Equilibrium

Made in 2002, and starring Christian Bale and Sean Bean (Boromir, from The Lord of the Rings), this is one heckuva good movie.

Brief summary: In the future, a revolution has taken tight hold of the government's reigns. With the goal of eradicating war and chaos on a massive scale, the new powers that be devise a drug that suppresses human emotions--thus removing all tempting factors that lead to war. No more love, no fear. . .and no hate. In fact, no feelings of any sort. But what if some people refused their "medicine" and fought back against the tyranny?

Intrigued? So was I. This film was good on many levels: good science fiction, good drama, good social commentary, and a good action film, to boot. The acting was excellent, the special effects competently done, and the dialogue and storyline intelligent. Though there were some well-choreographed fight scenes, one high point of the movie was its reliance on character and suspense--rather than a colossal fx budget--to move the story along at a fast pace. The movie reminded me of 1984, Brave New World, and other dystopias. But not quite so grim, in the long run.

Its only flaw (if flaw you'd call it) was its brevity. I wanted it to go on and on. It's one of the best science fiction movies I've seen in a while. Highly recommended.