies regardless of quality for some reason but this movie stood out to me out of all of them as being a genuinely good film and really made me question authority and the place our emotions have in our lives
Very highly underrated movie. I’m so glad that you covered it. I would love to see a 4K Blu-ray release.
Such a good movie. One of my English teachers showed clips of it in class while on one of the story subjects. This lead me ultimately buying the movie so I can finish it.
Definitely a great movie. I've used to teach clients the importance of embracing their emotions.
Today its not quite about controlling emotion, its about thought control and behavioural engineering. You cant say certain things. You cant joke about certain people. You cant have certain opinions. Now the government wants to regulate everything you see, say or do on the internet. Jail time for not calling someone by the proper pronouns. Jail time for making fun of someone online. We arent heading down a good path .
When I first saw this movie back in 2002, with the action, I immediately thought Devil May Cry.. which coincidently was popular and somewhat new at the the time.
This was a an amazing film. Probably my favourite. I love Bale
It really was!
Jesus Christ loves you please repent and forgive
@@littlesam6280 why
@@Michaelkayslay Christian man probbaly thinks it’s satan movie
It’s like Brand New World, but on the other end of the spectrum (as in, rather than repressing emotion entirely, they allow emotions to run unchecked, with the exception of negative emotion)
Brave New World?? The recent dramatisation of BVW is well worth a watch.
Oh wow. I’ve been waiting a long time for this one! 👏🏾
Hope you like it!
Easily one of the best movies of the 2000's! I remember thinking how moved I was by watching it as a young man.. Definately rented and watched it several times! Thanks for covering this film!👍😃
my friends and i rented this movie a dozen times each, then bought it, we watched it nearly every weekend for two years.
It's always nice when bad guys arrange themselves conveniently for easy killings by an agent proficient in gun-kata.
To be fair, these are the good guys who were killed.
@@jamesestrella5911 Right. Wait... What?
@@ChineduOpara The enemies at the beginning of the movie, were in fact, the good guys/the resistance.
@@jamesestrella5911 Oh THAT scene! Yes you are right. I was thinking about the latter scenes where he goes against his masters and their goons.
@@jamesestrella5911I thought you were being pro totalitarian for min hahhaha
In class we just started reading 1984 and it seems like a good book
That 'face off' at the end, was epic.
I've got to admit. I haven't seen this yet. But I'll check it out soon. Christian Bale is an incredible actor.
You gotta!
Its a great action flick and pretty good social commentary
I envy first time watchers. Such a great film.
Enjoy it when you do get around to it mate.
Man this brings back memories. I loved and love this movie. I rewatched it a few months back and now I want to see it again lol. Won't lie I wanted to know the Gun-Kata on Christian Bale's level lol
I must say dude you always give me a understandable, thought provoking alternative perspective of how I originally viewed the material. The true sign of your genius rests in the presentation you offer having obvious views of the surface but also layered observation of depth without losing sight of either one. Bravo my friend, Bravo.
@@jeffbrownstain Don't know but I haven't seen one yet that's not in some way very close to bullseye in analysis. Maybe he just gets it.
I've watched this about 10 or so times or so. Great film.
Me too!
Thanks for covering this movie Niyat, its one of my favourites from my teen years. Excellent video and narration style as always.
Never realized but when the bullets get zoomed in, they make the clerics cross. Love this movie.
A very timely message is contained in this movie. More up-to-date than we might have thought 5 years ago.
that intro sequence, it really did have matrix vibes. And 451 was an interesting book. I keep thinking I should pick up 1984 too.
Thanks! This is one of my favorite movies and I was hoping you would have covered it sooner or later.
I feel like getting off Prozium II would cause massive panic attacks of emotional overload.
Just look how sheeple behave when u take phones or social media from them
I missed this movie when it came out originally. A friend of mine introduced it to me years later, and I fell in love right away. So underappreciated.
Love this film - it is so underrated.
Yay!!! After asking for this for like idk how long anymore haha 🤣 So happy you got to this! Love this movie!
Hope you enjoyed it!
@@filmcomicsexplained Yes very much!!! thank you!!
I've never seen this movie!? Thank you for putting it on your channel, so now I have something to go watch!
Such a good film. Found it years ago and have always loved it.
Alas it is a forgotten and overlooked film but it is a right decent watch!
Just saw it. Loved it. Fight scenes are beautifully choreographed. Nice movie.
Funny how the “Father” is played by the actor who played Alfred in Gotham and then Chris Bale who was Batman.
I watched this movie way too much in high school. This and the Matrix were my jam.
A cult classic film of epic proportions. Right up there with Dark City.
YESSSS this is one of my favorite movies, it rivals blade runner 2049 to me in how good the futuristic dystopian setting is laid, as well as the solidness of the story for both films, thanks for covering this one
The first time I saw Fahrenheit 451 was actually in history class my junior or senior year in high school. Which then prompted me to read the book.
My history teacher those years was the kind of person who didn't care about teaching people to pass tests (nor did he need to), he taught the love of history and what effect history has on the future, which is where that story feeds into his history lessons.
edit: minor context: senior year for me was 97-98
Hello Niyat , great work as usual. Would you consider covering "Crimson Tide" with Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman? Thanks.
Great suggestion! Adding that to the list now :)
Equilibrium is also highly reminiscent of Demolition Man. Similar concepts, similar societies.
How? Because I don't see it.
@@mbogucki1 Both featured totalitarian, oppressive governments. Supression of the population. Censoring violent media, banning physical contact and forbidding the use of offensive language in Demolition Man for example. There is a rebel underclass that the state wants to destroy and it takes someone who isn't following the rules to bring the state down. The themes are very similar. The key difference is one is left wing and the other is right wing - it doesn't which side of the fence it is, it all leads to the same dangerous outcome.
@@idc2120 When you put it that way I see your point.
But, only one still has Taco Bell. 😅
@@mbogucki1 In Europe Taco Bell was replaced by Pizza Hut. Hahha! So who really won the franchise wars?
The movie had one serious flaw … most of the cast didn't get the note about acting *emotional suppressed.*
Taye Diggs spent the entire film with a 💩 eating grin.
And various troops have "oh crap" moments of panic as they face the protagonist, with even a "oh shit…" muttered by the chief tester when he realises that Preston is about to go _full cleric_ on them.
It's a failure of the Director, which seems strange as the _Director was also the main writer_ - Kurt Wimmer.
"I'll make suppression of emotions the main hook of my story and then have the cast be expressive and show close ups of their startled eyes and fear".
Only Christian Bale seemed to be playing it correctly, with his character gradually going from unemotional to having to cope with his new found emotional state while trying to unsuccessfully hide it.
And that may have been because of Bale's status, he could play it as he saw fit.
It could have been a great film if it wasn't Directored by the writer, but by someone else who would be, ironically, more true to the vision of the script.
Well first of all the drug did not erase emotions its just suppress them and about that black dude i think he was one of the few ppl in the circle of the main villain that know the truth. But yes there were more the one scene with emotions to make the film less effected.
There is room for us to interpret the suppression aspect of the drug as something that can be overcome by extreme emotional response. This could happen when someone is at the end of a dosage peak and be more likely to occur at such times.
There is a focus on John Preston (Bale's character) when an emotional response would normally happen, and we get a moment or two before he flatly gives his answer or directions. This implies that his emotions are present but suppressed. The viewers become trained to expect it and are constantly looking for those character breaks. We always expect him to show some emotional response to various situations, we suspect that he could overpower the drug if he willed it. When Preston flat lines the testing machine, it's a demonstration of absolute control over his emotions as he is righteously about to bring an end to the evil tyranny. He is calm when he should be raging, he is angry but able to use it effectively.
Clerics are far more devoted to the entire ideology than the lower level forces and citizens. We can reasonably infer a person's devotion to dosing could lapse or vary from individual to individual. When we find out his son was no longer dosing but pretending, it opens the door to the idea that other people might be doing the same. The system of control and drugging wasn't perfect. Perhaps this is why some people exhibited responses when they shouldn't have.
Regardless, those few moments don't break my immersion when I watch this film. I think it lends to the idea that such extreme control over an entire nation will be tenuous for some people. This allows us to keep the idea of hope in the back of our minds that all is not lost if our main character does find a way to disrupt the controllers at the top.
Peace.
Bless you, for appreciating such an awesome film. Gun Kata is so fantastic.
Weird how this is kind of what we're experiencing today.
Sadly, Ray Bradbury said he wasnt trying to predict the future, but prevent this future from happening with his novel. A shame the message has been slept on
Amazing how films like this and Demolition Man have become more relevant over time.
@@RLBvkjf
"You are fined one credit for a violation of the Verbal Morality Statute..."
@@residentelect I needed some toilet paper. supply chain issues.
@@RLBvkjf
Tell me about it... When the panic-buying started I was actually pleased to see junk mail and the local community newspaper landing on the doormat.
It beat using a washcloth rinsed under the tap after every wipe, which my mate did for a week 😳
This movie never gets old
My mom showed me this movie as a kid. Man, im so glad she did. Its just so surreal. So underrated!
Equilibrium has been one of my all time favorites since a teen.
This has always been one of my favorite movies ever and thanks for doing a rundown
No emotion means no internet trolling. Sounds like paradise to me.
One of my favorite dystopian films.
I watched it a year or two after it was released and it's my favorite movie since then.
8:38 Hey... that's a Bombardier T-1 Subway Train found on Line 2 of Toronto's Subway system. It's you can tell by the Red cloth seats, Square windows, and red doors and red and clear walls by the doors. It also has a really really cool motor sound that you should look up
Thanks so much Niyat!
This is one of my all time favourites.
A vastly underappreciated classic which I prefer much more than it's contemporaries such as The Matrix or Pi etc.
Now I'm off to go continue to learn Gun Kata with my Airsoft 😂
I remember on the cover of the vhs case it was said it rivals The Matrix
I love your channel. And thank you for doing this movie. An under appreciated gem that I drug my friends to see I’m high school and I still frequently watch today.
I love this film. My only complaint is that it's too short. This might be one of the rare moments where a story deserves a remake in tv format. Just use the same music.
2:53 I’ve used her line word for word to describe the drudgery of being in the Army Reserve. Every weekend was just administrative crap to continue our existence. We almost never did our actual jobs. This line was so perfect I have used it for years after watching this in about 2002 I believe.
One of the best sci-fo films of all time
I've always seen the story of Paul of Tarsis within this story
7:05 "...yes, Preston was the original Jin Wick..." ☻️☻️☻️ (The Ultimate Totalitarianist)
An underrated classic film!
I really enjoyed this movie. Thanks for reminding me how awesome it is Niyat.
Who would ever think we would live in this world - for real
its got to be stopped
I’ve never even heard of this movie! Looks interesting. Can I ask what’s the name of the movie with Michael B Jordan?
It's an Adaptation of Fahrenheit 451!
@@filmcomicsexplained thanks! I will check that out also🙂
YYYEEESSS!!! dude, this was worth the wait, BRA FUCKING VO!!!
Easily explianed...AWESOME...NUFF SAID.
This movie inspired me to become a screenwriter and a novelist.
Seen this movie on Netflix, randomly picked it out and from that day on I look for random movies to watch.
Great channel, fantastic critiques, and an under-rated classic of a movie... Thanks for the channel mate 👍🏴
This movie is awesome.
Just like this channel.
Thanks for great content & don't forget "Screamers" pls.
Thanks and yes, of course, it's on the list! :P
This is why I subscribed to this channel.
@@filmcomicsexplained keep doing what you are doing.
There is something special about this movie.
You should do Gattaca, its another forgotten gem
Love these explanation vids👍
More to come!
I've been wanting a TV series adaptation for this movie to flesh out everything within this society. The time right after WW3 and the decision to "medicate" emotion out of society. It should start with Patridge's early days as a cleric. Show him as a younger devout member of the clerics, then move forward from there.
That puppy was so cute.
Ut oh - 2 people so far have taken too much Prozium. Another belter Niyat - please keep them coming!
I had seen this back in the day on a in the post love-film DVD. But I think dealing with a girlfriend with M.A.D at the time (Major Arm-folding Disorder) meant I missed the message!
Found it here in France on DVD for 50 Centimes in the week and DAMN, it resonates in a depressing way here in 2023... Sadly I don't think that is just because I am 20 years older, bald and bitter now, but it is because we have all just experienced what seemed like a whip-hand.
Very grey and bleak, but a very thought-provoking film.
Great review, best wishes from a French forest. Peace 🌞🇬🇧
Very memorable film.
One of the most underrated action and sentimental movies of all time. Sadly, we (especially in the "modern"/"developed" countries -- also known as the "free") are rapidly moving towards the atmosphere/conditions depicted by this movie (complete dystopian dictatorial/totalitarian regime/control). Fear/Anger/Rage/Resentment are all CREATED/promoted by the humans that have prostrated to the devils. Then, they propose the solution and we (the sheeple) gladly/eagerly/willingly follow.
I'm stopping at the 2 min mark to watch this. I've only seen the movie title in passing and my dumb brain thought what an unremarkable title it probably wouldn't be worth the watch.
I thought I came back sooner. Over a year later..I did not regret my choice. Great flick.
I don't need it explained...
I did love this movie...probably more than I should have.
The Vulcan drugs were good enough, the only reason I can think of that they wanted to remove any creativity or art was just another level of control and to turn everyone into mindless zombies...which they did.
I liked Bale's son the best in this. He was so cool!
And what's the best way to get the primary weapon away from a Cleric?
Both me and Taye said it at the same time...You ask him for it 😄
Thanks 💙 🙏
Political correctness also destroys feeling, if you can't have a sense of humor, you can't be human. Either way, this is making more sense in the 21st century.
4:26 - "He who controls the past, commands the future. He who commands the future, conquers the past." Kane would be pleased.
peace though power !!!
@@dsmith4658 "Brotherhood! We.. are.. whole again!"
@@HragFarraGaming Kane & cable ruled !