DOES IT HOLD UP?: Christian Bale VS. Angus MacFayden In EQUILIBRIUM (2002)
When was the last time an action scene left you slack-jawed? A scene that took you so much by surprise that you had to rewind and watch it multiple times just to absorb it. In today’s spoiler-heavy, piracy-rampant culture it’s become almost impossible to be surprised by anything in a film; but back in the early aughts, movies could still throw the audience a curveball. Personal anecdote: I, like most people, experienced Equilibrium (2002) on DVD in 2003. Back in the halcyon days of video rental stores, I would forego the big releases in favor of more obscure films. While this lead to a lot of disappointment, it also introduced me to cult action gems like Mean Guns, Extreme Heist, and Six String Samurai. Equilibrium was a film I’d read a blurb about in Entertainment Weekly; a low budget sci fi action movie that was more about entertainment than smarts. […]