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I just don't think EQ should be referred to as an action film.
I remember being incredibly let-down by the sparce action scenes throughout the movie, when I was anticipating something more. Now, if they could have had more scenes like the last, well, that would be amazing.
If you'd take out the five minutes of action (excluding one or two other scenese), the movie would be tedious and tiresome to sit through.
Am I the only one that didn't see "did they really had to go and slow down for EVERY car crash, where camera would go and spin around the crashing car"? You may be exaggerating, but I can't recall a use of the old 'bullet time' spinning effect much in that car chase. Slow motion yes, but aside from that last trailer truck impact, I thought it flowed very well.
That said, I really want to check out EQ now. I gotta see if the heat you guys are giving it is worth it.
Well, be it a old bullet time, or newly used slow motion, it was still overused during that scene, and it could have been much better if they would have just let it flow, instead stoping every other crash.
EQ is not an straight action film. I always said it was more of an action drama, but few action set pieces were really a show stoppers. I can only imagine what Kurt Whimmer could have done if he had budget of Reloaded. Man needs more exposure, and I hope Hollywood gives him more chances.
I found EQ to be a refreshing film and worthy addition to my DVD library. I thought this film was leagues above M:R simply because it attempted (it didn't always succeed, but it tried) to do something that hadn't been done with action films--something that even the HK film industry hasn't done.
I thought the idea of gun kata was brilliant and a few of the fights were very good and I felt that rush you get when you watch a great action sequence. The ending was very good, especially how he used the sword...
I can say that out of all the action films I've seen, this gets a lot of points for ingenuity. And while I can see where some critics wouldn't like this film--I mean some people just don't recongnize when someone is doing something truly unique as far as action--I can say that because I can base it on years of watching HK films evolve, but i understand that as a stand alone film, it isn't amazing, but far better than I expected it to be and much better than 90% of the crap in theaters all the time.
And yes, I found this more interesting than M:R simply because I've seen all that in the Matrix before (except for the very impressive computer effects) -- but Gun kata was very refreshing to watch. I lent this to a female friend who enjoyed the Matrix, so I'm interested to hear her opinion on the film.
I didn't really mention the story, but I found it interesting too and Bale's performance is very good. The whole idea had some flaws, but what idea doesn't?
Overall, I'd say 3 out 5 stars as an action film.
Man, I glad that you liked it, and appreciated the action sequences. Kurt Whimmer and team really tried something orginal, and I really looking forward Whimmer's next project.
Well, I rented EQ last night, but didn't have time to watch it (I'm watching it tonight). However, I did watch the first few minutes while eating dinner and I'm really impressed. It was the part where they raid a building with some rebels inside and Christain Bale goes flying through the door and rides it like a surfboard into the middle of the room, and then the lights go out and, after a few shots by the rebels, dead silence, pitch blackness. Just a whisper here and there- "Where is he? "Did we hit him?" Great tension. Then Bale lets loose with the Gun Kata. That was just damn impressive. I mean, it's basically just him hitting very funky poses while shooting, but it's still cool. The idea of a gun-based martial art is very unique, and I'm looking forward to seeing how they expand on the action in the opening scene when I watch the whole movie tonight. Looks good so far. :)
I must watch my copy again...
Perhaps seeing it the day after seeing MR left the special effects whore inside me feeling left out in the cold...
Just wanted to quote this as my closing argument. :)Quote:
Originally posted by Despair
What??? I watched Reloaded today, and I'm sorry to say that its NOWHERE as good as EQ. Well at least action wise. Fights in EQ were fast and hard hitting, while Reloaded had fx filled battles that looked good, but failed to be actually fun to watch :(
Sure FX wise Reloaded wins, but overall EQ was a better film.
hee hee
And???
Okay, watched EQ last night. Great, great movie. I really enjoyed it. Like Despair said, it's not an action movie, but more of an action/drama. The fight scenes were amazing (especially the one where Bale fought the guards who discovered his puppy- that was fantastic), though I agree that there could have been more of them. Gun-Kata is indeed pretty damn cool. The acting was fine, especially Christian Bale. Watching him deal with emotion for the first time was impressive, and he kicked all forms of ass in his fight scenes. I did find it weird, however, that he's British, and several people in the movie had British accents, yet he used an American accent like he did in American Psycho. The twist with his son was nice, too. The story itself was very interesting and well done, though aspects of it were not very original. Still, I'm impressed with the direction and the fact that this is a low-budget movie that doesn't look low-budget. I really think this movie could have done well in theaters if it was given a chance. It was a wasted opportunity. Hopefully it will get more props on DVD.
As for it being better than Reloaded, I don't know. I'm seeing it tonight, so I'll chime in tomorrow about that. Still, I don't see how the two films can really be compared fairly, as I can already tell that they're nothing alike. If we're just talking about which film I enjoyed more and not directly comparing them, I can do that. We'll see...