[NIGHTWATCH]

Bought the DVD last night and I have to tell you , get it. :D


The gun play is excellent and original in concept (gun-kata). The story line is great to (not far from the truth), not to mention a good cast. My only grunt is that the shooting scenes were a bit short and few. And the citizen resistance was lame (I dont think they killed one agent in the flick until the end). How can you miss so many agents with automatic weapons? Just wasnt realistic in that sense, but overall a great movie. Anybody watch it yet? What do you think?

[LiquidTension]

How did you buy the DVD when it's not released until tomorrow??? I WANT IT NOW! My friend IMed me and said Best Buy in Greenville put it out a week early - no such luck here in Columbia :(

[jade]

i saw it in the theater when it came out. it was great. i loved it. especially the gun play. so much more interesting then the average movie gun fight.

jade

[NIGHTWATCH]

I have a friend who runs a video store and had a couple of advance copies. Bought em both, gave one to a friend for mothers day. ;)

[George Hill]

Never heard of it.

[trvlr905]

Would you believe that I managed to buy a copy lasy Wednesday from Best Buy? :D Unfortunately events have conspired to keep me from watching the whole thing.

[Blain]

It's a great movie in the spirit of 1984! I love it for the script more than the gun fighting, very libertarian. Shows the evils of Big Government.

[cratz2]

The wife brought it home tonight and we're just taking a break.

Very interesting and intriguing. Has a very stark look much like 'The Cell' and sort of 'The Matrix' though I hope the movie itself is superior to those gems. :rolleyes:

[twoblink]

GunKata and cycling helmets.. what more do you need?

;)

I loved it! I like the part where he steps on the gun, and then jumps over the dead guy, and it lands in his hands.

The sleeve reloaders rock!

[Justin]

A wonderfully enjoyable flick that will surely be overlooked because of it's rather simplistic plot elements (statist oppression is bad!) and because of some rather superficial similarities to The Matrix.

I predict that this one's gonna garner a pretty decent cult following in the future. In the meantime, I'll be picking up my copy tomorrow.


Oh yeah, and an interesting incident of life imitating art. It's my understanding that the Beijing cops are using the whole SARS thing as an excuse to confiscate and kill people's personal pets. Suddenly that scene in the movie doesn't seem so far-fetched...

[atek3]

I thought the plot was a quasi-cheasy rip of of EVERY dystopic book to date (1984, brave new world, the matrix, etc etc)
but the gun fights... jesus christ... spectacular.

I loved his hydraulic sleeve speedloaders, I've got to get me some of them for ipsc :)

Were those Long Slide Beretta's real guns?

atek3

[NIGHTWATCH]

When I watched the movie the second time with the director's commentary on, he said that they were actually modified berettas. Made to have the ejection topside. Pretty cool looking gun. :cool:

[Ladybug]

Very cool movie indeed! I saw it in the theater, which was definately a treat. It came out the same time as BFC, and when an anti-gun frient of mine told me to watch Columbine, I told her I would watch it if she went to see Equilibrium... luckily she never did, and I was off the hook! I can't wait to get the DVD!

[whoami]

When I watched the movie the second time with the director's commentary on, he said that they were actually modified berettas. Made to have the ejection topside. Pretty cool looking gun.

Not too many beretta's I know have an AR style fire selector switch! :D


Hehehe...saw it opening night, saw it again a week later, had a downloaded copy filmed from a theater in mid January, and about a month ago had a high quality 2 CD copy. Just picked up the DVD at lunchtime from the Buy...gonna be enjoying it yet again. Now all I ask is that someone put out a soundtrack CD. Call me crazy but (aside from the semi-typical rock tracks) I REALLY liked the instrumental music they used for the theme.

[Blain]

The director must be Libertarian, (or very freedom loving in any sense), eh?

The plot ruled.

[blades67]

I'll have to rent it from Blockbuster.

[Arkady]

Excellent movie.

Yes, the plot is hobbled together from 1984, Brave New World, and Fahrenheit 451, and yes, the actions scenes are from The Matrix. This is a good thing.

I got to see it on the Big Screen during the single week our local theater elected to show it. The only reason i managed to do so was that the assistant manager of the theater is a friend of mine and recommended the movie--there was no advertising for Equilibrium, as far as i know.

[NIGHTWATCH]

Yes, there was little to no advance advertising on this film due to a low budget. In fact, throughout the commentary the director recalls many of the improvisations made on the set while filming because of the lack of funds. Which made me appreciate the film much more for their/his creativity. When you watch the film and commentary, you will be surprised at some of the most simple things they did in the opening gun battle with flashing lights and darkness. :)

[LiquidTension]

I just finished watching it for the first time because I missed it in theaters. I have to say, this movie has some of the most superb gunfights I've ever seen. Even the extras in the motorcycle helmets were good about not sweeping their team members with their barrels.

The final battle was too cool for words - both guys trying to get a shot off at each other while in a heated hand-to-hand battle. Definitely gonna watch this one again soon - on a bigger tv and through a good sound system :D My friend's setup is...unimpressive.

[atek3]

I watched the movie for the first time in a chintzy theater, next time I watched it in my co-op/commune (don't ask :) ) movie lounge. Hi-Res LCD + Infinity surround sound= good stuff

atek3

[Jim March]

What bothered me is that they didn't incorporate the REAL elements of "Gunkata" that actually exist.

Where was the offensive use of cover? The Israeli Sweep, and it's infinite variants? Where was these supposed "gunmasters" changing to a left-hand hold to go round a right-hand corner muzzle-first, and then back to right hand for a left-hand corner? Just *basic* stuff! Where were the long-range shots out of esoteric holds like the Creedmore from a low roll, or Keith-style sitting backed up to a wall/tree/whatever and taking 400+ yard shots??

They could have incorporated any number of very advanced real-world techniques and just blew it.

For that matter, where were the advanced sights? Holosight, anyone? C-More or similar, popping up with a button? You'd think these guys would have as much sight tech as we have TODAY!?

:confused:

[LiquidTension]

Jim, obviously the guys were good enough that they didn't need any fancy sight systems :rolleyes: Maybe you didn't notice, but they didn't need to switch hands when going around corners because most of the time they had a gun in BOTH hands.

Calm down, it's just a movie :neener:

[bogie]

Watched about half of it last night...

It got me thinking... The average "intellectual liberal" wants to ban guns, right? And tends to support the socialist/marxist sort of theoretical utopia, right?

Why, then, do they never notice that the first "purge casualties" of the instatement of those sorta regimes are the intellectuals?

Liked the gunplay, and the general look/feel/sound of the flick - any STL folks wanna watch it in the bunker sometime?

Major gripe: That painting wasn't done on stretched canvas.

[tobeat1]

I preordered mine a while back. I should be here tomarrow. OH YEAH!!!!!!!!

"Your treading on my dreams, Alex..."

[George Hill]

It got me thinking... The average "intellectual liberal" wants to ban guns, right? And tends to support the socialist/marxist sort of theoretical utopia, right?

Why, then, do they never notice that the first "purge casualties" of the instatement of those sorta regimes are the intellectuals?


Good Point.

[50 Freak]

What I mean is that even though it is all a science fiction movie, there is a lot of truths I see in it.

Let me start, I just came back from the Killing Fields and S21 in Cambodia, and watching some of the scenes in Equilibrium was strangly very similiar. For instance the use of children to point out offenders in the movie. In Cambodia, the children were used as "enforcers" as they were young and not corrupted, hence they were used to pick out the ones that were against the government.

In the movie, there were daily sessions where people sat and just watched the "father" give a speech on the goods of their society. In Cambodia, the Khymer Rouge, made everyone sit for daily speeches on the goods of Angor (or father).

I could go on, but the similiarities are so many. Don't believe that Equilibrium is just a movie and can't happen. It has happened and in less than 30 years ago.

If any of you ever doubt why a citizen should own guns, I strongly suggest going to Cambodia, and seeing how a government who has gone wrong can very easily turn on its people.

It was very scary in Phenom Penh, to see that there were very very few old people. In the whole city, over 60% were under the age of 18. Apparently a whole generation was slaughtered under the Khymer Rouge regime. Imagine that, killing a whole generation. :(

[Jerrywahid]

Have you read 1984?

[50 Freak]

yeah, but seeing it in real person is much more unforgetable.

[Jerrywahid]

I thought the movie the Killing Fields was excellent. Of course I've never witnessed it first hand...That little Asian Fellow in the Killing Fields was certainly as tough as they come if you ask me. Anyway. When I watched the film I had already read the book (1984) and it made it easy for me to visualize just how right on Orwell was. Some people dismiss 1984 as being too much of an exaggeration to have signifigance. I totally disagree.

[50 Freak]

No Orwell was not off.

I cried like a baby when I saw the Killing Fields, couldn't believe they used to bash babies against the trees just so they could save bullets.

[Archie]

It's the "Cambodian Harvest Church" in Signal Hill, California. All of the adults are escapees from the Khmer Rouge. Pretty much all of them lost some family.

They are really good folks. They are sympathetic to others and value freedom in a way that most of us don't.

Orwell was right, just not right enough.
______________________
May the God of Grace be Merciful to us all.
Archie

[Skunkabilly]

My roommate watched the Killing Fields (is that the movie about the journalist in Cambodia or is that another movie?) It seemed like the movie blamed the US for what happened. "This is what happens when the US bombs our country!" And my ever so emotionally charged by the TV roommate is like "Well, YEAH!"

My dad was creeped out during Equilibrium and didn't enjoy it as much as I did, it reminded him too much of Red China. He was unusually quiet after the film.

[Jerrywahid]

The things the US does aren't always correct. And they usually don't equate to the benefit of everyone in the world. It was a very emotional movie. However, I think it is (because of it's non-fictional nature) is a movie that can be learned from. In fact, pretty much everything and evryone can teach you something if you are good at learning.

[starfuryzeta]

In Equilibrium, is it true that they designed a martial art around gun usage?

If so, I'm going to have to rent it.

[Skunkabilly]

starfury, yes. Gunkata. Albert's teaching it to his girlfriend in Taiwan.

[twoblink]

Ahh..

Gunkata!! hehehe :D

How to increase your probability of shooting by 120% by understanding how your opponent acts and reacts, and preemptively shooting in geographic places with the highest probability of a hit..

[Skunkabilly]

The handguns are Berettas with skeletonized hammers, weighed baseplates and extended dustcovers.

[tyme]

(Jim March) Where was the offensive use of cover? The Israeli Sweep, and it's infinite variants? Where was these supposed "gunmasters" changing to a left-hand hold to go round a right-hand corner muzzle-first, and then back to right hand for a left-hand corner? Just *basic* stuff! Where were the long-range shots out of esoteric holds like the Creedmore from a low roll, or Keith-style sitting backed up to a wall/tree/whatever and taking 400+ yard shots??
Well, Taye should have known about switching hands... if you've listened to the director's commentary on WotG or watched the alley moving-car shootouts carefully, Taye goes down the alley on the right side holding the shotgun lefty. Not that it helped him catch Parker and Longbaugh, but...

All I can think of for the other complaints is that such techniques wouldn't really demonstrate the superior capabilities allegedly offered by gunkata to clerics in multiple-attacker, close-range confrontations.

Yikes! I missed the p90s the first time I saw the movie!

[general]

Guess I'll have to go rent it.

[TechBrute]

Sounds like something to do this weekend.

[TechBrute]

It's on my list.

[MeekandMild]

Why, then, do they never notice that the first "purge casualties" of the instatement of those sorta regimes are the intellectuals? Bogie, they don't ever think that the flip side of the rule "no enemy to the left" means that if they are to the right of whoever is in charge they are the enemy themselves.

[tyme]

Okay, I just listened to the two commentary tracks, and I'm sort of upset at something in the Wimmer+Foster track. Foster manages to blow the facade, but Wimmer tries pretty hard to make the viewer think that they don't support firearms as a hobby. It's at about 0:41:30.

Of course, Wimmer gives himself away when he talks about how cool the g36 is, but why on earth would they try to disavow their beliefs about firearms? Are they worried that someone will take the movie as a serious attempt to parallel future in the U.S., and go on an authority-figure hunting spree while blaming it on them?

[George Hill]

http://freewebs.com/equilibrium-movie/BattyClericSidearmMD.jpg
Just watched this flick. Very slick. Very cool. Worth going up on my list of Ogre Films.
Gun Kata... total pile of BS. BUT. It looks cool on screen.
What I liked the most... this Beretta conversion.
Long barrel, and barrel weight to keep the gun stable. With standard 9MM load, this gun would actually shoot very very smoothly.
This would make a killer IPSC race gun. (In the minor class)
http://freewebs.com/equilibrium-movie/AdvatarEQ2.GIF
Yeah, they took a lot from The Matrix. They also took a lot from 1984, Gattica, Judge Dred, Fahrenheit 451 ...
But they did it right.
I liked it.

Now, I just can't wait to see Matrix Reloaded.

[George Hill]

Is it just me or do these Clerics worship John Woo and Chow Yun Fat?
http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2002/20021211l.gif

[Skunkabilly]

I bet that thing wouldn't even flip at all...what kind of velocity do you get with 9mms with an 8" barrel?

[George Hill]

Probably about an extra 150 FPS... with no muzzle flip.

I want this conversion. Can LTT do it? I think so... if you watch the flick, I think they are using his hammers.

[tyme]

What is with the penultimate swordfight? The last two guys get stabbed with a katana and a saya (scabbard)?! Is there a reason for that or is it a horrific goof?

[Skunkabilly]

I think a 20rd magazine would balance it out nicely if we were to do competition....

[Justin]

What is with the penultimate swordfight? The last two guys get stabbed with a katana and a saya (scabbard)?! Is there a reason for that or is it a horrific goof?

If you watch really closely, you'll see that one of the badguys takes a slice at Preston and misses, but his sword makes contact with the scabbard he's holding, shearing it off and making it a big, pointy piece of wood. Preston then gets one guy with the sword and another with the chopped scabbard.

[Schuey2002]

Ok.. ok. You guys have me fully convinced.

I'll go rent it tomorrow. :D

[modifiedbrowning]

Just rented this tonight, been waiting for the video release because it never made the theaters here in Montana. Very cool movie, I like the scene in the warehouse where he is trying to save the freedom fighters and Preston does a Steven Seagal and wrecks that one guy's arm. Also, like the use of the Walther Subguns by some of the cops.

[MeekandMild]

Thank you for the information about this movie. We rented it last night and I watched it twice. Even Mrs. Meek thought it was OK and she doesn't usually like this style.

Two things made me think however.

The first was the face to face martial arts gunfight where they kept slapping each other's pistols aside. Really scary, but I'd like to try it with paintball guns.

The second was the religious aspects of the police gunfighters. One could easily imagine a monastic, ascetic religion where individuals sought enlightenment by constant gun practice. This of course leads to freedom of religion arguments for RKBA, recalling the progress the Native American Church has had in doing their otherwise forbidden 'thing'.

All we'd have to do is modify the chant from the Buddhist "Oom" to a more martial "Boom". :D

[Justin]

The second was the religious aspects of the police gunfighters. One could easily imagine a monastic, ascetic religion .where individuals sought enlightenment by constant gun practice
The closest I've ever come to finding inner peace was while practicing bullseye pistol. Being a member of the Mtv, soundbite, short-attention span culture, I found that shooting was the closest thing to a meditative state I have ever achieved.

[PrudentGT]

man, I read this forum for two whole days and already I had to go out, stop at three video stores to find this movie and watch it. Was worried it was going to be a big disappointment, and yeah, the plot *was* a little simplistic, but overall I thought the movie was great! Keep the recommendations comin'! :D

[Dannyboy]

Just finished watching the DVD. Awesome movie. I thought it was kinda cheesy in the beginning but it got better. The end was just phenominal!

Out of curiousity, does anyone see the irony of Bob and Harvey Weinstein being the Exec. Producers of this flick?

[SJ]

Justin wrote:
The closest I've ever come to finding inner peace was while practicing bullseye pistol. Being a member of the Mtv, soundbite, short-attention span culture, I found that shooting was the closest thing to a meditative state I have ever achieved.

I had saved this quote a while back, I don't know if it is correctly attributed, only that I found it close to my own experiences:

"Today shooting is being practiced by thousands of people all over the world for the development of mental discipline as well as for spiritual development. The simple elegance of the mechanics, the beauty of the equipment and the atmosphere of solitary dignity predominant at the range, have a great attraction for those who wish to walk upon the path of self-knowledge."

"...shooting is much more than just a sport... it is the epitome of traditional Zen 'standing' meditation."

--John A. Dreyer

[LawDog]

http://www.freeadpower.org/~mrsmiles/cwm/cwm/eek2.gif

Holy Mary, Mother of God. Wing chun/jeet kune do trapping drills -- with pistols!

That scene was worth the price of the DVD all by itself. Beautiful. Now that I've seen it, I've got to wonder why no director has done it before.

If this movie doesn't become a cult classic, I'm going to lose all faith in my fellow man.

It just went high on my top 10 favorite movies list.

LawDog

[Oleg Volk]

The first was the face to face martial arts gunfight where they kept slapping each other's pistols aside. Really scary, but I'd like to try it with paintball guns.


Runt's comment was: "Doesn't anyone shoot from retention anymore?"

My overall thought was that no one uses stocks on their shoulder arms, either.

The plot was a little thin...it wasn't so much suppression of emotions as the replacement of the usual emotions towards family and friends with the "love for the big brother". Overall, the film was much better than the sum of its parts. Good lighting design.

[GSB]

One thing I really liked about this movie was that it turned the fascist state cliche on its head: this wasn't a state of the evil right wingers, it was a state created by compassion fascists on the left -- the line about hate crimes being the turning point that created this world was telling.

[NIGHTWATCH]

I was thinking the same thing GSB. ;) If only Susan Sarandon ( Queen Saa-raan-don) could have played, instead of the "father", the "founding mother". - LOL :D

[George Hill]

If you have the DVD, you have to turn on the Director's Commentary.

[cool45auto]

Okay, rented it and just watched it. In a word: WOW!

It was slow at first but kept getting better.

George Hill, can you or somebody post a good picture of one of the customized Berettas? Very cool conversion.

BTW: If you still pause it while it's showing the sleeve-reloaders you'll notice the hammers aren't skeletonized during that scene.

[Ladybug]

If this movie doesn't become a cult classic

I'm thinkin' it already HAS a cult following... right here! :p

[John G]

I'll try to post some screen grabs, I hope they're not too big.

[John G]

http://groups.msn.com/i94ur7h0hc4b4h5g3phno74187/Documents/cap027.bmp

http://groups.msn.com/i94ur7h0hc4b4h5g3phno74187/Documents/cap028.bmp

Very cool slide-lock! (Hmm, the trigger guard is different than other scenes. Dammit, I don't want to find flaws in this movie!)
http://groups.msn.com/i94ur7h0hc4b4h5g3phno74187/Documents/cap031.bmp

[John G]

one more

http://groups.msn.com/i94ur7h0hc4b4h5g3phno74187/Documents/cap035.bmp

[Justin]

If you have the DVD, you have to turn on the Director's Commentary.

I like the bit where he was talking about developing Gun Kata in his backyard and he first made sure that his wife wasn't home and that the neighbors weren't looking.

The director's commentary really was pretty insightful, and it seems like Wimmer knows a thing or two about martial arts.

[cool45auto]

I can't see anything but little red x's! Will an email work?

[Marko Kloos]

Watched it last night with the wife...very interesting. The Gun Fu is a bit over the top, but excellent eye candy nonetheless. Gun handling was more John Woo than Way of the Gun, but it didn't detract from the fun.

The scene with Preston in the hallway with twenty-plus henchmen sporting G36 rifles lined up against both walls is pretty amazing. The swordfight is short and brutal, very much like swordfights in real life.

[tyme]

http://www.thehighroad.org/equilibrium/t1.png
http://www.thehighroad.org/equilibrium/e2.png
http://www.thehighroad.org/equilibrium/e3.png
http://www.thehighroad.org/equilibrium/e8.png
http://www.thehighroad.org/equilibrium/e10.png

[cool45auto]

tyme: Thanks, man!

[Dorrin79]

finally bought this myself last night after reading about it so much here.

WOW!

:what:

In a word, amazing.

I agree the beginning was a little slow/cheesy, but once it got going, it developed insane momentum.

Christian Bale was awesome in the role of Preston.

[WhoKnowsWho]

Very cool. Lending it to a friend at work today who should be able to appreciate it.

[Wilhelm]

Wow. I searched high and low for this movie last night and I thought it was just below good. I gave it props for all the G-36's (does that classify me as a poseur?). Wasnt really impressed at all.



Wilhelm

[Brian Maffei]

Saw it last night. Action was great.

[QKRTHNU]

Grabbed a nice Xvid version off of Emule & Watched it last night.

Pretty cool movie. Great action & the plot was pretty good, although I would have preferred if they tried to make the story a little more believeable.

Even though the action and effects were well done and no doubt expensive it still had a kind of "B" movie feel to it.

That didn't stop me from really liking it though. :D

[LawDog]

Even though the action and effects were well done and no doubt expensive it still had a kind of "B" movie feel to it.

Nope. The whole thing -- effects, salaries, CG, rentals, locations - was done for 20 million. Sounds like a lot, but I understand that 20 mil is rather cheap for a film these days.

LawDog

[C-Note]

I want to dress up as a Grammaton Cleric for Halloween!
http://www.nc-studios.com/reviews/equilibrium/images/poster.jpg

[45King]

whoami wrote:Not too many beretta's I know have an AR style fire selector switch!

True, but a Beretta 93R would have a selector switch...just not AR style. Oh well, it's Hollyweird.

Did you notice the FN P90's when they were searching Preston's domicile?

I rented this from Netflix and it arrived on Friday. I've watched it 4 times already this weekend! Gonna have to buy this one and add it to the collection.