Not for the Idiots

Rating: Null/10 (26 November 2002)

Minority Report is a sci-fi whodunnit that reaffirms Stanley Kubrick's paradoxical belief that the cinema can both provoke and entertain. Set 50 years into the future, the film is about John Anderton (Tom Cruise), a detective who works for an organization called Pre-Crime which identifies and captures people just before they commit a murder. It does so through the use of Pre-Cogs, basically three psychics in a forever trance-like state, that have premonitions of the act before it actually occurs. The system was created by Lamar Burgess (Max von Sydow) and Iris Hineman (Lois Smith), and in the six years that it's been in place, there hasn't been a single murder. So far so good. But enter Danny Witwer (Colin Farell), an official of the Justice Department, who has some concerns of the legality and morality of the setup. Anderton completely believes in it but Witwer doesn't feel it's right to punish the people if they haven't committed the murder yet. Witwer also tells him that since the system was designed by humans, it's not perfect. There's always one flaw and it's always human. Now if you thought that Steven Spielberg was finished after Saving Private Ryan, well then you clearly haven't seen this film - or you might just be an idiot. He's taken Phillip K. Dick's short story and expanded it into a 2 hour 20 minute mind-bending race-against-the-clock thriller, complete with all the thrills, chills, and the required surprise twist that we expect from something of this scale. His direction propels the film while still giving us a multi-layered plot without slowing down the action. You need to pay attention to all the details because it's not an easy one to (completely) get in one viewing. If you're the type of person who likes to leave his brain at home before heading to the theater, then I suggest Attack of the Clones or maybe Goldmember is more to your liking. Acting-wise, Cruise, Farell, and Sydow are all good in their roles, yet it's Samantha Morton as the Pre-Cog Agatha who outshines them all. Her chilling performance provides the movie with some of its most memorable scenes and much of the sympathy that's supposed to go to Cruise's character ends up going to her. An Oscar nomination would be well-deserved, although it's doubtful she'll get one because of the limited screen time and since Dreamworks will probably push the disappointing Road To Perdition for the awards over this film. Technically the picture is flawless and should be a nomination sweeper with directing and picture nods going to Spielberg. A near-masterpiece, the movie is an easy 4 out of 5. Why not 5 stars you may ask ? Well it's because Spielberg, as usual, puts too much of his family/love theme into the plot. That's what ruined AI and it's also the one false note in this movie which, otherwise, is sci-fi film noir at its finest.