Minority Report Reviews

I remember, when this movie was released, there has some huge buzz about it. I mean, it is quite understandable since the biggest movie star and the biggest movie director (at least, if you consider the box-office revenues) were finally working together and we all expected some fireworks. Eventually, it was pretty successful financially and critically but even though Roger Ebert chose this movie as the best one coming out in 2002, I can't say I shared his opinion. I mean, it is definitely a solid SF feature, no doubt about it. Indeed, the visuals were awesome, Spielberg managed to create a really intriguing vision of the future and, for once, the whole thing was pretty gloomy which is something you don't expect in his work. Furthermore, the original concept was really interesting and created some neat moral dilemmas. Finally, you can say whatever you want about the guy but Tom Cruise can deliver and he gave here a solid performance. Unfortunately, I thought the ending was rather convoluted with too many annoying twist(s) for my taste. The point is that if you deal with future, present, premonitions and stuff like that, they will be plot-holes without a doubt, but the last 30 minutes made this even more obvious and this last act was rather weak in my opinion. Basically, the story was just fine until Anderton eventually shot the guy. Everything before was fine and really spellbinding and everything after was far-fetched, nonsensical and pretty disappointing. Still, even though I don't think it is really amazing, it remains a visually fascinating SF feature, most of it is damned entertaining and spellbinding to watch so I think it is definitely worth, especially if you like the genre.

I've decided to review all of the movies of Tom Cruise that I've seen-- which I guess is actually only three-- The Last Samurai, Valkyrie, and Minority Report.... And if I had to rank them, I guess that that would be the order that I would put them in, yeah-- just because I'm thinking of the guy. And.... Why could that be? (Seriously, though, this is nothing against Katie Holmes: I just like to keep myself amused.)

"You can't run, John."

"Everybody runs."

I don't really remember this well, although, to be honest, I'm not quite sure how much there is to remember. I think that it's an average film, not a bad one.... But it's also that sort of average which is only somewhat better than mediocre, IMO.

Also, although I guess that Mission: Impossible, (and certainly not *another* movie with an 'M'-- although, to be honest, this is probably as good as that: it's just that *we wise fools* would rather have a Canadian than a Scientologist.... Although it's all just beakers and meters to me, one way or the other! Tangent: A relative tuned into "Something's Gotta Give" halfway through, something I've developed a distaste for, I suppose.... But I didn't see it enough to really see it: something about Jack Nicholson-- "He is renowned for his often dark portrayals of neurotic characters"{wiki} and *that* is 'As Good As It Gets', I guess?-- and Keanu Reeves in the same movie was, too much.... *something*, and nothing made up for that, somehow) is the one that's actually literally from the 90s, but this one is pretty 90s-y too.... (You know when that Nazi (-themed) movie 'American History X' {"Some legacies must end"} was made? That's right-- the 90s!) Although, actually, for a 90s-y movie, this was actually pretty decent....

But anyway.... Sometimes I divulge the truth, and other times I just wander....

But anyway.... It was an average movie....

Do you suppose that we are all average, before we come of age, or is there something there before?

(8/10)

''Sean... He's on the beach now, a toe in the water. He's asking you to come in with him. He's been racing his mother up and down the sand. There's so much love in this house. He's ten years old. He's surrounded by animals. He wants to be a vet. You keep a rabbit for him, a bird and a fox. He's in high school. He likes to run, like his father. He runs the two-mile and the long relay. He's 23. He's at a university. He makes love to a pretty girl named Claire. He asks her to be his wife. He calls here and tells Lara, who cries. He still runs. Across the university and in the stadium, where John watches. Oh God, he's running so fast, just like his daddy. He sees his daddy. He wants to run to him. But he's only six years old, and he can't do it. And the other men are so fast. There was so much love in this house.''


In the future, criminals are caught before the crimes they commit, but one of the officers in the special unit is accused of one such crime and sets out to prove his innocence.

Tom Cruise: Chief John Anderton

Max von Sydow: Director Lamar Burgess

Minority Report is from Speilberg and Philip K Dick's book as the material to feast Steven's directing talent upon. The result is Report ends up being visually stunning, a brilliant story and concept and a compelling sci-fi piece all infused together.
MR is set in the year 2054, a future that, outside of the roads and constant eye-scans, still visually resembles the present (or the past, in this movie's case). Tom Cruise stars as John Anderton, one of the heads of Pre-Crime, a division in Washington, D.C. that has the ability to stop murders before they happen, thanks to the work of three Pre-Cogs, psychics (two male and one female) permanently placed in a watery bath, delivering info about the future to the Pre-Crime division (just how it's done is revealed in a very clever and tense opening sequence).



Tom cruise on form can do no wrong yet again along with an amazing turn from Colin Farrell. The chase that transpires between the two esculating from a Jet Pack chase to a Flying Car Factory is awe dropping to watch. In fact if you think this is just all about action you shouldn't be watching movies, as Minority mixes depth with watch-ability and comes out victorious and on top.
Max Von Sydow also had a role that pleased me immensely.
Samantha Morton also stuck out for me and fueled my emotions.

Director Burgess: You don't have to run John.
John Anderton: You don't have to chase me.

Spielberg's work here is, right from the off, much unlike anything I've ever seen him do. Sure, there was the debatable quality of A.I., but not a segment in that film resembled Minority Report's opening scenes, a montage of quick-cuts awash in blue colors that builds in both violence and intensity, in spite of the fact this sequence moves backward (meaning the violent act is committed first, then we see what led up to it). The segment ends with a close-up of an eye, with the camera pulling back to reveal a woman lying in a pool, ominously stating the word, "murder." It's a chilling, daring intro that holds a lot of promise, and instead of disappointing, the rest of the film actually manages to improve upon it.
The future that Spielberg presents here is entirely believable, from both a societal and technological viewpoint. Most interestingly, when I first saw the previews, I'd expected a "Big Brother" type society akin to 1984, one in which the government monitored all the actions of the people. But that's not the case here. The government presented here questions the ethics and logic behind Pre-Crime because if this were reality, it would be a subject matter of serious concern, and not just hive-minded behavior and blather about how this is for the good of humanity. Finally, we get a film that features a dark view of the future, but simultaneously gives us reasonable, intelligent characters that realize there are pros and cons to everything.
Much more successful, somewhat surprisingly for Spielberg, are the darker moments. There's a great scene when you see Anderton and his kid at the swimming pool. Anderton sinks to the bottom to show how long he can hold his breath, but then when he resurfaces his kid has gone. It captures all the terror of losing a child with great skill.

I also like the scene where Anderton is confronted with his child's 'killer'. Anderton, quite rightly, is utterly deranged and Cruise does an excellent job of selling the character's anger and grief. Therefore it's slightly annoying that these great darker moments have to co-exist with such contrast. Just take the ending. Pre-crime is shut down, Anderton is reunited with his wife, Anderton's wife is pregnant and the pre-cogs live happily ever after. It's far too neat and tidy, especially for what's supposed to be a gritty thriller.

''There hasn't been a murder in six years. The system, it is perfect.''

Like Total Recall, this elaborates on (plus alters) the Philip K. Dick story it's based on, and if the result is essentially The Fugitive with a bigger budget and a Sci-fi twist.
You all know the plot (Precrime cop Cruise discovers he's wanted for a murder he's going to commit in just over 50 hours and goes on the run, etc.,), but Scott Frank and Jon Cohen's screenplay offers intriguing notions alongside all the thrills, and Spielberg delivers a welcome return to basics - let's not forget this is the master who did Duel and Jaws - while not betraying any close fans of his works. (Yes, we all know Schindler's List, Amistad, Saving Private Ryan and A.I. Artificial Intelligence were not just mainstream but educational.) One moment we're experiencing a high-speed chase through an automobile factory, the next we're pondering the ramifications of a system that allows crime to be non-existence.
Along with BladeRunner, A Scanner Darkly, Total Recall, all of these I am a fan of and in Dick's work there is immense vision and a warped mind that appeals to my tastes everytime. Steven Spielberg usually can do no wrong. A.I. was a gamble for the master but with Minority he throws an Ace.

This is by far Steven Spielberg's most complex film to date. Though this is not Spielberg's first venture into science-fiction, it is his best. Tom Cruise makes a very believable protagonist here. The entire issue of "Pre-Crime" is treated as something of a flawed advance in law enforcement. It raises questions of how the police can be truly certain that a person is going to commit a crime or is it inevitable that the future can be altered. You see, it is all just too complex to really put into words here, you just have to watch the movie and form your own thoughts.
Drawing inspirations from Hitchcock's thrillers, also from every chase movie ever and if you think this a bad thing you are gravely mistaken. Minority on canvas is like a spray of Fugitive mixed with a dabble of Sci-Fi Matrix feel in all its shades of blueness. Coat that with thriller and a story to die for and that sums up Minority Report in a nutshell. The twists when watched first time are mind blowing, one movie I own that i never get tired of watching.

Masterful Work.

''Everybody runs, Fletch. Everybody runs.''

This film has caused a few quarrels with my best bud. We usually have same likes/dislikes in films, but he absolutely despises this film, mostly because its too 'Hollywood' and the story is too crazy, but I strongly feel it was a great sci-fi thriller. The idea of stopping crimes before they occur raises lots of moral questions, which makes it a 'thinking' movie, which is what I love about it. With any system that appears perfect, there will always be people that abuse the system and corrupt it to their benefit. It even makes a morality issue towards Iraq War and the whole concept of a pre-emptive strike. Do we have right to stop someone before they hurt someone else? And what if they were totally wrong (like those damn pesky missing WMDs)? Or as in the film, does society have a right to arrest someone before a crime is even commited? And the lead character gets wrongly accused and has to evade authorities.

It also shows a very bleak future with surveillance and micro-chips everywhere and inside everyone. Very scary future, indeed, but one which we seem to be heading into. Even the little stuff, like walking into a store, and the store scanners recognize the shopper by his micro chip, and talk to him personally about if they liked their last purchase and recommend something to him. Its really not that far-fetched story, as I can easily see this happening in the near future. Interactive shopping. GPS in every car. We're already urged to microchip our pets, and get all our kids 'fingerprinted' for safety's sake, cameras in many downtown areas to monitor people's activities, all are clues show we're heading to a police-controlled big-brother-is-watching-you type of society. Which makes me admire what Spielberg has achieved with this film.

Highly recommended.