Equilibrium

Color, R (mature themes, violence), 107 min., PPV 59 days, VHS rental, DVD $29.99

DVD: director and producer's commentaries, featurette

Street: May 13, Prebook: now

First Run: L, Oct. 2002, $1.2 mil.

Cast: Christian Bale (Reign of Fire), Taye Diggs (Chicago), Sean Bean (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring), Emily Watson (Punch--Drunk Love), Angus MacFadyen (Cradle Will Rock)

MIRAMAX/BUENA VISTA

Story Line: In the future, society is run by a dictatorship that numbs citizens with drugs and kills those who feel emotions. Elite lawman John Preston (Bale) executes "sense offenders" with robotic precision, but when he meets Mary (Watson), he begins to feel stirrings, which does not go unnoticed--or unpunished--by his ruthless partner Brandt (Diggs).

Bottom Line: More coherent than Dark City, more thoughtful than 1984 and visually on par with Minority Report, Equilibrium blends elements of each of these sci-fi favorites to create a rousing film that both entertains and offers a sci-fi-ish take on such issues as personal freedom and government intrusion. Unfortunately, Equilibrium got lost at the box office despite its superficial superlatives--blazing gun play, an Alpine-high body count and superb pacing. Capitalize on the opportunity by pushing it to sci-fi, action and thriller aficionados who dig high-tech future-shock diversions with a dash of the philosophical. This is a good one that got away. --Buzz McClain

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