Repellent imagery hurts solid plot in overlong "Report"

Rating: Null/10 (4 August 2002)

John Anderton (Tom Cruise) is the chief of the Department of Precrime, a police force that apprehends suspects before crimes are committed. When he himself is suddenly accused of being a future killer, he is forced to go on the run as he strives to prove his innocence. In the vein of last year's futile "A.I.", Steven Spielberg presents yet another claustrophobic and depressing glance into the future with disappointing results. The promising mystery yarn suffers from a hodgepodge of perplexing subplots involving crooked cops, Anderton's deceased son, and a psychic (Samantha Morton) with a checkered past, plus plenty of gruesome imagery (this film is an optometrist's worst nightmare). "Report" runs an excruciating 144 minutes and is saved only by its intricate climax. It's not a horrible film but just simply an unpleasant viewing experience, due to its infatuation with repulsive scenes of Ziploc-bagged eyeballs, futuristic whorehouses and blatant product placement, all brought to us by the man who once thought of Haley Joel Osment as the ideal Harry Potter. 3/10