A dazzling spectacle about a scary AND safe future

Rating: 8/10 (13 June 2013)

Oh, my! What a technologically sound and crime free future! Everything in this film is so imaginative. The subject matter is fascinating, nifty, thoughtful and disturbing. Imagine a seemingly controllable but still humanly fallible future. Has anyone wondered 'what if' something bad befalls the precognitive trio that keeps the fabric of this new reality together? They have to die at some point, yes? Then what? Will there not be rioting in the street as people lament over a once secure country now forced to return to its unpredictable and dangerous past? Maybe the strange pool the trio perpetually floats in is the fountain of youth? The Precrime Division certainly doesn't allow them to go on a date. Maybe they can mate with each other and retain some cognitive power for their offspring? I don't know, and I don't think anyone in this film knows either. They are living peacefully on borrowed time at the expense of these all-knowing slaves.
Oh, have you seen these neat tiny floppy discs? You can store home movies on them. These captured memories are fuzzy, despite the stellar technology everywhere else, further echoing human imperfection. The memory of loved ones is constantly fading. The sad people who watch these videos of the past are hurting. These trinkets of better times fail to purge agony, as do the countless breathtaking gizmos, "neuroin" drug business, and an imaginarium that can give you a tasty session of your deepest dreams, any of them... for a price, of course. By the way, there are also retinal scans everywhere, computer programs at the GAP that greet you at the door and remind you of your last purchase as if these computers know your fashion taste...because they do! There are eyes everywhere. There may be a small amount of privacy in futuristic apartments with lights and appliances that activate upon verbal command, until spider droids crawl into your bathroom while you're on the toilet or into your bed while you're making love to make sure you're not the future criminal that Precrime Division is looking for! Last, but not least-- JET PACKS! This film is geek heaven.
The opening sequence is a thrilling spectacle with soldiers a second away from rappelling through your windows and arresting you for a crime you haven't committed yet! No trial, no jury, you get hauled off to a giant storage chamber where you watch cartoons in your head for the rest of your life! The action is awesome, but the intent is controversial, yet it works! Or...does it? Predetermination and choice are putting their boxing gloves on.
As a fan of both, it was a pleasure to see Collin Farrell and Tom Cruise on screen together during a classic "can't catch the wily protagonist" fight scene. It winds up with Cruise escaping in one of those slick dreamy cars of the future. I'm not sure how he survived being inside during the car's assembly, though. Be careful of that car! It may override your control so it can start driving in reverse for you! Phooey on your intended destination! Naturally, perfection comes at a cost. I won't say what the cost is, but it's dirty, and the way it is executed avoids the cliché we've come to know so well.
Minority Report is provocative, sly, dazzling and is served wonderfully by 2 hours and 26 minutes, allowed to breathe and let the viewer enjoy this spectacle. It's everything the Total Recall remake tried to be. The CGI work is impressive for 2002, and amidst all of this sheen, there is mostly a substantive story.
I would give it a 9 out of 10. I wish one part could've gotten some closure. Then the ending wouldn't have felt so abrupt.