good, but not as original as it looks

Rating: Null/10 (8 February 2003)

This was a good movie loaded with ideas and it's a shame that they weren't all original. So much of this was creative, that it really bugged me when the writing spoiled it by ripping off LA Confidential with a surprise death scene, and also the fugitive, and even snake eyes, (that overhead shot was a DePalma move, even if nobody saw it). Despite these cheap attempts to hide the lack of originality, there is still a ton going for this movie. The PreCrime system is really clever. The plot and what one has to do in this situation, considering the workings of precrime, is also extremely smart. And the atmosphere and bleached look of the film is out of this world. This is the best Spielberg movie I've seen in a while. AI was stupid (when it wasn't Kubrick behind the scene), and Catch Me If You Can was corny as hell. Here, with Minority Report, Spielberg almost hits a home run. I could have got past the DePalma move, but they shouldnt have touched LA Confidential. Oh, well. It's still a good, cool film, even if it didnt do it all on its own.