a thrilling ride

Rating: 10/10 (11 December 2005)

In the year 2054, crime has been abolished. Three cognitive people are used to predict crimes before they occur; creating a police force or Pre-Crime. Chief John Anderton is head of his divisions, scrubbing through the images seen from the Precogs. The Precogs have never been wrong, but when Danny Witwer from the Federal Bearue investigates any possibilities of problems that may arise from this new type of investigation; things go arise. The Precogs fore tell a murder; the death of a man Leo Crow. When Anderton scrubs through the images, to his shock sees he is the perpetrator. Believing his innocence and is set up, Anderton is now on the run from his own people and starts to find out the mystery behind this murder before it occurs.
Based upon the book by Philip K. Dick, Minority Report is a bleak and haunting view of the future. Though the premise behind Pre-Crime is creating a safer society, but there is still that force of human nature that can change and effect the future beyond any precognition. The future Steven Spielberg is a very alienating place. The steely blue, harsh white and drowning gray washes make a ghostly, unfriendly place, when it is meant to be nothing short of safe. It heightens the underbelly of society, where all the malevolent forces are still at work, in places you don't expect.
Minorty Report has some great intelligent fundamentals. How can people be guilty of a crime if they never committed the crime, stopping a crime doesn't erase the fact that it was going to happen, is our future already written or do we have a choice in our fate. These woven with a great mystery and some spectaculars action makes a winning combination. This is one of the most intelligent mysteries in awhile, having so many layers to the story and depth in the characters.
Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, Max von Sydow and Samantha Morton all brought great performances. Tom Cruise brought so much pain and guilt to Anderton, bringing out the flaws in his tormented character. Colin Farrell also great as Danny, same to Max von Sydow as Lamar Burgess. Samantha Morton evoked so much pain and misery as Agatha, tired of seeing so much pain from the murders she foretells. Though Lois Smith's Dr. Iris Hineman and Tim Blake Nelson's Gideon were overacted, they are a minor flaw in the other wise great acting. Spielberg does another perfect job of directing. Really hitting the bulls eye making a wonderful thrilling ride of a bleak future.
Minority Report is a surprising intelligent mystery from a master director, a spectacular, visually mind blowing watch.