Movies: Equilibrium

The story seemed just fine to me. The fact is, it's not just one power-hungry individual that causes wars, it's the collapse of entire societies because of the corrosive effects of greed and corruption within the governmental system. By suppressing the emotions of all people, that automatically cuts out any possiblity of corruption within the government and cuts out the possibility of rebellion in the lower-class. It creates harmony amongst those willing to succumb. How many times have you witnessed a herd of elk suddenly erupt in hate-based violence and kill one another one by one? Never. That's what the purpose of Prozium was, to make us no better than animals. Because without emotion, we aren't any better than animals.

The Gun Kata was badass. The theory behind it is that the movement and actions involved in a gun battle are statistically predictable in every situation. Where the target will move, where he'll shoot, etc. The Gun Kata teaches the Clerics to inherently learn (through decades of rigorous training) to just habitually know exactly where his opponent will move and what his next action will be because it's all based on statistical information. It's all 100% predictable if your senses are insanely fine-tuned enough to grasp it, which is what the Grammaton Clerics strive for.

As for how they created Prozium, how did we create Viagra? 50 years ago, a pill that could sustain an erection would have been considered ludicrous, complete fantasy. Hell, there are medications today that have similar effects to Prozium. Ever heard of an anti-psychotic? They are prescription drugs that inhibit the furthest extreme aspects of a human being's emotional spectrum. Prozium does the same thing, only to a much greater extent. The director actually mentions in the commentary that prozium does not eliminate all emotion. It just cuts out things like love, hate, jealousy, wrath, depression and elation. It cuts out the most extreme emotions. Things like disappointment, contentment and pleasure are still there. Nobody ever started a war because they were disappointed about something.

The fact is, the story in this movie is fantastic. Granted, it takes a lot from Farenheit 451 and Orwell's books, but all that does is provide a solid base for the plot. If you want to truly appreciate this movie, read Farenheit 451, Brave New World or George Orwell's 1984.

And as for the final battle, I thought it was great. I loved seeing Brandt (Daye Tiggs) get his fucking come-uppance for being such a snotty ass the entire movie. He got fucking owned. The final gun battle was badass too. It really showed you how precisely and accurately a master of the Gun Kata can predict his opponent's attacks, because until Preston capped Dupont, they didn't hit each other even so much as once. It was awesome. I loved every last second of this movie.