The Eyes Have It

Rating: Null/10 (25 June 2002)

Minority Report is a BRILLIANT MOVIE.
Phillip K. Dick, sci-fi writer and the inspiration behind 'Minority Report', also inspired the 1990 'Total Recall'. 'Total Recall', for those who haven't seen it, is a brilliant watch - it involves you in a very immersive world, and leaves you almost as lost as the lead character, as to where the twists may turn next. The thing about 'Total Recall', though, was that it wasn't for the faint hearted - even the censored version sees quite a bit of gore.
Now, I'll admit to you now, I'm a bit of a squeamish fellow. And when people choose to put unnecessary gore, make the movie into an unnecessary freak show, then it makes an otherwise brilliant tangle of ideas into something that alienates your simpler viewer.
Having said that, I was very excited about 'Minority Report' coming out, but I approached it very anxiously, hoping it wouldn't turn into a freakshow.
The truth of the matter is, 'Minority Report' is a much, much more accessible movie than the aforementioned gem - it still gives you the creeps at all the right moments, especially if you value your eyeballs - but it never violates your trust in Spielberg's better judgement.
It takes place in one possible future - sometimes bright, sometimes bleak, but by all accounts, a frighteningly apt projection - where murder has all but been wiped out by the department of Pre-Crime. This department, headed by a well cast Max Von Sydow, and employing the services of a VERY well cast Tom Cruise, (the only possible actor who could have made this role work) uses the predictions of three 'Pre Cogs' to stop murders before they happen.
The system is only in experimental stages, but it is all but expected to be adopted by mainstream culture when the vote is put to masses. All the same, a devilishly likeable Colin Farrell is brought into investigate the inner workings. Coincidently or not, this just happens to coincide with our flawed hero Anderton (Cruise) finding himself in a dilly of a pickle - the latest case he attempts to piece together finds himself as the killer.
If you think you know where this movie is headed, you're in for a rude awakening - somehow, I doubt even the Pre-Cogs themselves could see the ending to this one.
Well, maybe the Pre-Cogs.
10 out of 10, 100 out of 100 - a movie to be encouraged. It is rich in story, it doesn't lose itself in dodgy CGI special effects, and it opens up a lot of avenues of thought, particularly to the nastier elements of mankind.