Another visionary masterpiece from Spielberg

Rating: 8/10 (31 March 2005)

Minority Report is possibly the most conceptually brilliant motion picture you will see. Steven Spielberg creates another masterpiece, a truly incredible visionary, he sets himself above all other filmmakers with this awe-inspiring film which truly has to be seen to be believed. Technically, this film is brilliant. Brilliantly shot, produced, scored and acted all vital components are of a tremendous standard. This film is so complicated and multi-layered, that I can't help but believe any other filmmaker would be unable to make the movie. The sheer amount of flashbacks and the visions of the pre-cogs and the conspiracy element, could potentially be confusing but Spielberg's gift of telling a story ensures this film is engaging and uses the layers as a benefit to show the sheer depth of his masterpiece.
Spielberg has a wonderful quality in terms of using old fashioned cinematic techniques of making a good movie. All the components at a human level have to be right; then he brings out the most incredible groundbreaking special effects, and interweaves it with the human element to make it all seamless. A true gift.
Tom Cruise is superb as John Anderton in this movie, a great anti-hero, a man driven by the loss of his son; he blames himself and turns to drugs to combat the problems he has. He believes fully in the pre-crime experiment as a law enforcement cop, but is forced to find the flaws of the system when the pre-cogs envisage Cruise is the next man to commit a murder. Cruise then must be on the run from the state as well as undercover the darkest secrets to the system we are told is perfect. This film is a film-noire with sci-fi, thriller qualities and a futuristic detective movie at the same time, its truly the most original and incredible film you are going to see in a long time. There are truly horrifying images which you would not necessarily expect from a Spielberg picture, the eye operation where Cruise gets his eyes removed is chilling. The image of the Spyders- these robotic spiders were ingenious as well as the futuristic mechanisms and transportation devices were awe-inspiring. And the scary thing is these devices are what the greatest minds in science currently believe the outlook of our world will be like in 50yrs time.
The way the film is shot while being interwoven with a provoking JOhn Williams score, the picture quality was tinted with a grainy quality a dark blue tinge, to make what you were seeing something beyond reality, it created a dark dirty outlook of the movie. If you were being extra-critical however, i felt there were slight flaws to the movie. The ending i felt dragged at the end. The ending was still good and important to the movie, but i felt it was guilty of often over-explaining at the end. The scene where Cruise is faced by Lamarr the head of everything, (guilty of conspiring against Anderton)with a gun, Cruise then proceeds to sum up and then explain what the effect shooting Cruise would be. Putting Lamarr in a quandary basically saying his actions would prove or disprove his pre-crime vision etc.I got the impression we as the audience were slapped around the face with the information. It was as if the last 10minutes were made because they believed the audience would be lost and we needed to be put up to speed. I didn't feel it was necessary, and i thought somethings could have been left unsaid and give the audience a chance to think for themselves at the end. The film was never guilty of it during the movie-why suddenly the last part? I also felt the movie could be accused of slight contradiction. SPielberg through-out the movie made a dark menacing picture effectively portraying the flaws of a society where your privacy is none existent and you are a mere pawn of the state. No matter where you go your eyes will be your source of ID to keep the state's tabs on you. This is a commentary on what is a distinct possibility to what is going to happen to us in the future. Spielberg portrays this as a detriment to society effectively. Yet, the final scene where pre-crime is abandoned, Cruise is now back with his ex-wife and shes expecting a new child and the pre-cogs are sent to a peaceful area where they can live in peace and happiness. I got the impression it was all too easy to swallow, completely different to the outlook in the movie earlier. The last scene didn't encourage you to have a sense of fear about what the future could hold (which you are encouraged to believe through-out the film) yet the ending makes it all alright again.
I believe the ending to be a flaw, however that is being extra-critical, on a movie basis it is a wonderful thought-provoking picture. AN astonishing peace of modern cinema. It is exciting, and brilliantly made. A groundbreaking piece of modern cinema, made by the greatest film maker of our generation.