Interesting, but tries a little too hard

Rating: 7/10 (2 July 2002)

Steven Spielberg needs to stop trying so hard to make a masterpiece. Minority Report was a good movie, but it felt forced, obvious and even preachy some of the time. Social commentary should never be at the forefront of a film or it
detracts considerably from the story. A statement should be the subtext--the
"read between the lines" part of a movie. But Spielberg seems to think it's the other way around: the social statement is your film and your characters and
story are just coming along for the ride. It just doesn't work well when you do that, though.
When you overlook all that, there is something worth seeing here. It's nice to look at, displays a dizzying array of gee-whiz futuristic gadgetry and, of course, you've got Tom Cruise. So, you know, it's not bad.