Equilibrium

Continuity mistake: At the beginning of the film when the police arrive at the Resistance hideout we see the police pull up then take cover behind their cars, G36 rifles at the ready. A lone guy comes out and is immediately put down, as this happens you can see the windshields of the police cars are already shot up and cracked even though at this point the Resistance people have yet to return fire. (00:01:50)

Equilibrium mistake picture

Continuity mistake: In the opening action sequence, one of the sense-offenders slams wide the front doors of the hideout and begins firing at the police. The camera cuts to the police, who immediately open fire; when we cut back to the sense-offender being riddled by bullets, the hideout doors are securely closed behind him. (00:02:00)

Phil C.

Continuity mistake: During the first fight of the movie, several cops burst through a window and rush into the building. As they burst through, there is a center support piece of the window that begins dangling. This bar vanishes and comes back a couple times between shots of the cops rushing in. (00:02:25)

Quantom X

Continuity mistake: Preston orders the police to blow the bulbs when the door is down. Immediately after this, you see the police take aim at the door's handle and hinges. The first one, you see a guy kneel down and aim at the handle. A few shots later, you see a guy standing and aim at the handle. The guy who was kneeling down aiming at it is now gone. (00:03:05)

Quantom X

Continuity mistake: When the Mona Lisa is found, two of the Grammaton cops lift it up. The official looking guy walks in to examine it, and when he does the cops' hands change positions on the painting. (00:06:40)

Quantom X

Continuity mistake: The cover of the book Sean Bean is reading reads 'The Poetry of William Butler Yeats'. However, while he's turning over the pages, the poems 'The Detective' and 'The Courage of Shutting-Up' by Sylvia Plath can be seen. (00:07:50 - 00:15:10)

Equilibrium mistake picture

Continuity mistake: The book Sean Bean takes is quite narrow when it's in his pocket, but when we see him reading it later (definitely meant to be the same book), it's about 50% thicker. It was also originally a hardback, but when he's reading it he's bending the cover like a paperback. After he drops it, it becomes a hardback again. (00:07:50 - 00:15:55)

Jon Sandys

Continuity mistake: Preston mentions that returning to the city reminds him why they do what they do. Partridge slips and asks, "It does?" Just before he says that, he looks up and ahead of him then back down to his Prozium gun. But later when Preston is watching the play back of that conversation from a different angle, Partridge never looks up before he asks "It does?" (00:10:55 - 00:14:00)

Quantom X

Continuity mistake: When Preston and Partridge return from the Nethers and shoot themselves up with Prozium, watch Preston's Prozium syringe: even though he inserts a vial of the drug, the syringe is still empty when he puts it to his neck (you can see the tube that the needle's connected to doesn't have any liquid in it). It's only during the close-up that the syringe is suddenly full of the amber-colored Prozium. (00:11:20)

Continuity mistake: Preston confronts Partridge in the church about the book. Partridge talks first, and then Preston raises his gun and pushes on the book in Partridge's hands to see the cover. The shot from behind Partridge shows the book tilted up at less of an angle than when from Preston's view. (00:15:50)

Quantom X

Continuity mistake: When Preston returns home after killing Partridge, his son is watching Father on a TV. As Preston walks in, his son raises the remote control to mute the TV and then lower his arm. It then cuts to a close up of his son, and now he raises and lowers his arm again to mute the TV. (00:19:25)

Quantom X

Continuity mistake: In their first interview, Preston slides a 1/3 full vial of a yellow substance across the table to Mary. After a moment, she picks it up off the table and puts it in her lap. Moments later, before she grabs Preston's hand, she reaches out to slide the vial back, which is now already back on the table before she touches it. (00:28:40)

Quantom X

Continuity mistake: During their first interrogation, Mary grabs Preston's hand and pulls him close to ask why he is alive. Pulls his hand right up next to her chin, almost touching it, as you can see from the side angle showing both of them from the side. But it then cuts to showing Preston from over Mary's shoulder. Preston and Mary are now further apart suddenly. You can tell by looking at the distance of Preston's wrist in relation to Mary's hair. (00:28:50)

Quantom X

Continuity mistake: In the bathroom after the first interrogation of Mary, Preston is holding a vial of Prozium. He holds it between his thumb and index finger. As he looks at it, he rotates his wrist and turns the Prozium sideways, still between the same two fingers. The close up shows Preston's thumb facing inwards, towards his face and his index finger facing out. The next shot from in front switches these, the thumb facing out, and the index finger on the inside. (00:31:30)

Quantom X

Continuity mistake: In the scene where John Preston finds the room with the snow-globe and the record player, he is shown removing and dropping his gloves as he walks the hall touching the wall, prior to discovering the room. As he is shown entering the room, he is also shown removing the gloves that he had just moments ago discarded. (00:37:00)

Continuity mistake: When Preston is examining the snow globe it's quite a big one (his hand can barely fit around the wooden base). When he drops the snow globe on the floor it's considerably smaller in size. (00:41:10)

Continuity mistake: After the "Faith, I have it speech", looking at the Mary O'Brien interrogation footage, the birthmark on his nose changes position from the right side of his nose to the left side, and after that shot it returns to his right side again. (00:46:25)

Continuity mistake: With the dog in the trunk, Christian Bale reaches with his left hand to pet the dog, then cuts to the close-up of his right hand petting the dog, and then cuts back to his left hand doing the petting. (00:49:30)

Continuity mistake: After the puppy barks from inside the trunk, the cop goes to it and looks at Preston. Preston asks one last time for him not to do it. Shot changes to showing the cop again. You see him reach down and lift his arm, and you hear the sound of the trunk creaking as it opens. Then the shot cuts to showing the trunk. Now you see him lift the trunk and hear it open again. (00:51:10)

Quantom X

Continuity mistake: After the gun fight over the puppy, Preston is in his bathroom and begins pulling his mirror out of the wall. The shots showing Preston have his face half covered in shadow, but his reflection shows no shows no shadows on him in reverse shots. (00:53:00)

Quantom X

Continuity mistake: The cover of the book Sean Bean is reading reads 'The Poetry of William Butler Yeats'. However, while he's turning over the pages, the poems 'The Detective' and 'The Courage of Shutting-Up' by Sylvia Plath can be seen. (00:07:50 - 00:15:10)

More mistakes in Equilibrium

John Preston: I'll do what I can to see they go easy on you.
Partridge: We both know they never "go easy."
John Preston: Then, I'm sorry.
Partridge: No, you're not. You don't even know the meaning. Its just a vestigial word for a feeling you've never felt.

More quotes from Equilibrium

Trivia: The scene where Preston clubs a whole bunch of guards to death with his spiked pistol butts took only 30 minutes to shoot. (00:58:25)

More trivia for Equilibrium

Question: Right before the fight between Preston and DuPont, DuPont re-quotes Sean Bean "you tread on my dreams." How did he know that quote, and why did he know it would mean anything to Preston?

Answer: Since Preston is the one who discovered Partridge's sense-offense and executed him, he was probably required to give a report of how it went down and mentioned Partridge's last words, which one would expect would make its way to DuPont.

Phaneron

Answer: "Father" is a very human psychopath in my opinion. I don't believe he was ever dosing. Therefore, he was probably already familiar with Yeats. Just like his "office" at the end is filled with illegal artwork, which if he didn't "feel" would be completely unnecessary. He tells Preston at the end that he "feels," and that's true. It's just that he "feels" only as a psychopath can feel. And, since he was setting Preston up from the very beginning, he also probably knew exactly what book Partridge had been reading when Preston shot him. And he used that phrase right before his fight with Preston, why? Perhaps to attempt to throw him off his game by reminding him that he had killed his partner (something that he guessed - correctly - about which Preston felt incredible sadness and guilt).

More questions & answers from Equilibrium

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