An artistic vision of theoretical premise

Rating: 8/10 (4 July 2002)

Hardly the seminal work of either Cruise's or Spielberg's careers, Minority Report underscores the areas it does well. In many ways Spielberg's career has latched onto the vision of the late Mr. Kubrick, and the directing in this film stands out not only because of its futuristic vision, but also its method of making what the audience knows will happen suspenseful. The underlying question behind the movie rests with whether or not humans have control over events the pre-cogs say will happen. This test of free will allows the audience to question the advantages and dangers of a more advanced, yet controlled society. Personally, I wish that the movie had done a better job of explaining the system. The movie gives a laughable explanation as to how the system works (heroin somehow leads to seeing into the future apparently.). While I expected something of an action flick, I found myself enveloped in an enigma of legal principles and theoretical situations not coming from the movie, but from my own pondering inspired by the movie. There are few plot holes in the movie, none of them serious enough to complain about (with the exception of the previously mentioned, fallible system. Cruise delivers one liners with his classic wit, and seemingly captures the essence of the feature, futuristic system in one line about a rolling ball. At the same time, I find Cruise's roles to be boringly similar: he is cocky, and then suffers (to some degree through something he helped to create). This seems to be a role molded to fit Cruise's patented acting style, and he comes off as perhaps a slightly better actor than he really is. There are no real other outstanding performances in the film with the possible exceptions of Kathryn Morris and Max von Sydow. The movie allows for some comic relief (even though I never thought I would laugh at a man chasing his eyeballs), and goes overboard with the ad placement. (In fact the movie actually contains ads in it!) Gratefully the movie gives us Spielberg's view on the role of the state in people's lives, but at the same time allows the audience to question this stance. Do the rights of a few override the rights of the masses? Even as such, the ending could have improved, perhaps with a bit (more?) of a voice-over. I would give it an 8/10 because of the artistic vision, and thought provoking film making behind it, but the movie is certainly not one the audience claps for at the end. FINAL GRADE: A-