A cult seems to have sprung up around this movie for reasons I can’t fully understand.
Yes, the idea is a brilliant one. Unfortunately, it’s not ‘Equilibrium”s idea. But beyond the concept of totally rehashing previous films/books, which is a weak argument at best considering that many fine movies do exactly that (see “sequels”), there is just nothing here beyond the opening scene (Which is quite violent – get used to it, love it or not – but also displays a certain inventiveness in combat choreography and a mild subtlety to its character development and foreshadowing that seems to be lost during the rest of the movie) that’s worth watching in any way, shape, or form that could in any way be considered an advancement or even a worthy homage to an idea not already driven into the ground with the finesse of a Peter Gabriel.
LET THERE BE NO DOUBT ABOUT IT.
Perhaps fans of the over-rated but still vastly superior ‘American Psycho’ are just humming Genesis and Huey Lewis and The News songs as Christian Bale trudges woodenly through Ch..ch…ch…ch…changes in (I guess you could call them) emotions during his painstakingly reinforced metamorphosis from cold-blooded killer to warm-blooded killer (I mean “Freedom Fighter”), but for me, the promising professional mediocrity of the opening scene having long since worn off since…the opening scene, the final moment of tolerance comes during a dog-killing spree that apparently was the result of a “Creative” meeting that must have gone something like this:
(Man) “Hmmm…the script kinda sucks, how exactly are we going to keep people horrified?”
(Other Man) “How about burning priceless works of art?”
(Man) “Not enough…”
(Other Other Man) “How about flashbacks to traumatic moments?”
(Man) “Nope…”
(Woman) “How about actual character development?”
(Man) “Shut up!”
(Other Other Other Man) “How about killing defenseless little cute adorable animals? Ummm…Kittens?”
(Man) “PUPPIES!!!”
(ALL) “BRILLIANT!”
Grade: D-
2012: Grade: F
4/23/16: Like ‘Fight Club’, ‘Saw’, and other movies I think are VASTLY overrated, I WANT to rank this lower than it deserves; sort of a counter-balance in the overreaction department. Unfortunately, critical integrity demands that I not. So…it just really stinks. Grade: D-