Actors: Nicholas Hoult, Kristen Stewart, Bel Powley, Guy Pearce
Directors: Drake Doremus
Rated: PG-13
Studio: LIONSGATE
Release Date: September 6, 2016
Run Time: 93 minutes
Film: 3 out of 5 stars
Blu-ray: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 2.5 out of 5 stars
When I started watching “Equals”, I got very excited because it has this really cool futuristic feel to it that I was digging. Unfortunately by the end it wasn’t able to hang on tightly to that vibe and ended up feeling very generic and forgettable. Kristen Stewart and Nicholas Hoult star and deliver some pretty solid performances. I also really enjoyed Stewart in a film that no one saw a while back called “Camp X-Ray” also. The stylized word that was created here was a neat idea and I would have loved to see it fleshed out a bit more.
Official Premise: A seemingly utopian world, “The Collective” has ended crime and violence by genetically eliminating all human emotions. Despite this, Nia and Silas can’t help noticing a growing attraction between them, leading them to a forbidden relationship — at first tentative, but then exploding into a passionate romance. As suspicion begins to mount among their superiors, the couple will be forced to choose between going back to the safety of the lives they have always known, or risking it all to try and pull off a daring escape.
The Blu-ray combo pack also comes with a digital HD copy of the film. The 1080p transfer looks great with the utopian future that is displayed. The score is subtle yet carries the film well. The special features are a little light. There are three featurettes focusing on the behind-the-scenes, “Switched On”, “The Collective” and “Utopia” with cast/crew discussing the film. Lastly there is also an audio commentary with Director Drake Doremus, Cinematographer John Guleserian, and Editor Jonathan Alberts. There was some solid information about the film here and a few points that I actually wasn’t happy with the film was even addressed here.
