Christian Bale’s Most Underrated Sci-Fi Movie is Finally Back on Streaming (And John Wick Fans Need to Watch It)

The streaming era can be a little bit of a double-edged sword. While streaming platforms give subscribers unprecedented access to movies and television and often make hard-to-find favorites easily available, when a beloved film disappears from streaming, it can end up being a challenge for audiences to find it again. That makes the monthly programming updates from the different streamers so exciting as fans get to see what is leaving — and coming back. And for fans of The Dark Knight trilogy star Christian Bale’s most underrated movie, the new year is already starting off on a high note.

Arriving on Paramount+ on January 1st, Bale’s 2002 dystopian sci-fi action film Equilibrium is finally bac on streaming after being absent for years. The film had previously been difficult to find on any streaming platform, leaving it available largely to fans with physical copies or those wanting to rent it. Now, however, more fans will be able to check out the film — and John Wick fans will especially want to check it out because the action is next level.

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Equilibrium Was Ahead of It’s Time

Written and directed by Kurt Wimmer, 2002’s Equilibrium is a movie that is seen by many now as ahead of its time, but that wasn’t the case when it was first released. Set in a futuristic city-state known as Libria, things are entirely peaceful with no war or conflict, but it comes at a heavy price: the totalitarian government requires the people to take an emotion-suppressing drug called Prozium and all forms of art are banned. Any defiance of these laws — particularly having any sort of emotion — is punishable by death. Cleric John Preston (Bale) is one of the agents whose job it is to enforce the laws but things get complicated when he accidentally misses a dose of Prozium, causing him to feel for the first time and, ultimately, lead him to question the government.

The film is visually very stunning, with darker and slightly high-tech aesthetics and it even has its own special form of martial arts that was created specifically for the film, Gun Kata. The use of Gun Kata makes the fight scenes intense and elegant in a way that feels epic — especially with Bale’s John functioning as pretty much a one-man army. He’s incredibly formidable in the film.

But while Equilibrium has an intriguing premise and a slick look and some very epic action scenes, when it was initially released it didn’t exactly wow people and for one very big reason: people thought it was derivative, particularly of The Matrix. And to be fair, there are some similarities. The mechanics of Gun Kata bear a lot of resemblance to some of the action sequences seen in The Matrix. There’s also the matter of the costumes worn by the clerics. In particular, the long, black trench coats that the Clerics wear in Equilibrium look quite a bit like some of the costumes in The Matrix. However, the similarities are really only on the surface, as the films tell very different stories about control and surveillance. In the years since Equilibrium’s release, audiences have definitely given the film a second chance and opinion has changed greatly. Now, with the film finally arriving on Paramount+, even more people will be able to see it and maybe the film will finally get the credit it has long been due.

Equilibrium is now streaming on Paramount+.

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