Film Review: Minority Report

First there were "who dunnits". Here's the first "who's gonna do it?"....

The year is 2054, the murder rate in Washington State is down to zero due to a system called ?precrime?that predicts when a crime is about to occur and then prevents its occurrence. Lead by detective John Anderton (Tom Cruise) the precrime team comes under scrutiny from justice department inspector Witer (Colin Farrell), just as the system is about to go nationwide. With the inspector looking over his shoulder, things go seriously awry for Anderton as precrime predicts he is about to commit murder?

At heart, Minority Report is a blockbuster chase movie. Based on the writings of Philip K. Dick, all the possibilities of a futuristic science fiction film are wonderfully exploited. The future looks really cool, quirky and a tad sinister. The plot has twists like only a science fiction film can. Blade Runner and Total Recall, were based on Dick's writings and Minority Report this follows unashamedly in their footsteps.

Cruise is his usual swashbuckling self, while Irishman Colin Farrell holds his own. Veteran Max Von Sydow is a class act as the paternal police director Lamar Burgess.

This is a Stephen Spielberg film, so a dose of sentimentalism and a message is inevitable. The message: the danger of limiting human freedom by the state, consumerism, and technology. Ironically having made this point, the film contains, probably, the most sustained campaign of product placement seen in cinema history.

That said, this a great film, in between the ads.

Kevin Smith

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