Intriguing Plot, Flawed Movie

Rating: Null/10 (1 June 2004)

This film is almost a follow-up to Steven Spielberg's "AI: Artificial Intelligence", released a year after this film. Both are attempts at more intellectual "adult" science-fiction.
Adapted from a short story by Philip K Dick, "Minority Report" takes place in Washington DC in the year 2054, where the murder rate has been reduced to zero thanks to an experimental division of the police force, which utilises three "pre-cogs" (individuals who have a powerful ability to see into the future). This means that murderers are arrested before they commit their crimes. The head of this division (Tom Cruise) believes it to be perfect, until he is accused of a future murder.
Steven Spielberg is a hugely talented film-maker, but this film suffers from his main flaw, which is mainly an excess of sentiment. The future on display is intriguing and well-designed. The entire movie is shot in an interesting style which bleaches out vibrant colours from the image. This accentuates the dark tone of most of the story. Tom Cruise's character is a deeply flawed individual (he has never recovered from the disappearance of his son, and he takes drugs), but Cruise never really manages to get into the depths of the character.
Although the film sounds like an action-packed thriller, in actual fact, a few spectacular sequences aside, it's mostly very dialogue driven.