Excellent: A Science Fiction Murder Mystery

Rating: 9/10 (2 November 2002)

What will life in the next generation be like? Or in two generations? "Minority Report" answers that question, at least through the mind of Phillip K. Dick via Steven Spielberg. "Minority Report" is a murder mystery set in the Washington, DC of 2054. But murder ain't what it used to be, or at least homicide detectives aren't what they used to be. In 2054, thanks to genetic engineering gone sour, three humans have precognitive powers, allowing them to predict murders before they happen with 100% accuracy. Well, not always 100%, sometimes its only 66.66%, when one of the PreCogs disagrees and files a 'minority report'. Tom Cruise plays Detective Anderton, head of the Pre-Crime Unit that oversees this operation, until that fateful day when the PreCogs finger him as a future murderer. So, he runs for it.
Minority Report is at its heart a whodunit. The science fiction, outside of the PreCogs, is just a part of the scenery. Passive retinal scans constantly monitor citizen movements and are used to tailor a deluge of personal advertising. Highways have gone vertical. Police use personal jet packs. Spielberg's vision of the future is not as dark as "Blade Runner", but it's still not very appealing.
But the movie is great stuff. Spielberg has crafted the thinking man's science fiction. There's little to criticize in "Minority Report", and it is highly recommended.