ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

If you've ever wondered what "The Matrix" would have been like if Batman had been played by Keanu Reeves, leaving Christian Bale free to play Neo, this movie will give you a good idea.

It's all about an oppressive society that outlaws emotions and requires all its citizens to take regular doses of a drug that suppresses their feelings.

A noticeable predominance of long black coats on gun-wielding guys with straight black hair gives this movie a Matrix-wannabe flavor, but it really does have a message about oppression and government control and people who deny their humanity.

Put briefly, the message is, "All that stuff is bad" — and that's no surprise, of course, but the movie is enjoyable.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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IMDB has 38 trivia items for this movie. Here's a few of the ones I found the most interesting.
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Despite popular belief, absolutely no wires were used in the film at all. All of the gravity-defying stunts were done through conventional means. For example, the backflip off of the motorcycle was done with a trampoline.

Note from me: "Wires? We don't need no stinking wires! Okay, where's that stuntman?"

Two different actresses played Preston's wife. The "condemnation archive footage" was filmed first, and featured Alexa Summer. However, when it was time to film the scene where she was arrested, she could not be found.

Maria Pia Calzone had to take her place. As a result, there's two separate credits, Summer is credited as "Viviana Preston", while Maria Pia Calzone was credited as "Preston's Wife", even though they are supposed to be the same character.

Note from me: Seriously? They couldn't find her? Wow, I'd love to hear more about why that happened!

The puppy used in the movie was a Bernese Mountain dog. The noises it makes (barks, whines, yelps etc) weren't actually made by the dog at all, but by an actor who specializes in dog impersonations.

Note from me: So, what would happen if the "dog impersonator" found himself in close proximity with a "cat impressionability"? Would he chase him up a tree?

Writer and director Kurt Wimmer invented the martial arts style of gunfighting for this movie in his backyard.

Note from me: "Honey, call the police! That nut next door is doing weird things in his backyard again!"

The film was not given a wide release because it had already run into profit as a result of overseas sales, and Miramax didn't want to risk turning a money maker into a loss.

Note from me: What a weird business strategy that is! "Hey, we've already made a butt-load of money in Europe! Let's not book it in America any more, just to be safe!"


_____________________ Equilibrium - trailer


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[The Spike]

Mankind united with infinitely greater purpose in pursuit of war than he ever did in pursuit of peace.

Equilibrium is written and directed by Kurt Wimmer and stars Christian Bale, Taye Diggs, Emily Watson and Angus Macfadyen. Bale plays John Preston, an enforcement Cleric in Libria, a dystopian future where forms of emotional expression are deemed illegal. All citizens of Libria are required to inject drugs (known as Prozium) to suppress emotions. However, Preston misses one of his doses and starts to become emotionally conflicted about the world he now lives in.

Welcome to a dystopian world where art is banned, music destroyed and basic emotions illegal. A world where Christian Bale looks cool in long black coats and "Gun-Kata" martial artistry is the order of the day.

It's impossible to write a review for Equilibrium without mentioning the film it so dearly wants to be, The Matrix.

That it's not nearly as good as that film in terms of story and action is no reason to put it down.

What is not in doubt is that the story here is indeed weak, very much so; in fact it appears that Wimmer has merely cribbed elements from notable moments of sci-fi morality works before it; and cloaked it in a whirling big bang montage of attention grabbing set pieces.

But honestly, those set pieces are worth spending time with this movie for.

It's standard sci-fi shenanigans for the most part. We have the ruling body of the country, all very fascist and with a badge that looks unsurprisingly Swastika like. A cop character finding a conscience and turning into a rebel on the loose. The underground resistance.

And of course the twist ending as the reveal, and plot strands come together for one final (brilliant) bout of carnage. So yes, it's rammed full of Clichés. But it is fun. Stylish fun, in fact. Even if at its core it's awash with unimaginative writing.

Brain checked at the door for this one — then, enjoy.

7/10
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The quality of mercy is not strnen.

[Bud Brewster]

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As usual, Spike crystalizes a movie perfectly and zeros in on exactly what it did right and what it did wrong.

All I can say is that Spike is right on target when he said, "Brain checked at the door for this one — then, enjoy."
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)