Nothing Special; Slick but Full of Holes

Rating: 5/10 (18 August 2005)

I wasn't much impressed by "Minority Report." There really wasn't a lot that was new or all that complex. Or perhaps there had been at one time before the script was "Spielberged." Seemed soft to me. The technological advances envisioned didn't seem much more impressive than those in "Back to the Future 3." BUT what bugged me most were the many glaring lapses of logic, and one in particular that will necessitate a SPOILER to explain (below).
OK, Cruise is on the run--formerly a government cop, now a wanted man, considered a top criminal by the all powerful government. The most common means of identification in the future (apparantly)is the retinal scan. Everything requires a retinal scan. They always know what you're doing and where you are via the retinal scans of your eyes. SO, Cruise has his eyes removed and replaced in order to make it harder for the government to ID and find him by a retinal scan. Got that? OK. Now, after his eye transplant, Cruise wants to sneak back into his old super-secret, high security government controlled lab. So, what does he do? He brings his original eyes with him in a jar and uses them in the retinal scanner in order to get entry.
DID YOU GET THAT?
Do you get how stupid that is? HE HAD HIS EYES REMOVED FOR THE EXPRESS PURPOSE OF NOT ALERTING THE GOVERNMENT TO HIS WHEREABOUTS WHEN HE HAS TO USE A RETINAL SCANNING DEVICE!!! I MEAN, HAVING DIFFERENT EYES WAS THE WHOLE POINT--WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE IF HE'S CARRYING THEM IN A JAR OR THEY'RE STILL IN HIS SKULL? IT'S THE STUPIDEST THING EVER!
DON'T YA THINK THE POWERS THAT BE WOULD HAVE REVOKED HIS SECURITY PRIVALIGES ONCE HE BECAME A TOP CRIMINAL? Or, at the very least don't ya think that once the retinal pattern of the most wanted man in the country showed up on the grid that the omnipotent government would then rush to the scene?
It's this kind of complete disregard for even the simplest logic that convinced me that Spielberg needs to just stay away from Science Fiction all together.
All in all--very slick, but also very sloppy. Closer to Jurrasic Park 2 than Close Encounters.