Summary

• Gun expert Taran Butler praises Equilibrium's action scenes as over-the-top and well made, despite the movie having bombed at the box office when it was first released.
• The film blends guns and martial arts similar to The Matrix, likely an attribute that garnered it audience praise in retrospect.
• Equilibrium's energy may have inspired future action movies, showing how important its action scenes truly were.

Gun expert Taran Butler has offered a surprisingly positive review of Christian Bale's infamous 2001 action flop Bale's best movies.

Now, speaking with Corridor Crew on their series "Stuntmen React," Butler has offered up a positive review of Equilibrium's wild action sequences.

Starting at 10:59, Butler explains how the wild presentation of the fight scenes lend themselves to more unbelievable, yet well-designed, action sequences. One host, Niko, also chimes in with knowledge of how the practical effects in the film were designed. Check out what Butler and Niko had to say below:

Taran Butler: If you're going to do over-the-top, you might as well do it right. They did it right here.... Guy just shreds a billion frickin' people, not with a mark on his white outfit.

Niko: In this scene I read that they actually wired up the guns with special effects, so when he pulled the trigger, it set off the squib timings, and they had both entrance and exit wounds on the guys. And everything happened at the exact same time. You never see that in films. Like, putting the time mechanically to make your squibs, and your guns, and basically your fireworks all work in a synchronized way.

Butler: They're Berettas that are modified. The director, Kurt Wimmer, has the two fake ones where the things break out of the bottom, he turns them into hammers and wacks everybody.

Equilibrium currently holds a 40% critics score and 81% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Why Equilibrium's Action Scenes Are Perfect For The Sci-Fi Movie

Although the action scenes throughout Equilibrium are over-the-top and unbelievable, they work because of how much Bale's character is established as the most skilled Cleric in Libria. The fighting style is somewhat similar to The Matrix movies, utilizing both guns and martial arts against a plethora of opponents attacking all at once. Because of how many people John fights all at once in the film, the flashiness of the action scenes makes them even more fun and intense at the same time.

The action scenes help add flair to the movie's story, which focuses on ideas of individualism and the importance of human emotion despite the negative consequences it could bring. While the story is a rather simple tale of rebellion, it's elevated by both Bale's performance as a soldier turning against the dystopian government and the practical effects used in its many action scenes. Without memorable moments like John's fast gunplay and the hallway scene near the end, the movie wouldn't be as much of a cult classic as it is today.

The way guns are used in Equilibrium may have even inspired later action movies, such as fights in John Wick, which carry a similar energy to the Bale-led action flick. Either way, the sci-fi film is a testament to the importance of balancing an interesting story with high-octane fights in an action movie. Because of the praise Butler offers the movie, it's no surprise the film has become beloved despite its initially poor box office performance.

Source: Corridor Crew/YouTube