More Thought Provoking Than You Would Ever Expect From Spielberg

Rating: Null/10 (10 August 2002)

This film addresses many profound issues on many different levels; more than just your average summer blockbuster film.
I found it to be very interesting in that it portrays the prophetic ("pre-cogs" or pre-cognitives in the film) in their ability to dream reality being very much like what it is like unto in real life. I personally believe that we already know what is going to happen; that the time essence forecast is in our DNA. Just the mentally ill are more able to tap into that than others because of some faulty wiring that brings the "visions" to the forefront--often in their dreams. It is no mystery that we only use 10% of our brains actively, at best. If we were able to actively use the other 90%, predicting the future (which we currently measure with a measurement we call time, but is a measurement nonetheless for something we try to grasp) would be easy since we could bring this information to the forefront of our consciousness. Now the question is: if we could do this, would we still have free will/choice/agency? That is a big question that the film tries and succeeds in answering (IMO).
Something interesting about this film:  Set in Washington DC, the murder capital of the world, with approx. 180 murders per 100,000 people, due mostly to the reason that gun ownership there is illegal (except, paradoxically, for politicians, celebrities, cops, the gov't, military, etc., ones who champion gun control the most and also control the public most). This sets the stage for invoking a crime-prevention idea of stopping the crime before it happens, thus stopping the crime [!]
The most powerful message that runs through to the core of the film is that the harder you try to control something, the less you will be able to do just that. (There are many other smaller threads that run through also, but this is definitely the most potent one, and the many issues covered could probably fill a volume.)
Lastly, this film has tons of special effects and action. It really is something to watch. Kind of like a cross between Tron and The Fifth Element. But this film is very violent, so leave the kids at home, it will probably give them nightmares. Five years ago this film would be rated R (just for its adult content alone), not PG-13. Not to say that it is bad, just very violent. I would give this movie 10 stars instead of 9 out of 10 normally, except I don't think it has much of a resolution. Or maybe that is what makes it good--that it leaves you uneasy with no real answers, and definitely makes you think.