Minority Report

Rating: 8/10 (27 April 2011)

In the film, Minority Report, we see a futuristic team of investigators led by Chief John Anderton, played by Tom Cruise, who uses a set of highly protected precognitive individuals to foresee crimes before they take place. Director Lamar Burgess, played by Max von Sydow, oversees the project and acts as the political spokesman and advocate for the pre-cog program. The team has successfully reduced the murder rate in Washington D.C. to zero using these highly talented individuals. It is only after the Chief Anderton's name appears from the pre-cogs mind that a high speed pursuit begins as the detective desperately attempts to clear his name before the murder takes place.
The theme of this movie involves humanities constant struggle between good and evil and the lengths that we as a species will go to both hide and discover this evil. A constant internal and external struggle is seen as Detective Anderton eludes authorities and attempts to clear his name. The theme of this movie is closely related to the 2009 film, Shirlock Holmes, in that a sinister character cloaked in darkness eventually comes to light and a battle for good ensues. Both movies characterize the struggle that takes place during the investigative process to discover the events leading to the evil character's development.
During the production, the director, Steven Spielberg, uses both lighting and angle to lend example towards this theme. As Detective Anderton begins his run from authorities, he realizes that he must find a surgeon to replace his eyes in order to evade retina scanners throughout the city. During the surgery, viewers are brought into the dark and dingy surroundings of an illegal surgery revealing the underground world of illegal surgery. Spielberg was especially careful to portray this sinister world by using the necessary dark lighting with various camera angles to draw viewers into the seriousness of the event at hand.
Throughout the film, the plot is further supported by the various camera angles used in the high speed chase scenes. Viewers are drawn into the occurrences on the screen by the use of multiple camera shots that quickly change from one angle to another in order to further compound the excitement of the scene. As seen in many action thrillers, the use of these techniques play a vital role in the overall theme of the movie and effectively leave viewers in a heightened level of suspense throughout the film.