The system is perfect. Until it comes after you.
Minority Report is a 2002 sci-fi action film directed by Steven Spielberg, written by John Cohen and Scott Frank, produced by 20th Century Fox, DreamWorks Pictures, Ambin Entertainment, and Blue Tulip Productions, and distributed by 20th Century Fox. The film is based on Philip K. Dick's 1956 short story, The Minority Report. It stars Tom Cruise and Colin Farrell. The film was nominated for Best Sound Editing, but did not win. While it did not receive any sequels, there was a spin-off TV series called Minority Report.
"I have to know. I have to find out what happened to my life." -John Anderton
Plot
It's 2054, and the police have an unstoppable crime management system; Pre-Crime. It can detect a homicide before it takes place, giving the cops a head start and stopping the future criminal. However, Chief John Anderton suddenly realizes the flaws of the system when he is shown to kill a man that he hasn't even met yet.
Positive Aspects
The first thing is the idea of this film. This is one of the most creative and fun ideas for a movie that I have seen in a long time. Sometimes, something will sound really interesting and it'll be a dud (Check out my Stranger than Fiction review), or other times it'll be interesting and fall apart (Check out my review for The Firm), but Minority Report keeps you in its grasp for the entire runtime. It is so intriguing and unique, and the story itself isn't even about the unique part of the film. They make it so much fun to watch, and I love that aspect of the film.
This movie also feels like a futuristic movie. It came out near twenty years ago, but it still feels like its set in 2054. The entire idea of Pre-Crime itself gives the movie a futuristic feel, but the effects and the costumes and the way that the characters walk and talk give you the illusion of this being set in the future. It immerses you in this "near-perfect" world that humans live in, and it is absolutely amazing.
The plot is pretty good. Like I said before, Pre-Crime is a major part in the film, but the film is not about Pre-Crime. It's about John Anderton running from the police who are chasing him down because of Pre-Crime, which is a great story. It is exciting and thrilling and delivers exactly what I expected, which is to say that the bar was very high for this film. My uncle had been raving about it and told me to watch it, so I did, and immediately understood why he was raving. It is actually pretty dark and depressing, but it is just so entertaining and fun, because the story is about a chase. Chases are always thrilling, and that's what made this film so likable.
I love Tom Cruise, always have, and he's great in this film. He delivers perhaps the most emotional performance that I've seen him give, besides maybe Mission: Impossible III. He is so heartfelt and sincere about everything, and it works so well. It is gut-wrenching when he tells Agatha that he is going to kill the man that he has been working so hard not to kill. Anderton is a broken man, and Cruise just takes that and digests it and makes it feel so real. Colin Farrell is great, too. He is kind of a complete d**k, but is also a good guy, and shows his good intentions, although very subtle, throughout the film. Samantha Morton is very creepy and kind of messed up as Agatha, and does a different kind of fish-out-of-water routine. Max von Syndow has a very imposing presence and feels like the right presidential figure for this film. I thought that the movie was cast very well, and I am so glad that there hasn't been a sequel to this film.
Spielberg brings his magic to this film as he does in every other film that he does. You can tell the Spielberg-ness of this film. It feels very methodical and fast-paced, and you can tell that this is the movie that Steven Spielberg wanted to put out and wanted the audiences to see. There is some symbolism that I'm sure he did on purpose, but I think that it is super cool that if you see any shots before Pre-Crime, the lighting is brighter and the setting seems happier, but when it is the present, the lighting is dark and gritty and has a depressing tone.
I think that the effects are great for 2002. They don't look horrible at all, especially these massive shots that are shown. The weird looking cars and all the futuristic looking things look like the movie could've been made in 2018 and you wouldn't know the difference. I am very happy that they put effort and money into the effects, because the movie would be much more distracting and less indulging without good effects.
Negative Aspects
I have two big complaints with Minority Report. First of all, I did not like that they didn't resolve the plotline about Sean, John Anderton's kid. They never figured out who did it or if he actually died, which just leaves something to be desired. For a movie that has such complex and intertwined plotlines and stories that are being told throughout, I was disappointed when the credits rolled and we didn't know what happened to Anderton's kid.
Secondly, bouncing off of that, the movie can feel claustrophobic at times. There is a lot going on, and I mean a lot. It feels like you may miss something crucial if you blink, which can be good, but there was too much of that in this movie. There are so many plotlines and so much stuff going on that it can be hard to follow at certain points. That does not make it less entertaining, it can just confuse the viewer.
Final Score
Despite some story flaws, Minority Report delivers an incredibly fast-paced thriller that all audiences will enjoy.
I will give it a Sweet rating. Age range is 10+.
SWEET N' SOUR SCALE
Sweet (Great) Savory (Good) Sour (Bad)
Moldy (Terrible)
"Minority Report"
Fun Factor: 9.5/10
Acting: 8.5/10
Characters: 8/10
Story: 8/10
Quality: 8.5/10
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Released on June 17, 2002
Rated PG-13 for moderate sci-fi action and violence, scary scenes and images
2 hours and 25 minutes
Tom Cruise as Chief John Anderton
Colin Farrell as Detective Danny Witwer
Samantha Morton as Agatha
Max von Syndow as Director Lamar Burgess
Kathryn Morris as Lara Clarke
Neal McDonagh as Fletcher
Steve Harris as Jad
Tim Blake Nelson as Gideon
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