Water, water everywhere...

Rating: 9/10 (16 July 2002)

Pairing Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise must undoubtedly be a nightmare for many people, but for those in their fan clubs it had plenty of promise, and "Minority Report" is a definite return to form for the master after "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" - itself flawed but not as bad as many claim it is.
Like "Total Recall," this expands on (and from what I'm told almost totally changes) the Philip K. Dick story it's based on, and if the result is essentially "The Fugitive" with a bigger budget, harking back to that fine example of Action Movies With A Brain is no bad thing. You all know the plot (Precrime cop Cruise discovers he's wanted for a murder he's going to commit in just over 50 hours and goes on the run, etc.,), but Scott Frank and Jon Cohen's screenplay offers intriguing notions alongside all the thrills, and Spielberg delivers a welcome return to basics - let's not forget this is the man who did "Duel" and "Jaws" - while not betraying the "Thank goodness he's grown up" crowd. (Yes, we all know "Schindler's List," "Amistad," "Saving Private Ryan" and "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" were children's movies, right?) One moment we're experiencing a high-speed chase through an automobile factory, the next we're pondering the ramifications of a system that allows crime to become almost extinct. Somehow I can't imagine "Scooby-Doo" doing that.
The movie's filled with special effects, of course, but Spielberg movies always have them serve the story instead of vice versa, and it continues here - throughout the result is that of a believable future world (love the ever-changing newspapers and magazines). And instead of complaining about the product placement in "Minority Report" (something which I've personally never really had a problem with), let's look at another aspect of the tale. Throughout the movie, water is a recurring motif; the Twentieth Century Fox and DreamWorks logos are presented through water, several crucial scenes take place around bodies of water (a coastline, a swimming pool), and Cruise's police officer evades his pursuers at one point with the help of an umbrella and a downpour. There may be other theories about this, but since it's associated with the good guys throughout the movie (and note the last shot of the movie), my own view is that you can see through water, and thus get a clear view of what's happening - thus, water = the truth.
Whether you agree or not, you have to agree that blockbuster movies that give you a rollercoaster ride and food for thought are to be encouraged. Spielberg, his writers, his crew and cast keep the tension running high for nearly all of its length (the final confrontation between Cruise and the villain is just a bit off, and both it and the first scene are a little too TV-ish for comfort), but in the end "Minority Report" works for considerably more than a minority of viewers. The master still has it. The Dream still Works.
PS: I didn't spot Cameron Diaz, but the lady Cruise and Samantha Morton encounter in the mall does look a lot like Lucy Liu...