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Rating: 5/10 (28 June 2002)

I should have had lots and lots of caffeine before I watched this movie. I should have taken three or four cups of soda (Mountain Dew, lots of caffeine) in the theater with me.
Why? I say so because this movie is LONG. Tedious. And at certain points, quite boring, to be honest.
It's not the great action, sci-fi, edge-of-your-seat, nail-biting thriller kind of experience that the commercials and trailers try to make you believe. Rather, it's a drawn-out mystery with an intricate plot wrapped in CGI to cover up any mistakes.
And I'll say right now, the special effects in this movie are really great. The futuristic appearance is sometimes a little overdone (Policemen with jetpacks? Why not Flash Gordon, too?) but such scenes as the highway (as Anderton jumps from unmanned, autopiloted car to car) are really excellent.
I was expecting action. You know, jump around, get dirty, fight, mess with futuristic machinery, that sort of stuff. Well, we get the futuristic machinery, but not too much of the rest. There are really only three or four action sequences (which are pretty cool), but the rest is Anderton's search for the truth. Well, that's great, but let's put that in the commercials and trailers, shall we?
And John Williams' music? Hah! Matches the theme of the movie--slow and tedious. It has its good parts, such as the highway scene, but even then I could tell Williams is losing his touch with action music. I don't feel as thrilled anymore like I did with The Lost World's heart-pounding ethnic drums, Jurassic Park's raptor theme, or The Phantom Menace's Duel of the Fates. I think Danny Elfman or James Newton Howard (heck, even Howard Shore) could have done much better. Or maybe Hans Zimmer...
Let's face it. This movie was a disappointment. Some parts were exciting, others were hilarious (the spiders in the apartment), but most of the movie was just dull. It had too much explaining to do. It was interesting at first, and I'm sure it would have stayed that way had I been able to stay awake and pay attention.
So I'd really suggest seeing this movie when it comes out on DVD. You may not want to sit in a dark theater for two and a half hours, unless you really enjoy futuristic mysteries.